Gold Fields Ghana Foundation Launches Refurbished $16 Million Tarkwa Stadium
The Gold Fields Ghana Foundation today handed over the newly constructed and refurbished Tarkwa & Abosso (T&A) Stadium in Tarkwa in the country’s Western Region to the National Sports Authority.
The rehabilitation work on the T&A Stadium started in January 2020 and was completed in June this year at a cost of US$16.2m. This significant investment by the Gold Fields Ghana Foundation has transformed the 400-seat football park into an 8,000-plus seater world-class stadium, capable of hosting international matches.
The new stadium will be the home of Tarkwa’s Ghana Premier League team, Medeama SC, which Gold Fields has supported for a number of years and who were crowned Ghana champions in 2023.
”The construction of the stadium will not only have a sporting impact,” says Michael Akafia, Gold Fields Ghana’s Vice-President External Affairs and current President of the Ghana Chamber of Mines.
“The game of football has the potential of fostering social cohesion between communities. We decided on the investment after a comprehensive stakeholder consultative and engagement process with our host communities.
“The aim was also to provide a sustainable and environmentally friendly stadium for the people of Tarkwa and surrounding communities. It is expected to boost business activities, nurture young talent, and facilitate the development of football in Ghana, including women’s football,” Mr Akafia adds.
In this, he adds, the impact of the stadium aligns with Gold Fields’ purpose of creating enduring value beyond mining. The stadium was constructed in line with FIFA’s sustainable building guidelines using building materials from sustainable sources and to be energy and water-efficient.
The contractor, Micheletti & Co, and several subcontractors employed 924 people from Tarkwa and surrounding communities in the construction of the stadium.
The T&A Stadium is the most recent project completed by the Gold Fields Foundation, which is committed to improving social and economic conditions in stakeholder communities through programmes in infrastructure development, education, health, water & sanitation, agriculture, and enterprise development.
The Foundation, which receives funding from Gold Fields Ghana’s Tarkwa and Damang mines, has spent over US$100m over the past two decades to ensure sustainable socio-economic development in host communities and strengthen Gold Fields’ social licence to operate.
