Chronicle Editor
Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
The Zimbabwe Football Association has been fined US$2 000 by the Confederation of African Football for lack of technical facilities at the National Sports Stadium.
Zifa said in the letter of sanction, Caf stated that there were no fixed individual seats for spectators at the NSS while the facility was also not clean.
“In their letter of sanction, Caf noted that there are no fixed individual spectator seats in all sectors of the stadium and general uncleanliness. CAF stadium requirements stipulate that seats for spectators must be individual, fixed (e.g. to the floor), separated from one another, shaped, numbered, made of an unbreakable and non-flammable material, and have a backrest of a minimum height of thirty (30) cm when measured from the seat,’’ said Zifa.
The national association has since informed the Sports and Recreation Commission and urged them to speed up renovations at the stadium so as to avoid a situation where the Warriors play their home matches outside the country.
“We have notified the Sports and Recreation Commission as the stadium authority, and encouraged them to expedite renovations at the stadium so that we avoid future sanctions or the grim possibility of playing home matches abroad.”
So far, the Warriors have played two matches under the provisional approval window granted by Caf in 2020. The Warriors are scheduled to play a 2022 World Cup qualifier against South Africa between 5 and 8 June. If the NSS is not attended to in a manner that satisfies Caf, the match could be played outside the country.
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