The essential Africa Cup of Nations stadium price over £200million to construct however has confronted criticism for the state of the pitch.
As many as six grounds are getting used throughout the match. The 60,000-seater Alassane Ouattara is reserved for the most important ties, together with the opening match wherein hosts Ivory Coast beat Guinea Bissau 2-0.
And the ultimate on February 11 might be performed there too. But organisers might be counting on the climate, as a result of it has been proved previously that the pitch cannot stand as much as heavy rainfall.
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Back in September, the Ivory Coast’s pleasant with Mali needed to be deserted at half-time following vital downpours. The waterlogged pitch was unplayable, with flooding additionally reportedly reaching the corridors of the stadium.
The Ivorian Minister of Sport, Paulin Claude Danho, was pressured to apologise for the fiasco, which the Confederation of African Football later attributed to algae. They stated it prevented the rain from seeping by way of the floor.
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(Image: LEGNAN KOULA/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
(Image: AFP through Getty Images)
President Alassane Ouattara, who the stadium is known as after, ordered an additional £25m funding to unravel the drainage points – however it appears that evidently hasn’t gone far in bettering the circumstances.
During the Ivory Coast’s second group recreation, a 1-0 defeat to Nigeria on Thursday (January 18) , Arsenal legend Ian Wright took to social media and posted: “The state of this pitch in the Ivory Coast vs Nigeria game!!! Ridiculous.”
(Image: AFP through Getty Images)
The match was initially set to be performed between June and July of final 12 months, however was postponed and moved again to the beginning of 2024 because of considerations about enjoying through the wet season.
There’s additionally been criticism of the ticketing course of. Fans have been unable to safe tickets, regardless of the stadium being nearly half-empty for the primary fixture.