NSA blames vandalism at Baba Yara Sports Stadium on ‘bets gone wrong’ due to Ghana’s defeat to Angola

The Deputy Director General of the National Sports Authority (NSA), Alhaji Abdul Majeed Bawa has reacted to the destruction caused by fans at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium on Thursday.

Following Ghana's narrow 1-0 defeat to Angola in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers, tensions boiled over at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium as frustrated fans caused significant damage.

The aftermath saw some supporters throwing objects onto the pitch, while others stormed the field and destroyed advertising panels.

In an interview with Asempa FM, the Deputy Director General of the National Sports Authority, Alhaji Abdul Majeed Bawa, shared his thoughts on the reason behind the unruly behaviour.

According to him, the fans responsible for the destruction were primarily young people who reacted out of anger after losing bets tied to the game’s outcome.

“They destroyed, they threw missiles and all manner of things onto the pitch. That one too, is it caused by NSA? They destroyed the pitch panels,” Bawa stated, dismissing the idea that the NSA could have prevented the incident.

He further suggested that the fans’ actions were linked to their frustration over losing their bets rather than just the defeat itself.

“Honestly, that’s my feeling because if you see all those people who did that thing, they are all young guys,” Bawa added.

Reflecting on the situation, Bawa emphasized that the crowd’s reaction likely would have been different had Ghana won.

“Throwing missiles because we lost. I believe they would not have done that if Ghana had won. After the tension subsided, you ask them and they were saying they disappointed them and they lost. Not that Ghana has lost oh, but they lost a bet,” he explained.

Ghana’s loss to Angola has left the Black Stars with a challenging start in their AFCON 2025 qualifying campaign.

The team will need to recover quickly as they prepare to face Niger in the second match of the qualifiers on Monday, September 9.