Online Reporter
Curtworth Masango
Zimpapers Sports Hub
NATIONAL Athletics Association of Zimbabwe (NAAZ) president Tendai Tagara says they are pushing to have the refurbished National Sports Stadium athletics track internationally certified.
NAAZ want the process completed before the end of the year.
It’s a development that could pave the way for Zimbabwe to host major continental championships.
The National Sports Stadium is emerging as one of the key facilities in Government’s sports infrastructure rehabilitation programme, with athletics, football and rugby expected to benefit directly from the giant arena.
Tagara says the immediate target is to complete the process required for international certification of the track.
He stressed that the absence of certification does not mean the track cannot currently produce legitimate qualifying performances, but rather limits the level of international competitions Zimbabwe can host.
“We are hoping that by the end of this year, World Athletics would have confirmed that they can come for the certification,” said Tagara.
“Certification does not mean that the stadium is not of the required standard. We can run a qualifying time at the National Sports Stadium today.
“The advantage of certification is that we can then host competitions such as the African Senior Championships and the African Junior Championships.
“Today, we can run qualifying times for the World Championships or World Junior Championships at the stadium because it is a standard 400-metre track.
“But what we cannot host at the moment are competitions such as the African Junior and African Senior Championships until we have that certification.
“That is what we are working on, and it is the responsibility of the federation to make sure that happens.”
World Athletics operates a certification system for athletics facilities, supported by technical rules and procedures governing competition infrastructure.
Tagara said the return of the stadium was significant for athletics as the association seeks to strengthen Zimbabwe’s ability to develop athletes locally while providing them with regular competition.
“The National Sports Stadium is back. It is the home of athletics,” he said.
“We appreciate the role that Government is playing. We are hoping that as we go forward, other facilities such as White City will also be brought back into shape.”
White City Stadium in Bulawayo remains another important athletics hub, with NAAZ having staged national and provincial track and field competitions there during the 2026 season.
Tagara said the federation was also pursuing what it calls a “homegrown solution”, concentrating resources on disciplines where Zimbabwe can access regular high-level regional competition.
“We have gone into what we term a homegrown solution. That is our philosophy, and our focus is on the track,” he said.
“We can access South Africa, Botswana and Zambia, which is why our sprinters can perform better. It is all about getting competition every now and then.
“We are focusing on sprints and we are also focusing on long-distance events.”
However, he admitted that field events, particularly the throwing disciplines, remain an area of concern.
Mathew Masinge