By Our Correspondent

Ghana’s Ministry of Youth and Sports has announced that only vaccinated supporters will be allowed to watch the 2022 FIFA World Cup playoff game between Ghana and Nigeria this month

This, the Ministry said, is part of safety protocols put in place by the government to ensure that the spread of COVID-19 is curbed.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the Ministry further noted that the ‘no vaccination, no entry’ policy will also apply to all domestic football competitions, including the Ghana Premier League.

The Black Stars will host the Super Eagles at the Cape Coast Stadium before travelling to the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja for the return fixture.

The first leg is scheduled for Friday, March 25, 2022, while the second leg will take place on Tuesday, March 29, 2022.

The full statement reads: The Ministry of Youth and Sports wishes to inform the General Public particularly the football fans who wish to enjoy their favourite games at the various league centres including the game between the Ghana Black Stars and their Nigerian Counterparts at the Cape Coast Sports Stadium on the 25th March, 2022 to ensure strict adherence to ALL Covid-19 Safety Protocols put in place by the Government.

To this end, the Ministry of Youth and Sports has directed the managers of the stadia (National Sports Authority) and the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to admit ONLY fans who are fully vaccinated into the stadia at various centres on match days.

In this regard, the Covid-19 Task force and the Ghana Health Service will mount vaccination centres during the upcoming President’s Cup between the Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko on the 4th March, 2022.

Further, the Ghana Health Service will mount vaccination centres at Kumasi, Cape Coast, Takoradi and Tamale stadia, one week before the Ghana- Nigeria derby.

With these measures put in place, it is expected that the facilities managers can admit as many fans as the facilities can contain provided that such fears have been fully vaccinated with the requisite vaccination card.

Furthermore, the wearing of Face Masks, the use of Hand Sanitizers and Social Distancing will also be strictly enforced. We count on the cooperation of all Stakeholders, the family of the sport (football) and the General Public to ensure strict compliance.