Race against time for NSS

Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter

ZIMBABWEAN stadium authorities have at least four months to satisfy FIFA to play their international games on home soil as renovations at the National Sports Stadium are set to gather momentum ahead of the start of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

The facility was banned by FIFA and CAF in November 2019 after it failed a series of inspections.

The other local stadiums such as Rufaro and Barbourfields, which have hosted the Warriors before, have also been condemned by the continental football mother body.

The National Sports Stadium last hosted an international match in November 2021 when Zimbabwe played their last game of the doomed 2022 World Cup campaign against Ethiopia.

But domestic Premiership matches have continued to be played, even during the time Zimbabwe was under a 16-month FIFA suspension that was only lifted this week.

Focus now shifts back to the giant facility which is currently closed for the maintenance of the water reticulation system and the rehabilitation of the grass turf that had been destroyed due to overuse by the Premier Soccer League teams. Zimbabwe will be in the hat today for the 2026 World Cup draw in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, and the return of international football puts the facility under the spotlight again.

Currently the Warriors are barred from using any of the local stadiums for their international games and they face the prospect of playing their home games on alternative venues in neighbouring countries when the 2026 World Cup qualifiers begin in November.

However, the Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation Kirst Coventry has given a positive outlook on the work taking place at the National Sports Stadium.

“There has been ongoing works (at the National Sports Stadium). The electronic ticketing system is now in the country waiting to be installed,” she said during the unveiling of the ZIFA Normalisation Committee that has been tasked with steering the game out of the woods following the damage caused by years of mismanagement and corruption at ZIFA.

Coventry said FIFA were aware of the situation regarding Zimbabwean football facilities, particularly the National Sports Stadium, which a visiting delegation from their Zurich headquarters toured last week.

When the National Sports Stadium was banned, CAF inspectors pointed out a catalogue of areas that needed to be addressed before international matches could be played again at the venue.

The continental football controlling body want the stadium fitted with individual bucket seats made of an unbreakable and non-flammable material; modern electronic turnstiles and automated systems and the setting up of a functional Venue Operations Centre with a good overview of the stadium equipped with CCTV monitors for security purposes.

CAF also recommended the refurbishment of changing rooms and the renovation of B Arena in line with CAF Training field infrastructure requirements.

Local stadium authorities have since begun the renovations. There had been considerable progress made, with the sprucing up of the playing field, the revamping of the changing rooms and other internal refurbishments.

But the turf, which at some point looked lush green, has since deteriorated due to overuse by the PSL clubs. Eight PSL clubs used the ground as home, with not less than four games played every week until the authorities decided to scale down and work on the water reticulation system and regenerating the turf. Toilets and ablution facilities are also not in good order due to the unavailablity of water.

“The water reticulation is in process and the feasibility study for the entire area, not just the National Sports Stadium, but the hockey stadium as well as the grounds around, is being undertaken at the moment. This should be wrapped up in the next two to three weeks,” said Coventry.

“This has all been explained to FIFA last week when their representatives were here last week. They (the FIFA delegation) also went and visited the National Sports Stadium, of which they were under the assumption that it was crumbling and falling to the ground but were quite surprised when they walked in and were shown around the ground that it was not the case.

“So, the works are ongoing, and we will continue with that. We have had some initial conversations with the FIFA representatives in terms of the next steps.

“They would like to see all of those next steps followed up in writing which, as the minister responsible, we will do and will deliver that through the SRC who will then pass it on to FIFA in terms of the commitments that are being made with this feasibility study that is being undertaken.

“This feasibility study is being undertaken with a South African company that built soccer stadiums and renovated soccer stadiums for the World Cup in 2010.

“So that’s where the expertise is coming in and in the next three weeks, we will have more of an update in terms of where this feasibility will see us and the timelines which we will share with the SRC and FIFA.

“We will continue to have the conversations with FIFA, the guarantees of what is happening, which has not been made public, will go to FIFA through the SRC and we remain fully committed to seeing and ensuring that we are playing our games at home,” said Coventry.

Renovations at the National Sports Stadium previously were stalled after reports of corruption were raised.

However, speaking at the PSL indaba which was organised by Zimpapers through ZTN Prime last month, Coventry said major renovations will be carried out at the giant facility in the next six months.

She revealed the venue should have been upgraded to international standards three years ago had it not been for corruption and inflated prices for some of the required items.

“We have the National Sports Stadium being renovated for the past three years. The first attempt came crashing. Things that we tendered out were linked to third parties as I requested some documents.

“Basic things that should cost about US$200 were at US$3 000, US$4 000. The Government had put aside US$8 million but (due to the corruption around) the cost was about $15 million and US$19 million so we ended up being kicked out of the renovations,” said Coventry.

The National Sports Stadium has been under the CAF spotlight for the past few years.

CAF have not compromised on stadium standards and at the time the National Sports Stadium was flagged down in November 2021, the continental body actually banned stadiums in seven other African countries that included Mali, Senegal, Liberia, Central Africa, Namibia, Malawi, and Burkina Faso.