The homeless Zimbabwe national team is set to use the Obedi Itani Chilume Stadium in Francistown, Botswana for the upcoming CHAN qualifier against Eswatini on Sunday.
The match will kick off at 3pm.
This will be the first time the Warriors host their opponents in Botswana having previously used the Orlando Stadium in South Africa twice, the Mandela National Stadium in Uganda and the Huye Stadium in Rwanda once each.
Recently, they hosted Namibia at the Soweto based venue in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.
This is due to the country’s ongoing stadium crisis as there is no CAF approved stadium to host international matches.
The squad set to represent the country in Botswana will consist of locally based players only as per the rules of the CHAN competition.
The second leg of this fixture will be played at Mbombela Stadium in South Africa with Eswatini hosting the match.
The game is scheduled for 2 November.
Warriors coach Michael Nees who was at Rufaro Stadium at the weekend watching the Premier Soccer League match between log leaders Simba Bhora and Herentals, is set to announce his squad soon.
In an interview with NRTV, the German tactician said he is considering naming a squad dominated by under-23s or fringe players from respective clubs.
He said the decision comes after the local league is close to completion with clubs in title contention and those who are fighting relegation in-need of their stars going into this important phase.
Nees also emphasised on the importance of developing youngsters for the senior national team.
“One of the options is we send a very youthful squad like a mixture of the under 20 and 23.
“This can help them to have game time and the coaches from the development teams take over, that is a development opportunity on its own,” he said.
“I think that is what everybody wants, that we can cater for the young players, also they can play at such a tournament without any pressure.
He added: “Let me be honest, this competition is outside the FIFA calendar meaning clubs have more power over players.
“We are mindful of all that, we can’t take the best players from any club at the present moment when they are either fighting for a championship or to survive relegation.
“In my opinion, it will be difficult for clubs to back us with their players at such a critical stage, unfortunately, the competition was communicated late so the league couldn’t prepare for it.”
