Monday, 21st July, 2025
Hon Bright Asamoah Brefo
Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai
Mr Speaker, thank you for this opportunity.
I stand on Order 93 (3) and Order 67 (ff) to make a Statement on the historic Premier League victory of Bibiani Gold Stars Football Club and the urgent need for a modern sports stadium in Bibiani.
Mr Speaker, I rise in pride and honour to inform this august House of a monumental achievement from the Western North Region, specifically from my beloved Constituency, Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai. Mr Speaker, for the first time in the history of our Region, a football club from Western North has not only broken into the Ghana Premier League, but has gone on to win the entire championship. I speak of none other than the Bibiani Gold Stars Football Club, champions of the 2024-2025 Ghana Premier League.
Mr Speaker, this is no ordinary success. It is a legacy-defining moment, a triumph of vision, hard work and unity. Bibiani Gold Stars have demonstrated to Ghana and the world that even from the youngest of Ghana’s Region can emerge giants worthy of national and continental admiration.
Mr Speaker, this victory is a reflection of the collective spirit of Bibiani people; our youth, our traditional leaders, our businessmen and women, and our fans. A special mention must be made of the late Ayigbe, a loyal supporter whose memory lives on in this milestone. We also honour our chiefs, particularly Nananom, whose spiritual and moral support have been invaluable, and Ashanti Gold, whose partnership with the team provided the power of corporate community collaboration.
Mr Speaker, while we celebrate this historic feat, we must confront a painful truth. Despite winning the League, Bibiani Gold Stars will not be able to host Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF) Champions League matches in Bibiani. The reason is simple but deeply unfortunate. We do not have a stadium that meets CAF standards.
Mr Speaker, this means Bibiani and the entire Western North Region will be denied the immense economic, social and emotional benefits of hosting continental football; benefits that include increased tourism, growth in local commerce, job creation and a renewed sense of regional pride and unity. Mr Speaker, this situation is unacceptable. I therefore rise to strongly advocate for the immediate construction of a modern sports stadium in Bibiani; a regional sports infrastructure that can serve as a hub for not only football but athletics, youth development and national sporting activities.
Mr Speaker, this must not be a temporary fix. We need a stadium with proper seating capacity, dressing room, floodlights, media facilities and accommodation for visiting teams. The people of Bibiani and the Western North have proven that they are ready. It is now the turn of the nation to match their dedication with investment they deserve.
Mr Speaker, in the spirit of national unity, celebration and recognition of excellence in Ghana football, I humbly appeal to you and to the Leadership of Parliament to consider Bibiani Gold Stars Football Club as one of the teams to play in this year’s Democracy Cup organised by Parliament. Mr Speaker, there could not be any better way to honour this historic victory and showcase the talent of our champions to the rest of the country and the world than to see them participate in this national event, a fitting platform to reward merit and inspire more youth across Ghana.
Mr Speaker, the time to build is now. Let this be the legacy we leave behind, not just a trophy but the tools for sustaining success for decades to come. Let us give our youths something to dream about. Let us bring continental football home to Bibiani and let us build a modern stadium that honours the dreams of our region.
Long live Bibiani Gold Stars!
Long live Bibiani-AnhwiasoBekwai!
Long live Ghana football and may God bless our homeland, Ghana.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity.
Hon Kwadwo Damoah
Jaman South
Mr Speaker, I am happy to associate myself with a Statement made by the MP for Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai.
Indeed, Bibiani Gold Stars have done what Aduana Stars did in yesteryears by also joining the Ghana Premier League and winning the championship. As he made a passionate appeal for a sports stadium to be built for our league champions, so that they can really play their matches at home and have maximum support around their base, I am sure it will be in the interest of the whole nation and the Government to try and build sports stadiums in all the remaining regions where we do not have one and also at places where we have league teams.
Sports, we all know, is one way of uniting our people, so if we have a way of developing and providing the necessary infrastructure, it goes a very long way to help in national unity. Once again, I want to commend Bibiani Gold Stars for this laudable achievement. It is our prayer that they will go for the continental trophy to make Western North and Mother Ghana proud.
Thank you for the opportunity and we will pray for the best for Bibiani Gold Stars.
Hon Dickson Kyere-Duah
Berekum West
Mr Speaker, I rise to commend the maker of the Statement and also commend Bibiani Gold Stars FC for their historic Ghana Premier League win for their 27-year existence.
Mr Speaker, I would like to associate myself with the predicament described by the Hon Member, Hon Bright Asamoah Brefo, and with your leave, I will copiously make reference to paragraph 5 of his Statement, where he said: ‘‘While we celebrate this historic feat, we must confront a painful truth. Despite winning the league, Bibiani Gold Stars will not be able to host the CAF Champions League matches in Bibiani. The reason is simple, yet deeply unfortunate. We do not have a stadium that meets CAF standards.”
Mr Speaker, in 2006, my home team, Berekum Arsenal, qualified for the CAF Cup and participated in that competition. Because Golden City Park did not meet CAF standards, the team was moved to Sunyani Coronation Park and this affected the performance of the team. The team eventually got eliminated by Petro Atletico of Angola. Two years later, they qualified again for the CAF Confederation Cup; they were sent to Sunyani, but, this time round, they withdrew from the competition. I am very confident that Bibiani Gold Stars will not withdraw because they will not have the opportunity to play at their favourite Dun’s Park.
Mr Speaker, football, we all know, is the most popular sport of the world and transcends all boundaries, be it geographical, political, and social, it goes beyond providing mere entertainment. In fact, it is a powerful socio-economic tool that has potential to transform lives and nations. Mr Speaker, economically, football creates a significant number of jobs from professional players, referees, technical teams and event makers. It is, therefore, important, as a country, to invest in the sport we love so much; that is football.
Mr Speaker, may I take this opportunity to make reference to the public statement recently made by H. E. John Dramani Mahama to the effect that all the six new regions would get modern stadiums. I am very confident Western North will have one and, probably, Bibiani will be the venue. Mr Speaker, may I also take this opportunity, to plead that when these new regions are being considered, the epicentre of football in Ghana, that is Bono Region, specifically our regional capital, Sunyani, should be considered for a modern stadium as well. As well as my constituency, Berekum West, Mr Speaker, which has six Division Two clubs, namely Fetentaa, Gye Nyame, Ayimom FC, Jinijini Jaffa, Domfete Galaxy, Adom Alpha Soccer Academy, and my own football club, Eagle Soccer Academy, of which I am the proud owner and the bankroller.
Notwithstanding the fact that we have six teams in the constituency, there is not a single playing field. The teams are forced to move to either Berekum East or Sunyani West to play league matches. So, I am pleading that, as President is considering building six stadiums for the new regions and Sunyani being the epicentre to be considered, Berekum West will also have a modern facility to unearth the numerous talent we are yet to discover.
Mr Speaker, thank you, once again, and I want to commend the maker of the Statement and would want to assure him that we are solidly behind Bibiani Gold Stars and I am very confident they will do us proud when they go into the Continental African Club Championship.
Thank you.
Hon Fred Kwesi Agbenyo
Guan
Mr Speaker, thank you very much for the opportunity to contribute to this Statement and also to congratulate Bibiani Gold Stars for winning the Ghana Premier League in the last edition.
Mr Speaker, in as much as I empathise and sympathise with Bibiani Gold Stars that has qualified yet cannot play their matches in their hometown in front of their supporters and that they have to travel to another place to play and also that we are calling on Government to build new stadiums across the country, it is important that we pay attention to how we keep some of these facilities that we already have: our maintenance culture. Mr Speaker, Accra Sports Stadium is just behind us and you can go there and see the state of the Accra Sports Stadium, that is supposed to be the “Wembley” of this nation.
Mr Speaker, go to Kumasi and see the state of the Baba Yara Sports Stadium. I remember before the Africa Cup of Nations in 2008, a brand-new stadium was built in Takoradi. If we go there today and see the state of that stadium, I do not think that even school sports can be held in that particular facility. It is the same thing with the Cape Coast Sports Stadium, which was built before 2015. If we go there right now—
Mr Speaker, you will recall that recently, when the Black Stars had a match, Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) did not even want to allow us to play in this country. At a point, we contemplated taking the match out of our country. So, Mr Speaker, the point I am making is that even as we ask for new stadiums to be built, it is important that the ones that we have already, we take very good care of them. Let us go to the Ho Sports Stadium. It is a stadium that has been there for all these years.
Mr Speaker, if we go there and see the state today, the fence walls are almost down, the stands are not there, and the pitch itself is not in a good state. The University of Ghana Stadium, which was built recently, Mr Speaker, the pitch is not in a good state. I am very worried about our maintenance culture as a people. We cannot be calling for new facilities when the few ones that are available to us, we are not taking care of them.
Mr Speaker, it is important that we make time, once in a while, to discuss the Ghana Premier League in this country. My Colleagues who are close to sports in this country will tell us that these days, even when a club wins the league, it is not something one wants to overly celebrate because the things that are happening in our leagues are not something I can discuss on a platform like this. I was thinking that with the Anas exposé in football, our refereeing was going to be better than we have today.
But Mr Speaker, if we go back there and see what is happening, the way matches are won on the pitches is a major problem. It is obvious that in this country, we have the raw talent, and if we invest properly and create that enabling environment, we can move our sports to where Brazil and the rest have got to. But we are simply not doing the basic things that we need to do to be able to get to the top. So, as I celebrate and congratulate Bibiani Gold Stars F.C. for winning, I also suggest that we go back and look at where the lesser-known sports or the teams that are at the lower level of the sports: the third division, second division and first division teams are playing.
Mr Speaker, there is something that is creeping into our country now that, again, all of us should be worried about. These AstroTurfs that we are building all over the country—How does one travel to a place like mine, the Oti Region, which is virtually a rain forest, and everybody is busy building an AstroTurf? Now, if we go and check the science behind these AstroTurfs and the effects it has on players, that is why Europe and every other place are moving away from AstroTurfs into natural green grass. We are busy celebrating ourselves that we are building AstroTurf across the place and that is having serious effects on our players and when they even travel abroad.
I think that we need to have a conversation with the Ministry of Sports and Recreation and the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to find a solution to how we can develop a sports infrastructure in this country that will be beneficial to all of us and our sportsmen and women.
With this, Mr Speaker, I thank you very much for the opportunity.
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