Online Reporter
Lawrence Moyo
THE recent CAF approval for the National Sports Stadium ended a 1,756-day nightmarish wait for local footballers to play international matches at home.
And, it also ended a similar lengthy wait for local fans to watch their heroes, in international battles, on home soul.
It was more than just a matter of pride.
It might actually define the Warriors’ fate in the upcoming qualifiers for both AFCON and the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
Zimbabwe champions, Scottland will officially mark the return of the National Sports Stadium after 1,756 days of the international ban.
The Mabvuku side will host their Eswatini counterparts, Nsingizini Hotspurs, in a CAF Champions League preliminary round, first leg tie on September 6.
A maximum 15,000 people will be allowed into the National Sports Stadium for the historic occasion as authorities prepare the venue for bigger assignments – the Warriors qualifiers.
The Warriors will then host DRC on MatchDay 2 of the 2027 AFCON qualifiers scheduled for October 6.
Zimbabwe are in a tricky Group E alongside DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Sierra Leone.
The Warriors badly needed the re-opening of the National Sports Stadium, especially based on the recent qualifying campaigns for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, 2025 AFCON and 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Out of the NINE home matches played outside the country following the ban on the National Sports Stadium imposed in November 2021, the Warriors managed just ONE victory.
And, one of the consequences was failure to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup where a record 10 African teams participated.
The one victory registered on the Warriors’ ‘home’ matches, played outside the country, was a 3-1 win against Namibia at the Orlando Stadium on 14 October, 2024.
It is the result that virtually secured the Warriors a place at the 2025 AFCON finals in Morocco ahead of Kenya, who narrowly missed out from a qualifying group that also had Cameroon.
The Warriors managed just two victories in the entire campaign, the other win coming against the same Namibians in the reverse fixture of Group J.
Apart from the one victory, the other eight ‘home’ matches played outside of the country yielded FIVE draws and THREE defeats between 19 November 2023 and 10 October 2025.
TWO players, who were part of the last Zimbabwe Warriors team to use the National Sports Stadium before it was banned from hosting international matches, will be in contention for selection when the venue is re-opened on September 6.
Khama Billiat was in the First XI while defender Peter Muduhwa was on the bench as the Warriors hosted Ethiopia in a 2022 FIFA World Cup Africa Zone Group G qualifier on November 14, 2021.
The match ended in a 1-1 draw with Kuda Mahachi scoring the opening goal for the Warriors.
Billiat and Muduhwa are now part of the Scottland squad and vying for selection when the National Sports Stadium is re-opened for international football next weekend.
