CAF Upholds Ban on SKD
The SKD was in May banned from hosting international matches because it did not meet the minimum stadium requirements
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has upheld its decision to ban the SKD Sports Stadium, as the facility still does not fully meet the set CAF stadium minimum requirements.
The continental football governing body in August placed a ban on the SKD, following the visitation of CAF Club Licensing Senior Manager, Muhammad F. Sidat, on August 18.
After touring the stadium for hours, Mr. Sidat, a Mozambican, informed Liberian journalists that it was too early to say that the SKD will be approved as there are lots of works that need to be done.
His statement was followed by a communication from CAF on August 24, denying Liberia from hosting their home matches during the September and October windows of the FIFA 2022 World Cup African Qualifiers.
Since the ban in August, the Ministry of Youth and Sports along with the LFA has been working against time as part of efforts to make the SKD pitch playable.
Moses Zulou, a Soil Scientist from the Ministry of Agriculture, informed journalists on September 15 that the SKD playing pitch will be ready to host games in November due to the availability of the needed materials and manpower.
Unfortunately, following CAF’s re-inspection visit to the facility from October 15 to 17 -- a visit that was initially scheduled for September 12 to 13 -- CAF has informed the LFA that based on the inspection report, they (CAF) “regret to inform you that the stadium still does not fully meet the set CAF stadium minimum requirements and consequently will not be approved for the qualifying matches of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 matchday 5 & 6.”
According to CAF’s inspection, the stadium still lacks several CAF criteria and requirements in order to properly host international senior competitions.
“We would like to point out that among other stadium requirements; one of the main concerns in the stadium is the pitch in the field of play, which is not up to the required level to host CAF/FIFA matches. As a technical recommendation, the stadium management should consider removing the pitch altogether and installing a new one, while hiring in a professional company to conduct a full assessment of the ground and subsequently assist with the maintenance of the pitch,” CAF said in its communication.
As a result of this latest decision on the stadium, LFA has been requested to select a venue from among the stadiums approved by CAF to play the qualifying matches of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 matchday 5 & 6.
The Lone Star are due to host Nigeria and the Central African Republic in their remaining two games in Group C of the African qualifiers.
Sadly, Liberia remained bottom of the group after collecting three points from their three previous games.
If they must progress to the next round of the qualifiers, they must win their last two games with not less than three goals margin and hope that none of their group opponents secure a win in their remaining games, a target that is humanly unachievable for the Lone Star