Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
MUTARE City Council might not be able to see any meaningful return on investment after renovating Sakubva Stadium following yesterday’s relegation of the sole top-flight league side using the facility as its home ground – Manica Diamonds.
Manica Diamonds kissed goodbye to life in the top-flight after a goalless stalemate against Highlanders at Barbourfields Stadium in Bulawayo, and as it stands now, even if they collect every remaining point, their absolute ceiling is a tally of 30 – one point short of Bulawayo Chiefs’ safe harbor of 31.
Thus Manica Diamonds’ fate is sealed!
Now that Manica Diamonds’ stay in the Premiership is now history, it remains to be seen whether any of the Harare-based teams might shift base to Mutare to afford fans in the eastern border city a dance with the country’s highest football league.
The local authority, Mutare City Council, has done all it can within its means to renovate the match venue starting with the drainage system and now moving on to the ongoing installation of bucket seats.
For years, Mutare based teams in the Premiership have been forced to find an alternative home ground elsewhere owing to the poor state of Sakubva Stadium but now that the stadium has been renovated, going beyond the required minimum standards, there is not Premiership team based in Mutare in the top flight 2027 season.
