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Curtworth Masango Sports Reporter
Manica Diamonds believes they will benefit a lot by hosting their matches at Sakubva in Mutare.
The council-owned stadium has been under renovations to meet the current local standards for it to be used for official matches.
The stadium was closed for the rest of last season, which saw Mutare-based teams looking for somewhere to host their games.
Manica Diamonds finished second last season eight points behind champions Ngezi Platinum.
The club hosted their games at Gibbo in Triangle, which is a notable distance to travel for a home match coming from Mutare. The driving distance to Triangle from Mutare is 339km.
Club administrator Owen Sango said they are very positive the club will be playing its home games at Sakubva as they believe it will be homologated.
Manica Diamonds played a friendly match with Mutare City last week to assess the pitch.
“The pitch is almost there, we played a friendly match last week to assess it and found that it’s still a bit bumpy but very playable,” said Sango.
“But action is already on course to rectify it and make it match the expected standards which we are quite sure and positive is going on well.
“In hand with the council, we are looking forward to inviting ZIFA FIB to come and inspect the stadium and hope that all will go well.
“Sakubva will mean a lot in many facets. In terms of support last year we struggled a lot at Gibbo. We would play the day before or after Triangle and we would always have a low turnout. It was difficult to have 100 fans in our matches as they would wait to support Triangle.
“Even if you look administrative-wise. We incurred a lot of costs due to unending travelling, it’s a thing you wouldn’t want to experience again in a season,” he said.
Sango says the club will fight for the title this season and have bolstered their squad with the arrival of new players.
“We are aiming for nothing but the league title itself, as a club that’s the standard we have set for ourselves this year.
“The club has also acquired the services of Garikai Dematsika and Chelsea Nyakope from Rhinos and Joseph Kaunda from Majesa Academy to add on the other arrivals (Foster Dhemere, Enoch Karembo and Nigel Mpinduki).”
Online Reporter