Former Ghanaian football star, Asamoah Gyan, has recently expressed worry over the growing trend of converting large community football pitches into smaller 5-aside pitches.
While acknowledging the benefits of having these smaller pitches, Gyan emphasized the importance of maintaining standard-sized pitches in communities for the development of young players.
Gyan painted a picture of Dansoman, a community that used to boast a standard-sized grass pitch for 11-aside Colts games every Saturday, now transformed into a 5-aside pitch. He questioned where future players will have the opportunity to hone their skills and where Colts tournaments will take place.
While recognizing the benefits of small pitches in developing skills like close control, passing, creativity, and movement, Gyan stressed that they should complement standard-sized pitches rather than replace them entirely in Ghanaian communities.
According to Gyan, Ghana cannot afford to sacrifice quality and standards for the sake of convenience and aesthetics.
He emphasized the need for both small and standard-sized pitches, whether with natural or artificial turf, to promote grassroots football development within communities.
