Will the National Sports Stadium host international matches by September?

Zimbabwe is suffering an acute venue deficit in the capital city of Harare until renovations at the National Sports Stadium are complete.

The structure carried 60,000 seated people when opened in the mid 1980s. Major sporting and political and religious events have been hosted by the stadium.

A 4-year ban on hosting International football matches has meant no ball has been kicked in anger for Zimbabwe national team home fans.

Renovations began to address concerns cited over the need for a near total revamp of the stadium. This type of revamp was done in Zambia almost 2 decades ago.

Neither ZIFA nor leading teams like Dynamos, Highlanders and CAPS United own stadiums of their own despite their huge following and top-flight status for not less that 45 years (for CAPS) and 62 years for Dynamos and more for Highlanders.

Matches by these teams have been traditionally over-subscribed. Leadership deficiencies have meant profits have not been ploughed back into the game.

In just over a month international football resumes. Will the National Sports Stadium be ready?

Some of the reasons for the stadium bans were superfluous considering the need for CAF to pragmatically consider not depriving impoverished fans home matches in CAF and FIFA competitions.

Zimbabwe is not a dominant force. They have never qualified for the World Cup. They have qualified for AFCON since 2004 with no significant impact on the tournament.

But soccer is a revenue stream, part of popular culture and can contribute to national identity by producing role models like Peter Ndlovu and Moses Chunga among others in a sporting sense. It also fosters national pride.

CAF has turned its back on Zimbabwe. They have not poured a defaced coin into their proposed ambitious improvements despite soccer generating billions for them.

While billionaire CAF president Patrice Motsepe has empowered Zimbabweans by employing legends like Peter Ndlovu and Esrom Nyandoro at Mamelodi Sundowns, his own club, he seems tone deaf to taking football to ordinary Africans.

FIFA and CAF love to justify the billions made from FIFA Club World Cup, World Cup and continental tournaments like AFCON.

They regularly justify international breaks in popular European leagues like the English Premier league, Bundesliga, La Liga, and so on, during which weekends football matches are played with leading players jetting off to their home continents to represent national sides.

Money generated from gate takings is taken by national mother bodies like ZIFA. Starved of gate takings from their most loyal fanbase at home ZIFA have survived on grants that trickle in now and then.

In the absence or revenue government support becomes the only option.

Kenneth Kaunda, Zambian founding president, was known for supporting soccer in his country to the extent national teams were nicknamed “KK11.” The pros and cons of that are illustrated by the 1993 Zambian air disaster later on in this article.

The National Sport Stadium renovations that need to meet CAF and FIFA standards can also be addressed by all beneficiaries.

Tournaments like AFCON and World Cup and World Club cup have sponsors who pour in billions. FIFA, AFCON and some governments have a suspected collusion of corruption and a lack of accountability.

Zimbabwe has tried to make improvements to the National Sports Stadium although the alleged crime scene is strangely “a no-go area” with a no photos policy for those who are allowed to enter.

Retired General, Anselem Nhamo Sanyatwe, Minister of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture of Zimbabwe, appeared to have a bout of righteous public indignation over the slow pace of completion of bucket seats’ installation and plumbing system upgrades which caused the pitch to be uprooted including the soil below it.

Here, at last, was a general who could get things done. But a few months down the line reports say things are exactly as they were on that day when social media clips recorded him berating contractors.

A leading music promoter lamented on Zi-FM radio how infrastructure is holding up bringing international recognised artists like Beyonce and others despite technical readiness.

In other words Zimbabwe is losing revenue as long as the National Sports Stadium is closed to its core-business: hosting huge numbers regularly.

The plumbing system on the pitch at The National Sports Stadium is reportedly holding everything up.

Meanwhile that venue deficit means most likely when the first round of International matches appears on 1-9 September Zimbabwe Warriors will remain nicknamed “International orphans by some but not all gloating South Africans.

A generation will grow up never having seen a Zimbabwean home match although they are saturated with international football.

While Rufaro Stadium was an alternative or Barbourfields stadium in Bulawayo both venues individual capacity is between 35,000 and 45,000. They do not carry the parking capacity of the National Sports Stadium.

And bucket seats will reduce the capacity of the National Sports Stadium to about 30,000 anyway. While Rufaro is convenient for nearby suburbs its position in overpopulated Mbare and its safety concerns make it less than ideal.

The National Sports Stadium has hosted major concert like Human Rights Now concerts in the late 1980s with Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Tracy Chapman and Harry Belafonte. In recent years Akon held a well-supported show.

From the late 1980s to about a decade into the millennium the stadium continued to record good average numbers for National Team and Dynamos game including the All Africa Games in 1995 and The CAF Champions league final first leg in 1998.

If Zimbabwe’s stagnation had been criticized in the last 3 decades then the sad situation of the National Sports Stadium is even more painfully regrettable.

Not only was it stagnant, it fell into decline. Initial concerns centered around the VIP area and surrounding bays where landslides undermined the side built on a hill. While these concerns have since been addressed, time waits for no man.

Stadium construction in South Africa reached new levels of sophistication in design and construction as Moses Mabida stadium, FNB stadium and other stadiums were completed in time for the 2010 World Cup.

The inclusion of numbered bucket seats in these new stadiums put Zimbabwe’s stadium general seating to shame. The plumbing system has not been maintained or upgraded.

This has affected the playing surface on which Bruce Grobbelaar, Japhet Mparutsa, Brenna Msiska, George Mudiwa, Ernest Chirambadare, Peter Fanwell, Pernell Mckop, Peter Nkomo and others once performed acrobatic dives to make saves that a goalkeeper was now being forced to think twice before making what should be an instinctive save.

Morale boosting achievements like the Trabablas Interchange if you can ignore the bad naming. If you ignore the misnomer travelers to Masvingo (which feeds Southley, Southview and Fidelity parks in Harare South), Glen Norah (which feeds to Glen View, Budiriro and HIghfield), Chitungwiza have found their travel out of Harare and to work considerably shortened with a hugely welcomed improved optics.

Sadly, accusations of inflated pricing and tenderpreneur-ship have dogged these developments.

The budget exceeded initial estimates or comparative costs of similar projects elsewhere.

Side by side photo evidence is off the mark because Zimbabwe utilized environmentally friendly options which will improve property values in the area especially with a good rain season boosting the grass quality of the loan areas.

The signage is disappointing and insufficient which has caused some drivers to miss their turn only to see it below them on the opposite side to where you would expect to see a turn off to Chitungwiza if you are coming from Masvingo or Boka for example.

Apparently, this phenomenon if called off-ramping.

Forget for one moment the sad state of the economy in Zimbabwe. It’s impossible but just try.

Only sports and arts industries can make people forget their problems.

Founding President of Zambia Kenneth Kaunda knew the power of sport in uniting people and creating positive role models like striker Godfrey Chitalu. So did Nelson Mandela and so does Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa.

In 1991 after about 20 years of independence Zambia found itself on the crossroads. Opposition brought change into power with trade unionist Frederick Chiluba as president. His economic reforms found the budget for sports affected by austerity.

The Zambian national team could no longer book flights for their away games. They traveled in an old military plane that sometimes needed to stop 3 times to refuel on long journeys.

Just 2 minutes away from such a refueling stop in Gabon the plane crashed on the Gabonese coast due to human error and a mechanical fault. An engine caught fire on the left. The pilot inadvertently switched off the working right one killing everyone on board.

The team that died had reached the Olympics twice and even won the 1988 final. They qualified for the quarter finals in the next tournament. Such was the support of the President it was called the KK 11 or Kenneth Kaunda 11.

Zambia has since won the AFCON and renovated the old Independence stadium and national pride in the process. This was due to working systems. The Olympics team star played in 1988 was an official in the AFCON winning team.

Such support, for a sport, by a president, was last seen during the Mugabe era. While Mugabe himself attended a few matches, his vice president Joshua Nkomo was a regular guest at many matches. Nkomos’ heart beat as one with the people.

The majority of the Dream Team came from his home town of Bulawayo. A case is rightly arguable for players like Memory Mucherahowa, Joe Mugabe, and many others, who could have played for the same team though not from Bulawayo.

This reinforces the point this was Zimbabwe’s finest hour when business and government supported sport and infrastructure solidly, resulting in success. The Dream Team never won a trophy. But it was a business success for sponsors, players, administrators and fans.

The Government is confident they have rectified their mistakes and renovated the stadium. The last update claimed only the pitch remained to be reinstalled after improving the drainage and plumbing.

30cm of soil and grass held up the gates on the giant stadium which now has 30000 capacity due to new bucket seats that were installed. This capacity is reduced by half.

And that was that. No more updates. No more pictures. One fears, there is no more progress. That was 2 months ago.

The same stadium was the crime scene of a tragedy in 2001 when 13 lives were lost in a stampede.

But more pleasant memories have been made in this place for almost 4 decades. The blossoming career of Peter Ndlovu in the late 1980s reached the sky in the 1990s as he made his name in England and on the continent. He came within just a game of qualifying for the World cup back when it was at its most competitive. Even he will acknowledge the value of home advantage. His was a dribbling carousel enhanced by a captive audience to create memories of a lifetime.

Combined with Bruce Grobbelaar, Norman Mapeza, Mercedes Sibanda, Henry Mckop, Willard Khumalo, Rahman Gumbo, Melusi Nkiwane, Francis Shonhayi, Ephraim Chawanda, Benjamin Nkonjera, Adam Ndlovu, Vitalis Takawira, Agent Sawu and others sport in Zimbabwe reached its finest hour as a profitable business.

Nothing unites a nation more than international football home games. The euphoria experienced in Zimbabwe between 1992 and 1994 has never been repeated. Not even in the teams that first qualified.

Full houses before lunch were characteristic. Fans filled the National Sports stadium by 12 midday with matches starting at 3pm. Pre-match entertainment was planned including music.

At 2pm Reinhard Fabisch walked into the stadium and circled the 400m red artificial athletic turf to rouse the euphoria. They beat many teams after that.

There was an entrance at the National Sports Stadium that opened straight to within centimeters of the pitch. It was a sponsored entrance with a Sales House advert on it. Sales House later became Edgars.

It was scrapped for a longer walk out onto the pitch possibly to add to the drama and intimidate rivals.

Matches against powerhouses like South Africa, Zambia, Egypt, Togo, Mauritius, Guinea, Cameroon and Angola are still fondly remembered in Zimbabwe. But the fact is Zimbabwe had a double figure unbeaten run against these international powerhouses.

A draw against Zambia killed the AFCON run at the last possible moment with a header by Kalusha Bwalya just minutes before the end equalized for Zambia to qualify instead.

This is the game that shows the competition available at the time. Only 12 places for over 50 countries. Zimbabwe had laid a solid foundation with a 0-0 draw in Lusaka that caused a riot by Zambians.

The game against Zambia took place at the Independence Stadium in Lusaka. The stadium was refurbished and renovated around 2008.

This match is my pick of the bunch. It shows the power of local and foreign players to inspire new generations and entertain everyone.

Sadly, we have missed out on watching Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Riyadh Mahrez and many other players we watch weekly on TV. The long wait continues.