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ZIFA will make arrangements for the senior national team — Warriors — to train at night to acclimatise before a crunch Africa Cup of Nations tie against the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that will be played under floodlights.
Zimbabwe takes on the DRC on October 13 in Kinshasa.
Three days later, the Warriors host the Central Africans at the National Sports Stadium under floodlights to accommodate the majority of supporters that will be at work during the day.
The fixture is a mid-week encounter and kick-off is at 7pm.
“What happens is that as Zifa we make available all the resources that are required by the technical team so if the coaches feel that it’s necessary to train under floodlights for the players to acclimatise then we will make those arrangements.
“There is still time before the squad assembles, it’s a matter of making arrangements with the local authority (Harare City Council) for the National Sports Stadium to be available for training at night,” said Zifa spokesman Xolisani Gwesela.
But training under floodlights doesn’t come cheap.
When Chicken Inn were due to play Sundowns in a Caf Champions League match, the GameCocks hired Barbourfields Stadium to train at night.
The club was asked by the Bulawayo City Council to fork out a deposit of $4 000 for each night they intended to use the facility.
Floodlights consume a lot of electricity and in the absence of working generators at Barbourfields Stadium, Chicken Inn had no choice but to dig deeper into their pockets.
Barbourfields Stadium has two generators which are, however, not connected to the floodlights.
Tickets for the Warriors match will cost $3 for the rest of the ground, while Bays 15-18 cost $5 and VIP $20.
The Warriors are tied on four points with the DRC after two games, but lead the group due to a superior goal difference.
The Warriors are expected to troop into camp in early October.
Bongani Ndlovu