Ghana’s Black Princesses, secured a 1-0 victory over Ethiopia in their opening match of the 2023 African Games women’s football on Saturday, despite two power outages that caused disruptions during the game.
The first power outage occurred in the 36th minute, plunging the Cape Coast Stadium into darkness and causing a delay of nearly 20 minutes before play resumed.
However, just before halftime, the lights went out again, forcing the referee to end the first half prematurely.
Lights at the Cape Coast Sports stadium goes off
Spectators put on their phone lights for the game to continue#TV3GH #AllAfricanGames pic.twitter.com/HEe6HbLsHC
— #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) March 9, 2024
Fortunately, the lights remained stable in the second half, allowing Ghana to score the only goal of the game through Jacqueline Owusu in the 59th minute. Despite being reduced to 10 players in the 79th minute, Ghana managed to hold on for the win.
The team will now face Tanzania in their next match before wrapping up their group stage against Uganda.
However, the power outages during the game have raised concerns and authorities will need to investigate the causes and take steps to prevent such incidents in future matches.
The game was broadcast live on television, and the power outages undoubtedly affected the viewing experience for fans tuning in from around the world.