Online Reporter
Langton Nyakwenda
Zimpapers Sports Hub
IT has been almost four years since the National Sports Stadium hosted an international football match, but there is finally a glimmer of hope.
The giant Harare venue, which has been closed for extensive renovations, could be ready to welcome fans back in November.
Coincidentally, the last international game played there was a 2022 World Cup qualifier against Ethiopia in November 2021, which ended 1-1 after Kudakwashe Mahachi struck for the Warriors. That goal remains the last Zimbabwean strike on home soil.
Now, Zimpapers Sports Hub has been told that the wait might soon end. “We are laying the turf this weekend. We are certain that by the end of October we will be done, meaning in November we should start hosting matches at the National Sports,” a source said.
Until that long awaited reopening, Zimbabwe’s football continues to survive in borrowed spaces. South Africa has often been the go-to option, but Botswana is quickly becoming the new base for national teams and clubs forced to play “home” games abroad.
Zimbabwe champions Simba Bhora will host Nsingizi Hotspurs of Eswatini on Sunday in a 2025/26 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League preliminary first leg at Francistown Stadium. The Warriors have also picked Botswana for their next 2026 World Cup qualifier, a Group C showdown against South Africa at the Obed Itani Chilume Stadium on October 10.
Traditional giants Dynamos have already blazed that trail. They faced ZESCO United of Zambia in the 2024/25 CAF Confederation Cup at the Botswana National Stadium in August, before returning to Francistown for a first round clash with Orapa United.
Behind the scenes, influential Zimbabwean businessmen with strong football links in Botswana have helped ease these arrangements. Black Lions owner Tendani Sebata, a former Township Rollers shareholder, has provided Zimbabwean sides with accommodation and training facilities, making Botswana an attractive alternative.
But for supporters, the exile has been punishing. They have now gone more than 45 months without watching an international match at the National Sports Stadium. Zimbabwe National Soccer Supporters Association president Joseph Mutau voiced their frustration.
“For the past four years, we have become a nation of no fixed abode. We are playing our matches in South Africa, we have also seen Dynamos playing their continental matches in Botswana and recently Simba Bhora chose Francistown. And also we have seen ZIFA have taken that route and will play South Africa in Botswana,” Mutau said.
He highlighted the costs and risks that come with following teams across borders. Some fans were left stranded in Johannesburg earlier this month after travelling to watch the Warriors face Rwanda at Orlando Stadium.
“For us supporters it is very painful and time consuming. When you travel from Zimbabwe to Botswana it is also financial consuming, we have to hire buses, most times we fork from our pockets to travel to either South Africa or Botswana. Also, the risk of travelling long distances. You are in a foreign land and there’s risk of being robbed or mugged,” Mutau added.
Their appeal is clear, stadium renovations must be expedited.
“Our call is that renovations at the National Sports Stadium must be expedited so that we can watch our home matches at home once again. We have to really enjoy home advantage. There are matches which we lost playing home away from home which we could have won had we been playing at the National Sports,” said Mutau.
Until that happens, Botswana will remain Zimbabwean football’s temporary refuge. Francistown and Gaborone now host moments that should belong to Harare, while fans wait for the day they can finally cheer the Warriors and their clubs back on true home ground.
