Online Reporter
Lovemore Kadzura
Sports Reporter
NEWLY formed Division Two side, Rusape City FC, has been forced to play home matches at a school ground after Rusape Town Council demanded US$5 000 security deposit to use Vengere Stadium.
The club was barred from Vengere Stadium, and shifted its home matches to Vengere High School grounds.
The local authority imposed a blanket US$5 000 hiring deposit without assessing the financial capacity of teams under its jurisdiction.
The club, running on limited sponsorship and community support, branded the fee “prohibitive”, and said the council refused to reduce or scrap it.
The local authority last weekend denied the club the chance to host its match at the stadium, forcing the team to relocate to Vengere High School grounds.
Club officials said they could not meet the council’s upfront requirement and feel “hard done by” the decision not to review down or scrap the fee.
They view the council’s stance as a negative attitude towards sports development in a town that already has few sporting activities.
The team’s Harare-based sponsor, Green Muchingami, said they were taken aback by the council’s decision, and subsequent efforts to engage the local authority have failed, as there appear to be elements determined to block the team from using the stadium.
He said such actions dampen the spirits of potential sponsors.
“We simply do not have that kind of money. Our entire season budget is built around survival, transport, kits, and basic allowances. A US$5 000 deposit is beyond our reach. We are a community team that has 100 percent local players, coaches and administrators from the town, yet we have been rendered homeless at home. It also seems that in council there are some individuals who are blocking us from using the stadium. When they first raised the issue of security deposit, we explained our financial situation and our mission to develop young players and market them to play for bigger teams. They allowed us to pay hiring fees only, but last week we were shocked to be informed late on Friday that we cannot use the stadium without paying the security deposit.
“We had to engage Vengere High School, who allowed us to use their grounds after we explained that some of our players are learners at the school. We formed this team after realising that the town which used to have a number of teams competing in lower leagues, no longer had any. Youngsters as young as 20 were now playing social soccer and we stepped in, but the treatment we are getting leaves a lot to be desired. For the record, we do not want to use the stadium for free, but pay reasonable fees. Even if we had the money it will not be financially prudent to pay such a security deposit for a facility that is used for multiple purposes such as church, social and other public gatherings. In such an environment it will just be sinking our money into a bottomless pit,” said Muchingami.
However, Rusape Town Council chairman, Lovemore Chifomboti, defended the decision, arguing that the security deposit is necessary to maintain the stadium, and was introduced as a condition to cover damages to the stadium’s already crumbling infrastructure.
He cited an event four years ago when the stadium’s weak precast wall was damaged during a Alick Macheso and Jah Prayzah joint show.
“The security deposit was put in the 2026 approved budget, and no objection was received from residents, and that is why it is being implemented. This was after council was left to repair the stadium’s precast wall after a musical show some years back. However, we have received complaints from the local team, Rusape City, that the security deposit is too steep for them. Maybe this week we will have a special full council and debate the issue, where some decisions will be made pertaining to the issue.
“We want it also to be clear that there is no team that has sole rights to the stadium, and all teams have equal access to the facility,” said Chifomboti.
The development has sparked criticism from football stakeholders, who argue that such policies risk undermining grassroots development.
Lower league clubs, often seen as a pipeline for talent, typically operate without significant commercial backing and local authorities should not be seen as an impediment to sporting development.
Despite the criticism, it is extremely difficult to stop the implementation of the budgeted stadium security deposit before the end of the financial year because once a budget is approved, it becomes legally binding and forms the basis of a local authority’s revenue collection and expenditure for that fiscal period.
Waiving a component mid-stream creates audit and compliance challenges, as councils are bound by the Public Finance Management Act and Auditor-General scrutiny.
The crisis underscores why sporting groups and personalities must actively participate in council budget consultations to influence policy in their favour. Crying foul after the fact is akin to crying over spilt milk, because councils cannot arbitrarily set aside approved revenue lines to entertain late complaints.
