Ghana Premier League start suffers setback after Aduana Stars-Hearts opener cancelled
Start of 2020/2021 Ghana Premier League season has suffered a setback after opener between Aduana Stars and Hearts of Oak cancelled.
After progression of several phases to start a new season, Hearts of Oak were to take on Aduana Stars at the Nana Agyemang Badu Park in what was the opening game of the 2020/2021 Ghana Premier League season.
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While all matches is to be played under strict coronavirus protocols in attempt to check and curtail spread, the pandemic still seems to have huge impact on Ghana’s football.
According to the Ghana Football Association (GFA), the clash has been canceled because the away side Hearts of Oak may have been affected by the virus and need further covid-19 tests.
“This decision was taken after the GFA was informed that Players and Officials of Hearts of Oak will need further tests before playing a match,” the GFA said on their official website.
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The statement continued: “Further tests will be conducted by the Public Health services. The GPL match which was scheduled to be played at the Agyeman Badu Park I on Saturday November 14, is postponed till further notice”.
“The GFA has taken steps to inform both teams and all other stakeholders.”
Football was largely hit by the pandemic early this year leading to cancellation of several competitions in the 2019/2020 season though most European leagues were completed.
Most leagues in the world including Africa have restarted under a new season after massive improvements in the virus-containment practices.
Also see: Hearts of Oak observe coronavirus protocols amid readiness for Ghana Premier League
However, there has been a gradual rise Ghana’s stance in last couple of days thought not to peak level, with the West African country recording 1,156 new cases since beginning of this month.
That is according to a recent report in BBC News PIDGIN that claim Greater Accra alone have 75% of this newly recorded cases and Hearts of Oak have a share of that.
The champions of 2004 CAF Confederation Cup have been hit with the virus since last week, and the above trend may partly explain why.
The Accra-based outfit recently underwent a mandatory testing exercise as part of safety protocols for the commencement of the 2020/2021 Ghana Premier League on November 14.
But the results shown three of their players in Abednego Tetteh and midfielder Abdul Aziz Nurudeen are among those infected. Tetteh in his latest covid-19 test resulted negative while there may be more undiscovered cases.
According to close sources, suspected cases from contacts with infected teammates may rock Hearts camp and that the GFA advised there should be further tests before their first ever Ghana Premier League game in the 2020/2021 season kicked start.
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