adminBruce Chikuni
THIS is the stadium Harare Mayor, Jacob Mafume, said would be ready for the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League kick-off next month.
When an H-Metro crew visited Rufaro Stadium yesterday, it was evident that Dynamos’ dream of returning to the traditional home of local football remains a fantasy.
The sub-standard tools Harare City Council is using, just to repair the playing turf, doesn’t inspire any confidence.
Council workers were using wheelbarrows, shovels and rakes to carry topsoil and spread it before they could plant the lawn.
So much for the mayor’s bombastic announcement in blocking the partnership with energy giant Sakunda Holdings, who wanted to transform Rufaro into a modern sports complex.
Sakunda wanted to change the face of Mbare by building a world-class stadium, to match the best on the continent, but a lack of political will forced them to quit the project.
The same Council, which failed to pay its own Harare City FC players, wanted people to believe it had the capacity to transform Rufaro on its own. “So, we are here to get a picture of what needs to be done and make sure the stadium is ready before March,” said Mafume during a tour of the stadium in December.
“We have to bring soccer back to a more family environment.
“One should be comfortable being at the stadium with his or her family.
“Definitely that will increase attendance.
“It’s a quick tour. Basically, we need to see what needs to be done. The finance people are here and we have to agree and know when they will start paying the money.”
Council had said it would construct perimeter walls, expand the changing rooms, put grandstand turnstiles, exit gates for the disabled and install a press tribune.
But, it appears, this was just some bar talk.
Online Reporter