Online Reporter
Robson Sharuko in JOHANNESBURG
THE official countdown to the second ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, to be hosted by Zimbabwe has officially started but, amid the glitz and glamour, it’s hard not to spare a thought for local football.
Sports Minister Anselem Sanyatwe led a Zimbabwean delegation at an ICC event in Sandton last night which effectively marked the start of the official countdown to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2027.
Zimbabwe will host 10 of those World Cup games, with South Africa hosting the majority of matches while Namibia will also host three matches.
Zimbabwe will use three venues in Harare, Bulawayo and the new stadium in Victoria Falls for the tournament.
But, amid the celebrations of the official start of the countdown to the World Cup, and the addition of a third stadium in Zimbabwe, it was difficult last night for one not to spare a thought for local football.
The Warriors have not played a match at home since CAF banned 20 stadiums, across the continent in May 2021, from hosting matches under their jurisdiction.
The National Sports Stadium, the traditional home of the Warriors, fell short of the CAF requirements and while extensive work has been done, it’s still yet to be given the greenlight.
The Warriors are back in action in September when the qualifiers for the 2027 AFCON finals get underway.
FIFA experts carried a round of inspections at Chahwanda Stadium this week.
But, while the Warriors fans will be praying for a chance to get another chance to support their team in its fortress, the Chevrons fans have a huge party coming their way.
“From here, we will have another event in Zimbabwe and in Namibia, obviously, with a different set of activities,” said ZC chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani. .
“There are still other activities to take place, the announcement of the fixtures, the issue of destination readiness, in terms of tourism, we have a set of activities that will take place in Zimbabwe and another sort of launch will also take place there.
“The LOCs (Local Organising Committees) have been working in all the three countries and, after this, we now go a gear up and we will launch the ticket sales, which will happen around October.”
Mukuhlani said Zimbabwe had demonstrated to the ICC that it is a capable host.
“When you look at it from where Zimbabwe Cricket was in 2015 to now, to get to host the main World Cup, it’s a sign that we have come of age, we have turned the corner.
“For the country itself, it also speaks to the positive vibe that is coming from the world that, as much as we still have some traits of negativity, the fact that a global showcase like the World Cup is coming to Zimbabwe, and the usual choruses from the West are looking forward to come to Zimbabwe, I think it’s a big step for the country.
“For us, as ZC, it sets us at a new level where we are looking at the next ten years to say we have had the Under-19 World Cup and now we have the Men’s World Cup, we are now looking forward to hosting other major events.
“It speaks volumes of the state of our cricket, I will be the first to admit that there is a lot of work that is still to be done, but our one-off Test in England, with England, even the results showed us that we have a product.
“We have the players, young Bennett scoring his maiden Test century there, I think we are in good space as a sport, we are in good space as an organisation but, most importantly, it’s the level of collaboration that we are getting from our counterparts.
“When we went to England, ECB (England Cricket Board) paid about £250,000 towards that Test, they catered for some of the costs for that Test.
“Now, from refusing to play us to a point where they are now paying for us to play them, it shows how much we have gone in terms of trying to get a good relationship with our counterparts.”
He said the results on the pitch have also been positive, showing progress, and a lot is also being invested into infrastructure.
“The performance of the boys in India and Sri Lanka, beating Sri Lanka at home, beating Australia and qualifying for the Super Eight and qualifying for the 2028 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand ahead of time, that tells you that our cricket is in a good space.
“If you look from an infrastructure point of view, we are putting a first-class structure in Dangamvura, we are doing the same in Gweru, we have done the same in Masvingo, we have done the same at Esigodini and the main one at Victoria Fall.
“The World Cup brings that level of infrastructure development. On the field of play, we have ten games that will come to Zimbabwe, it’s the lasting memories that our cricket fans will have after the games.
“The cricket fraternity in Zimbabwe has an opportunity to see the world’s best players at their doorstep and, for our players, playing at that level is different and playing in such a tournament at home is different.”
