IPNEWS: The Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) has qualified the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex, in Paynesville to host continental games following months of the imposition of a ban.
According to a released list of stadiums qualified by CAF to host games in the Champions League and Confederation Cup qualifiers, the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex is the only approve stadium to host the continental games for clubs.
Watanga FC and LISCR FC will play their home games in the first qualifying round at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex in Paynesville following their return from Port Harcourt, Nigeria later this month.
On Saturday, July 23, 2022, the refurbished Samuel Kanyon Doe (SKD) Sports Complex in Paynesville was dedicated by His Excellency Dr. George Oppong Manneh Weah.
The stadium was banned by CAF for lack of certain requirements for hosting international matches approximately two years ago.
After the dedication, President Weah, the cabinet, and partners toured the Complex to see the level of renovation and tremendous works carried out by the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
The Cabinet, led by President Weah, played SOEs/ PCs/ AAs in a Football match as part of activities marking the 175th Independence Day celebrations.
Reports coming in say the Liberia National team (Lone Star) host an international match for the first time in three years after renovations work at the 35,000-seated Capacity national sports stadium.
Liberia would host South Africa at home, with the Lone Star’s latest upcoming fixture is said to be against the Bafana Bafana, in mid-September, in a 2023 Africa’s Cup of Nations qualifier showdown.
The Stadium has been closed for international football matches for nearly three years, since October 2019, when Liberia lastly played on its home ground against the Sierra Leonen National team in a World Cup qualifier preliminary round, since then the Confederation of African Football CAF imposed a ban on the stadium, stating it does not meet the required footballing standard to host international matches.
But, upon inspections on June 22, at the SKD Sports Complex, Youth and Sports Minister D. Zeogar Wilson assured football stakeholders and the Government of Liberia that the “SKD” could be ready to host Lone Star and other international matches, after the completion of renovation works and the installation of Artificial turf on the playing pitch is said to be completed.
‘Stadium looks new’
The Samuel Kanyon Doe (SKD) Sports Complex has been undergoing rehabilitation with some of the renovation works, including the reconditioning of the home and away dressing rooms, installation of buckets seating, hot and cold-water faucet showers in the bathrooms, the fixing of the referee’s room, anti-doping room, fire control room, venue operating system control room, medical room as well as a media center.
The renovation also includes reconditioning of the playing pitch with the installation of modern artificial playing turf among others.
According to the liberia sports minister, the SKD Sports Complex in Paynesville, outside Monrovia will be ready to host matches later this year and it will be a plus to “our teams when they have a familiar ground”.
Liberia Minister of State for Presidential Affairs Mr. Nathaniel McGill applauded the Ministry of Youth and Sports for the level of work ongoing to bring back the sporting ‘reflects to the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex.
Touring the SKD, Minister McGill thanked the Ministry through its head, Zeogar Wilson, for the progress he and his team are making to reach the facility to international standards.
“The stadium which was built in the 1980s looked like a brand new one”, Minister McGill asserted. He indicated that the playing pitch which now has first-class artificial turf, when properly managed, might last for decades.
Minister McGill, at the same time, stressed the need for the decentralization of sporting facilities, in other counties, noting that it is President George Manneh Weah wish that more modern pitches will be built around the country to improve sports in Liberia.
He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to development, something he said is the quest of the Weah administration to connect the country by building roads, because “we need roads to carry such development to other parts of Liberia”.
The renovation works at the SKD is about 95% and McGill warned that a maintenance template needs to be put into place to ensure that the facility does not go back to its sorry state.
Liberia will have to wait until the Confederation of African Football (CAF) inspection team to assess the Stadium before it 100% ready to host international matches. If approved by CAF in time, Liberia and South Africa Match will be played at the SKD, instead of the Mohammed V Stadium in Casablanca where the country has played matches as home due to the CAF ban.
Reminder, Liberia is using Morocco as her home- ground, because the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex is under rehabilitation (Courtesy of T. Kla Wesley, Jr)
