The National Sports Authority (NSA) has confirmed that around 14,000 seats will not be available for fans during the Black Stars' crucial World Cup qualifier against Mali at the Accra Sports Stadium on September 8.

NSA Director-General Yaw Ampofo Ankrah revealed that the popular stands remain closed for safety reasons, as engineers and structural experts will only begin work on them after Ghana's clash with Comoros later this year. "We will have minus maybe the popular stands, which has been put on hold until the engineers and structural experts get to work sometime after the Comoros game.

So it will be minus 14,000 approximately," he explained on Sporty FM.

Despite the reduced capacity, Ampofo Ankrah assured that all other stands will be fully operational and safe for use.