admin
Tadious Manyepo
Sports Reporter
THE Government has taken a giant step towards the upgrading of the National Sports Stadium after partnering energy giants Sakunda Holdings for the project.
The imposing facility, just like all other stadia in the country, is short on meeting the required standards and cannot host international matches.
With Zimbabwe back into the international fold following the lifting of a FIFA embargo that sidelined the country for about 17 months, a compliant stadium is urgently needed.
And the Government haven’t wasted time after roping in Sakunda Holdings who have principally agreed to the deal.
The two parties are finalizing a Memorandum of Understanding which they are expected to sign in the coming few days.
And a strong delegation of technocrats from the Government have accompanied Sakunda Holdings staff to Europe for benchmarking.
Already, preliminary feasibility studies for the upgrading of the National Sports Stadium and the adjacent hockey court are underway.
The delegation which is in Europe for the benchmarking exercise comprises two officials from the Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation-Sport and Recreation director Eugenia Chidhakwa and legal guru Evelyn Mutsvangwa as well as three from the Ministry of Local Government.
They include engineers Lovemore Muzhanje, Chenjerai Bwerinofa and Nicholas Mutangu.
The quintet along with Sakunda Holdings staff have since toured the Real Betis High Performance centre and the Olympic Stadium in Sevilla, Spain and they were expected to visit the Camp Nou in Barcelona yesterday. They will also tour the Bernabeu which is the home of giants Real Madrid before going to the Allianz Stadium this weekend. Speaking from Spain yesterday, Chidhakwa said the Government is committed to modernising the National Sports Stadium.
“The main reason for this tour is for us to learn from the best on how we will be able to renovate various stadiums in Zimbabwe and also how we can take sport into a viable business entity,” said Chidhakwa.
“For the first three days that we have been in Seville, we have visited the Real Betis stadium and we have also toured their high performance centre.
“They are also in the process of refurbishing their standards to expand their Stadium and we have realised that the way they erected their bucket seats is also the same way we are planning to get ours done at the National Sports Stadium.”
Sakunda Holdings project manager and coordinator Nqobile Magwizi said his company is determined to see to it that the National Sports Stadium gets the facelift needed for it to meet the FIFA requirements.
“From Sakunda Holdings’ perspective, it has always been our dream to help the development of the country’s sports image and we have seen how this can work,” he said.
“And, working closely with the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Recreation, we are very positive that as we return to Zimbabwe, we will be able to put this experience into good examples to transform the lives of the people of Zimbabwe as we look ahead”.
Sakunda Holdings initially wanted to renovate Rufaro Stadium and actually went into a MoU with the Harare City Council.
The two parties toured South African stadiums and when it looked set for Sakunda to start renovation works at the Mbare facility, the City of Harare chickened out of the project.
Former Warriors coach Norman Mapeza, while commenting on Zimbabwe’s return to international football, revealed his worries about the state of the stadium.
“I’m still worried, if you look at our stadium situation at the moment and I understand the games will be played in November.
“I was reading in the newspaper our Minister of Sport said maybe within the next three to four weeks the National Sports Stadium (feasibility study) will be done.
“So it means the bucket seats will be there because it will be unfortunate for us to get the reprieve and then we end up relocating to South Africa to play our World Cup games.
“People want to watch football. Look at the support the cricket guys were getting. We need the same kind of support in our football.
“So the stadiums need to be fixed first and then we can start to say we are back in it now. For the time being, it’s 50-50. We are in but where are we going to play football?
“But I think everybody is happy, we are all excited that we have been given the reprieve and we just hope everything goes well for us,” said Mapeza.
When the National Sports Stadium was banned, CAF inspectors pointed out a number of areas that needed to be addressed before international matches could be played again at the venue.
The continental football controlling body wants 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 unavailability of water.
Online Reporter