Online Reporter
Langton Nyakwenda
Zimpapers Sports Hub
PERHAPS, Zimbabwe’s biggest ever match at the National Sports was not even a competitive contest.
When five-time champions Brazil descended on Harare to play against the Warriors in a friendly match on June 2, 2010, is regarded as the grandest football occasion to be held at the National Sports since the giant facility was opened in 1987.
Former World Footballer of the Year Kaka, Robinho, Maicon, Lucio, Michel Bastos, Julio Baptista, Dani Alves and Thiago Silva were part of the squad that faced Zimbabwe as part of preparations for the 2010 World Cup finals held in South Africa.
The cheapest ticket cost US$10 and the stadium was packed to capacity, with Zimbabwe falling 0-3 against their more fancied opponents.
Coincidentally, the Zimbabwe Football Association has pegged the cheapest ticket for tonight’s Group E TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against DR Congo at US$10.
It’s a steep charge, but a huge crowd is expected at the refurbished National Sports, which will be hosting its first Warriors match since November 14, 2021.
Zimbabwe go into this match motivated by a 3-2 comeback win against Sierra Leone in their opening qualifier in Morocco on Thursday night.
On the other hand, DR Congo beat Equatorial Guinea 2-0 in Kinshasa to set up a contest against Zimbabwe in Harare.
It has been 1 779 days since local fans had a chance to watch the national team at the National Sports, which had been closed since 2021.
Thanks to a massive renovation project, courtesy of a combination of the Government of Zimbabwe and Sakunda Holdings, the National Sports is back, and fans are salivating.
Fans have fond memories of some of the historic battles the Warriors have fought at the National Sports since 1987.
From Vitalis Takawira’s hat trick against the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon in 1995, the disaster in 2000 and the Brazil encounter, the National Sports has hosted some memorable matches over the past four decades.
With the National Sports as their trusted fortress, the Warriors even went for a 13-match unbeaten run during the late Reinhard Fabisch’s Dream Team era of the early 1990s.
“I have witnessed some unforgettable big matches at the National Sports.
“There were the exploits of the Dream Team in the 90s.
“I was there when Peter Ndlovu and Agent Sawu scored spectacular goals for the Warriors against Egypt in December 1992,” popular Warriors fan and secretary of the Zimbabwe National Soccer Supporters Association, Chris “Romario” Musekiwa says.
A die-hard football supporter, Musekiwa was also at the National Sports when Agent Sawu scored an 86th header, as Zimbabwe edged Cameroon 1-0 in a World Cup qualifier on July 4, 1993.
“The Indomitable Lions fielded almost half the squad that had reached the quarter-final at the 1990 World Cup finals in Italy.
“What a tense match that was!
“I also remember the 1995 All-Africa Games final between Zimbabwe and Egypt.
“That painful defeat for a Young Warriors side that was oozing with talent, inspired by the exploits of Alois Bunjira, Gift Muzadzi and Mathembe Ndlovu,” added Musekiwa.
He is hoping Zimbabwe will fully utilise home advantage when they host 2026 World Cup finalists DR Congo tonight.
Kick-off is 6pm and there will be no tickets at the gate.
“As fans, we are delighted to see our Warriors playing at home for the first time in five years.
“In the fullness of time, our Warriors will enjoy the benefits of home advantage,” said Musekiwa.
There have also been disappointing episodes for the Warriors at the National Sports, like when they were hammered 3-0 by a Nigerian side led by the great Austin “Jay Jay” Okocha, in a combined World Cup and AFCON qualifier on September 5, 2004.
That was four years after fans perished in a stampede when a World Cup qualifier against South Africa ended prematurely due to crowd trouble.
The date was July 9, 2000, and Bafana Bafana were leading 2-0 when police fired tear gas to control the crowd.
A fatal stampede ensued and 13 people died.
That memory has stuck with the famous CAPS United and Warriors supporter Tatenda “ZiSupa” Mushonga, who was at the National Sports on the fateful day.
“It was a terrible experience.
“Some of the fans I was with that day have never set foot in a football stadium since then,” revealed Mushonga.
However, the CAPS United super fan has never looked back.
He still goes to watch football matches and will be part of a strong crowd expected at the National Sports tonight.
“We can now watch our national team at home.
“It has been a long time since Zimbabwe hosted their matches at the giant facility.
“I am urging fans to pack the stadium and cheer the Warriors.
“DR Congo have good players and qualified for the last World Cup, but they cannot outclass us,” added Mushonga.
DR Congo arrive in Zimbabwe a few months after reaching the Round of 32 at the 2026 World Cup finals.
They narrowly lost 1-2 against eventual semi-finalists England.
They possess an array of stars, including Newcastle forward Yoane Wissa and Aston Villa defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Arthur Masuaku who plays club football in Turkey, Axel Tuanzebe (AJ Auxerre) and Noah Sadiki (Sunderland) are also part of that side.
But, there were great African nations that came and fell at the National Sports, in the storied history of this giant facility.
Cameroon, Egypt, Mali, Senegal and South Africa are some of the teams that were stunned by the Warriors at the National Sports.
On August 16, 1992, at a time when South Africa had just been readmitted into international football after years of Apartheid, Bafana Bafana arrived at the National Sports for an AFCON qualifier led by star player Doctor Khumalo.
They left with their tails between their legs after a 4-1 clobbering.
Peter Ndlovu scored a brace while Rahman Gumbo and Vitalis Takawira chipped in with the other goals.
Takawira would later on write his own piece of history.
He scored a memorable hat-trick when Zimbabwe hammered Cameroon 4-1 in an AFCON qualifier on January 22, 1995.
Agent Sawu also scored a hat-trick when Zimbabwe thumped Eritrea 4-0 in an AFCON qualifier on August 15, 1999.
Knowledge Musona would follow suit 18 years later.
Musona scored his own hat trick when the Warriors thumped Liberia 3-0 in an AFCON qualifier on June 11, 2017.
“So many battles to remember have been fought at the National Sports,” founding president of the Friends of the Warriors, Tendai “Bunz” Zhakata said.
“Not forgetting the heartbreak when Kalusha Bwalya headed home a last-gasp equaliser that denied us a place at the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers,” recalled Zhakata.
Zimbabwe needed a win against Zambia on July 25, 1993, to book a ticket to the 1994 AFCON finals held in Tunisia.
Henry “Bully” Mckop gave the Warriors a much-needed lead after 29 minutes.
Zimbabwe maintained the lead until the dying minutes when Bwalya planted home a header that broke thousands of hearts.
The Warriors would wait for a decade more before making their maiden appearance at the AFCON finals.
A 1-0 win against Mali in front of 50 000 fans at the National Sports on September 8, 2002, was key for Zimbabwe’s qualification for the 2004 finals held in Tunisia.
Lazarus Muhoni was the hero and earned the nickname Mali after that game.
“It has been a journey of mixed fortunes for the Warriors, especially at the National Sports.
“There were days we came out celebrating and there were days we came out heartbroken,” said Tinei Chari, a staunch Warriors supporter from Unit G, Chitungwiza.
“I remember when the Warriors beat Congo 2-0 in an AFCON qualifier in 2019 and a lady supporter died in a stampede.
“Some bad things have also happened at the National Sports but we keep believing in our national team,” added Chari.
One of the most disappointing afternoons at the National Sports was on July 14, 1991, when keeper John Sibanda made a huge mistake that cost Zimbabwe a place at the 1992 AFCON finals.
The Warriors, powered by Moses Chunga and Peter Ndlovu, led 2-1 against Congo until Sibanda made that costly mistake, and the game ended 2-2.
That match was played in front of 60 000 fans, the maximum capacity at the time.
The National Sports now has a reduced capacity after the installation of bucket seats.
Because of the partial homologation of the National Sports, a maximum of 30 000 will be allowed for the match against DR Congo on Monday night.
