Cabinet has approved the appointment of a facility manager for the Borteyman Sports Complex, a move the government says will breathe new life into the $145.1 million facility that has fallen into visible disrepair barely two years after it was commissioned for the 13th African Games.
Minister for Sports and Recreation Kofi Adams, who disclosed the approval, said the facility manager would oversee operations at the complex and mobilise resources through a public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement to complete unfinished infrastructure.
“We have received Cabinet approval for a facility manager. The facility manager will also have the capacity to mobilise resources through a kind of PPP arrangement to invest in completing the infrastructure there,” Adams said. “There was no proper development of the place as it was originally envisioned.”
A Flagship Venue Left to Weeds
The Borteyman Multipurpose Sports Facility was commissioned in February 2024 by former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo ahead of the African Games, which Ghana hosted from March 8 to 23, 2024. The complex features a 1,000-capacity swimming facility with a 10-lane competition pool and an eight-lane warm-up pool — the first of its kind in the country — as well as a multipurpose sports hall with seating for 1,000 spectators, hosting disciplines including basketball, badminton, netball, table tennis and weightlifting.
The facility was constructed by Contracta Construction UK Ltd at a contract sum of $145,086,057 and was expected to serve as a lasting legacy for sports development in Ghana.
However, by mid-2026, the complex had become a symbol of Ghana’s chronic maintenance deficits. A video shared by veteran journalist Jonny Hughes in July 2026 showed weeds overrunning large sections of the complex, including drainage systems and the football pitch. “The once-pristine Borteyman Sports Complex… has fallen into a worrying state of neglect,” GhanaWeb reported, noting that routine upkeep had not kept pace with expectations.
The neglect at Borteyman mirrors the broader deterioration of Ghana’s sporting infrastructure. The Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi and the Essipong Stadium in Sekondi have been closed for renovation, while the Accra Sports Stadium — the only venue certified to host CAF and FIFA matches — has also suffered from years of poor maintenance.
Audit Exposes Millions in Omitted Works
The move to appoint a facility manager follows a forensic audit ordered by President John Dramani Mahama in late 2025 into Ghana’s hosting of the African Games. The audit, conducted by the Auditor-General, found that parts of the original Borteyman project were either omitted or scaled back, with a net omission and “opportunity cost for scope shrinkage” of $34.43 million from the original $145.09 million contract.
Among the omitted items were a warm-up football field valued at $3.213 million, drainage works worth $3.366 million, an electrical substation valued at $850,000, and reduced concrete sidewalks, a children’s playground, CCTV, irrigation and security systems.
The audit also found that despite the scope reductions, consultant supervision fees increased from 3 per cent to 3.83 per cent after the rescoping exercise.
Adams acknowledged the incomplete nature of the development, stating, “There was no proper development of the place as it was originally envisioned.”
PPP Model to Fund Completion
The decision to bring in a facility manager under a PPP arrangement is part of a broader strategy to transform the Borteyman area into a modern sports city. In September 2025, Adams announced plans to construct a 50,000-capacity stadium at the complex by 2028, with accommodation facilities to serve as a training camp for international teams and the national teams.
“We want to elevate that whole space into a sports city or village so that international clubs can come and camp and train there,” Adams said at the time. “With such a facility, we will also add accommodation. When this is done, in the future, you will not see accommodation for the Black Stars on the national budget.”
The Ministry of Sports and Recreation had earlier confirmed receiving proposals from the private sector for a PPP arrangement to manage the facilities, following recommendations from a UK consultation in June 2025 that emphasised the adoption of computerised maintenance management systems to address the cyclical underutilisation and high maintenance backlog affecting sports venues across Africa.
About Kofi Adams
Kofi Iddie Adams, born May 2, 1975, is the Member of Parliament for the Buem Constituency in the Oti Region and has served as Minister for Sports and Recreation since January 2025. A former teacher at Adisadel College, he holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology with emphasis on Epidemiology of Parasitic Diseases. Before his ministerial appointment, he served as National Organiser of the National Democratic Congress.
Adams has since assumed office with a focus on refurbishing existing facilities and building new ones, vowing to restore the Baba Yara and Essipong stadiums to their past glory. The ministry has also developed a maintenance manual for four major stadia to serve as a guide for upkeep.
With Cabinet approval secured, the appointment of the facility manager is expected to be announced in the coming weeks, marking the first concrete step toward reversing the deterioration of Ghana’s newest sporting infrastructure.
