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Tadious Manyepo
Sports Reporter
DYNAMOS have been forced to dump plans to host their CAF Confederation Cup preliminary round football tie against Zambian side ZESCO in South Africa.
With no approved venue to host international games in Zimbabwe, the Glamour Boys will now host their preliminary round opponents at the National Stadium in Gaborone, Botswana on the weekend of August 16-18.
They had been hoping to play at either Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg or Peter Mokaba in Polokwane but with authorities in South Africa still finalising their 2024/5 season fixtures, DeMbare had to look for an alternative venue.
This is because the availability of the South African venues was not guaranteed with Polokwane City using Peter Mokaba and Orlando Pirates staging the bulk of their fixtures at Orlando. And after settling for the Gaborone venue, officials from Dynamos and ZIFA are today expected to travel to the neighbouring country to finalise the logistics with the relevant Botswana authorities.
Club chief executive officer Jonathan Mashingaidze yesterday said some members of ZIFA and Dynamos will be leaving for Botswana today.
“We tried and failed to secure Orlando Stadium in South Africa because the upcoming new season’s fixtures in South Africa are yet to be finalised,” said Mashingaidze.
“So, they couldn’t grant us any stadium because the start of their new season is scheduled for around the same time as our CAF Confederation Cup match.
“So, in terms of fixturing, there were no guarantees that the dates wouldn’t clash.”
Mashingaidze was somewhat relieved at having secured a stadium for the encounter.
“That’s why we ended up running around to secure a venue in Botswana.
“We are happy that we managed to do just that and we are calling upon Zimbabweans in Botswana to rally behind the team.
“There are so many things to be done so we are visiting Botswana tomorrow (today).
“There is paperwork to be completed between us and the Botswana National Sport Commission.”
He said they will also look into the issue of training venues, referral hospitals, and ticketing.
“The visit is going to take us two days. There are a lot of things to be ironed out. We need to look into ticketing, hotels, sponsors, advertising agencies, transport, and a lot more,” added Mashingaidze.
“So we are going there to put things in place for two days. We will also be meeting the Botswana Football Association and the like.
“That’s the purpose of the visit. We are going to tie the ends of the agreement and start preparing for the game.”
Dynamos are returning to continental football for the first time in over a decade after winning the country’s premium cup competition, the Chibuku Super Cup last year.
They will be hoping to eliminate ZESCO United with their adopted home in Botswana expected to give them the same vibe it provided when they met Gaborone United in the CAF Champions League back in 2008.
Thousands of Zimbabweans based in the neighbouring country thronged the venue as DeMbare beat the home team back then before they went on to reach the competition’s semi-finals.
Online Reporter