Award winning Groundskeeper Takes on Ghana Pitches

To the honor of all Ghanaians, the Honorable Mr. Frank Boahene, groundskeeper for Premiership club Fulham FC, has been named to the Top-Five Groundsmen of the year for the second consecutive year. His successes at Craven Cottage are all the more astounding given the lack of underground heating and similar advances that improve state-of-the art pitches’ performance. But Mr. Boahene does not provide top-level support only for Craven Cottage; he also has some thoughts about the state of the pitch in his native Ghana.

Because it has a suitable climate and excellent soil chemistry, Ghana has among the best conditions for pitches in Africa. According to Boahene, a consultant for groundskeeping for the GFA and for Kenya, there is no excuse for Ghana pitches not to meet exacting international standards.

Still, construction has been an issue.

“In Ghana, we spend a lot of emphasis on the stadium structure itself leaving very little attention to the pitch itself. If you tell someone it will cost about £500,000.00 to construct the pitch, the first remark will be ‘why should it cost so much, is it not just growing grass?’ Pitch construction is a lot more than that. We still use water hose to wet our pitches, sometimes at midday, and it is absurd.”

Boahene noted though that, with proper underground pop-up sprinklers and efficient cooling techniques, Kenya produced a top quality pitch in one year. Accordingly, Ghana if it acts soon will be able to do the same for the CAN 2008. GFA- use some of that World Cup booty to good effect!