HARARE – The Zimbabwe’s national football team will soon go back to the National Sports Stadium to host international matches, Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture Minister Kirsty Coventry told parliamentarians on Thursday.
The Warriors have been forced to find alternative venues to host their matches following a 2020 ban imposed on the country’s stadiums over failure to meet standards set by CAF.
The unpopular embargo has also been extended to Barbourfields and Mandava Stadiums with stipulated areas of improvement for the three to be fully homologated.
Last year, the Warriors used a stadium in Kigali, Rwanda to host Nigeria in a FIFA 2026 World Cup qualifier.
But appearing before parliament’s Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture committee, Coventry said her ministry has found partners to assist with the renovation the 60,000-seater National Sports Stadium in Harare.
“The goal is to make sure that we do not play another game outside the country and I do believe we are on track to make sure that it happens.
“I promise you that I am doing everything in my power to make sure that we will not play another home game outside this country,” Coventry said.
She however could not give further details around the said partnership.
“I will not give you specific dates because of the partnership that we have.
“They have asked us to respect them and give them a bit of time to internally put things in place then make a formal announcement,” she said.
In the 2024 budget, the government set aside ZW$24 billion for the renovation of the giant facility.
Coventry however took a swipe at local sports associations for the rot in Zimbabwe’s football.
“We have incredible talent but the bureaucracy, the corruption, the lack of good governance in our national associations do a disservice to every single young person who has the dream of becoming the next Peter Ndlovu,” she said.
