Online Reporter
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
CHIPINGE Town Council — the custodian of Gaza Stadium — has come under sharp criticism for its sluggish efforts to renovate the town’s only municipally-owned football venue.
In 2025, Government introduced substantial tax incentives to encourage private sector investment in the construction and upgrading of public sports facilities, in an effort to address the shortage of CAF-accredited stadia and improve national sports infrastructure. Yet in Chipinge, the local authority has failed to attract private partners to capitalise on this readily available opportunity from Central Government. Chipinge’s ceremonial home of football, Gaza Stadium, is now in a deplorable state, and the condition of the facility reflects the stagnation in football talent development in recent years for an area that once produced nationally acclaimed stars such as Lovemore Mapuya and Eddie Dube, among others.
Although some piece-meal renovations to the ageing changing rooms and grading of the playing surface were undertaken during the Independence Day provincial commemorations hosted in the town last month, absence of greenery and new terraces means the once lush pitch now resembles a deserted fortress.
The ground lay neglected, with an uneven, ant-infested surface, derelict perimeter fence, dilapidated changing rooms and ramshackle ablution facilities.
Post Sport understands that Chipinge Town Council has since entered into a partnership with the town’s sports-minded community to collaborate on the stadium’s renovation. Efforts to obtain a comment from Chipinge Town Council were unsuccessful, as their spokesperson, Fungayi Mutapati was unavailable, and messages sent via WhatsApp had not been answered by the time of going to press. However, in a letter requesting cash and in-kind donations, Chipinge Town Council wrote: “The project will see the facility being extended, the construction of two public toilets and renovation of the existing changing rooms. It will also include the installation of a public lighting system, repainting of the existing palisade fencing, erection of a new perimeter fence around the main ground, solarisation of one of the boreholes at Gaza Hall for watering the stadium, and finally, the planting of lawn on the main pitch.
“Currently, Chipinge Town Council, in partnership with the community, has relocated the existing palisade fence on the northern side and removed the old terracing. It is against this background that we, Chipinge Town Council, on behalf of the town’s sports-loving community, appeal for your support through either cash or in-kind donations towards this worthy cause. Your contribution will go a long way towards addressing a gap that has persisted in Chipinge for many years.” Ideally, if the renovations had been completed, they would have included an athletics track, adequate parking and facilities for other sports such as tennis, volleyball and netball courts.
But alas, nothing tangible has materialised. Justice Chikoo of Gaza suburb said: “It is painful to see the state of Gaza Stadium for those of us who grew up knowing how well it was well maintained. With the rise in drug and substance abuse in our community, we wonder whether those managing the affairs of the local authority are genuinely committed to renovate this facility and at least provide sporting activities to engage our youths.” Freddie Matenderekwana, also of Gaza suburb, said: “Gaza Stadium should be a priority to the local authority. We have watched sporting facilities deteriorate over the years — Gaza Swimming Pool and the town’s golf course, now a residential area, to mention a few.
“Why not give these youngsters, our children for that matter, something to be proud of — a place where their sporting talents can be showcased? Surely future generations will condemn us for destroying basic amenities such as our sporting facilities.”
Residents said well-maintained football and athletics facilities are vital for nurturing sporting talent, producing future athletes and encouraging recreation. They provide safe, structured spaces that keep children engaged, deter drug and substance abuse, and foster community pride, health and discipline, while strengthening grassroots sport development nationwide.
Such venues also promote social cohesion, inspire local role models and create pathways to professional sport, while offering the youth constructive alternatives to idleness and substance misuse in vulnerable communities.
