Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has once again condemned both the National Sports Stadium and Rufaro Stadium as unsuitable to host international football matches.
This was revealed in a letter written by CAF technical development director Raul Chipenda to ZIFA Normalisation Committee chairperson Lincoln Mutasa.
CAF inspected the two venues at the end of last year. The letter, seen by The Sunday Mail, reads in part:
With reference to the stadium general inspection conducted by CAF in Zimbabwe to assess the National Sports Stadium (Harare) and Rufaro Stadium (Harare), based on the inspection report, we regret to inform you that both stadiums do not meet the set CAF stadium minimum requirements to host CAF international matches…
The inspection report concluded that several areas in both the stadiums require a total renovation in accordance with the CAF requirements, overall indicating that the stadiums must be totally revamped and redesigned from the ground up to fit the modern football stadium requirements and standards.
Areas such as the field of play, stands and spectator facilities, competition areas, media and medical facilities are just some of the main highlighted issues.
Additionally, the functionality, design, comfort and quality of equipment in the stadiums are currently of great concern.
CAF said the National Sports Stadium remains in a similar condition as found during its last inspection.
Chipenda also highlighted that the current standard of the refurbishment work on Rufaro was “not fully in line with the CAF stadium requirements”. He wrote:
On this basis, several structural errors and deficiencies could be identified during the inspection visit, which could have been avoided if CAF was consulted from the initial stages of the project.
As it stands, it is important to underline that there is a high risk that at the end of the ongoing renovation works in Rufaro Stadium, the stadium might still fail to comply with the minimum requirements to host some of the CAF competitions.
We would like to highlight that the overall stadium situation in Zimbabwe remains critical, and in case the standards do not improve in the near future, the national teams and clubs will have to continue to play their CAF matches in an approved stadium outside of your territory.
CAF, therefore, encourages the initiation of a total renovation programme on both stadiums in line with the CAF standards, and the purchase of all required equipment.
The FIFA 2026 World Cup qualifiers resume in June and the ban on the stadiums may force the Warriors to play their home games in a foreign country, again.
Premier Soccer League champions Ngezi Platinum Stars and Chibuku Super Cup winners Dynamos may also be forced to play their home matches in the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup assignments, respectively, on foreign soil.
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