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Sports Reporter
YADAH Football Club owner, Walter Magaya yesterday commissioned the Heart Stadium 3 project in the Malawian capital, Lilongwe.
This comes a week after a ground-breaking ceremony for the Heart Stadium 2 project in Maputo, Mozambique.
The Malawi stadium is being built at Chipala Community Ground in the Ngomani village.
Yesterday’s event was graced by Chief Gomani, Lilongwe Mayor, Esther Sagawa, and some high government officials.
Speaking to the Malawian media, Magaya said Malawian officials had approached him for assistance and they also speeded up the paper-work process.
He insisted that projects in Maputo and Lilongwe did not mean he was giving up on Zimbabwean targets, including Chibuku and Gwanzura.
Chibuku Stadium, which used to host Premier Soccer League matches back in the 1990s, is now in a sorry state and is now known more as a car park than a football facility.
When Magaya approached Chitungwiza Municipality with a proposal to renovate the stadium back in 2017, he was turned down and made another attempt last year.
However, Chitungwiza council last month rejected a bid by Magaya to work on Chibuku, resolving to go it alone while the Harare City Council has also been reluctant to hand over their venue to a private developer.
“I still want to rehabilitate Chibuku or Gwanzura if permitted. Upgrading Chibuku remains my main prayer and one day maybe the authorities will allow me to do it as my last efforts were shot down.”
Asked if he was embarking on these ambitious projects in a bid to win Zifa elections that are set for the first quarter of next year, Magaya said he has always been committed to football.
Magaya added that, instead of commenting on the Zifa elections, he is focusing on a tournament they are hosting next weekend.
“I have always given to sport for the past 16 years. I was part of the Gunners admin 15 years ago when they lifted the Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League title.
“So this is a continuation of what I have been doing all along. After the Malawi trip, our focus will be on the first edition of the Magaya tournament, targeting grassroots football and netball.”
Online Reporter