Fans rush to catch glimpse of renovated Ohene Djan Stadium

An enthusiastic group of soccer fans rushed into the refurbished Ohene Djan Sports Stadium to catch a glimpse of the 40,000 all-seat stadium on reports that the project has been completed and ready to host the rest of the continent in the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations. Most of the fan defied security arrangements at the entrance, which requires that an entrant must be registered at the gate before having access to the stadium as well as a heavy down pour. For the fans, it was an opportunity to have a sight of the stadium, which has been closed for almost two years for renovation exercises ahead of the Ghana 2008. The curiosity of the fans was however achieved for not just sight seeing but they were also presented with series of test matches between staff of the construction company which worked on the project - Micheleti and Co Ghana Limited and the National Sports Council (NSC). The matches were played amid clusters of "Jama groups" who were at the stadium to give morale support to their respective teams. A glance of the stadium by the GNA Sports clearly defined an improved facility with traits of some modern stadiums as the venue for the opening and the closing matches has been fitted with first class facilities. Red and yellow durable plastic chairs have been fixed at all the stands to blend with the green field to represent the national colours. The digital electronic score board provided the handful of "tourists" with video clips of local and other African musical artists such as Castro, Batman and Fredi Meiway among others, whilst the test matches were on-going. A walk through the facilities at the stadium clearly indicated that the facility has given a lot hope to the fans of no shred of doubt as to the readiness of the venue to host the continental fiesta. Jimmy Castagna, Technical Director of Micheleti and Co. Ghana Limited said he was delighted that his outfit has been able to meet the October 31 deadline given to the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports when he spoke to the GNA Sports. He said the stadium is now ready for action, hence the decision of the company to have a minor test match on the new facility. GNA Sports gathered that plans are in place to officially commission the stadium on October 11. The stadium is expected to host the Olympic Games qualifier between Ghana and Nigeria as well as the four nation tournament planned by the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to prepare the Black Stars for the impending competition. Ghana will be hosting United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Republic of Benin and yet to be confirmed fourth team for the competition.