HARARE – Zimbabwe will play its home World Cup qualifier against Lesotho at Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, the Zimbabwe Football Association announced on Thursday.
Zimbabwe has no FIFA-approved international match venue, and the national football team is forced to host its matches in neighbouring countries.
The Warriors open their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign against Lesotho on June 7 before playing South Africa on June 11 at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein.
Zimbabwe, who are looking to appoint a coach, were drawn in Group C with South Africa, Benin, Lesotho, Nigeria and Rwanda.
The finals will be staged in the United States of America, Mexico and Canada in 2026.
Sports minister Kirsty Coventry told cabinet last week that renovations at the National Sports Stadium were in progress. She had, in February, promised that Zimbabwe would play its home matches at the giant stadium in Harare, but work to fix issues identified by inspectors from the Confederation of African football has been slow.
“The refurbishment of the National Sports Stadium is progressing well, with progress towards completion of stadium water reticulation and installation of security system having reached 65 percent and 50 percent of completion, respectively,” Coventry said.
ZIFA this week invited coaches to apply for the vacant job of national team coach after letting go of Baltemar José de Oliveira Brito and then Norman Mapeza who were in caretaker charge.
