SIX years. That is exactly how long Zimbabwean football has been wandering in the wilderness, stripped of its sovereignty and reduced to a nomadic existence.
Since February 25, 2020, when the Confederation of African Football (Caf) rightly imposed a blanket ban on the country’s dilapidated stadiums — including Barbourfields, Mandava and the National Sports Stadium (NSS) — our beloved Warriors have been a national team without a nation to play in.
As the next Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualification cycle is set to begin in September, a hard truth confronts us: Zimbabwe cannot afford to play home matches away from home if the dream of making it to the continental showpiece for the seventh time is to be realised.
Football across the African continent is evolving at a breakneck pace.
Minnows of yesteryear have transformed into formidable giants because they have embraced modern structures, sports science and, crucially, the sanctity of home advantage.
In modern international football, true home advantage is not a luxury; it is an absolute necessity. It is the intimidating roar of 60 000 passionate fans at the National Sports Stadium, the familiar bounce of local turf, the psychological comfort of playing in known weather conditions and the absence of exhausting travel logistics before a crucial home tie.
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Conversely, forcing The Warriors to find temporary home venues in Rwanda, Uganda, South Africa and Botswana is a self-inflicted sporting tragedy.
Playing home matches on neutral soil completely strips the team of its competitive edge. Instead of intimidating opponents, Zimbabwe hands them a neutral, pressure-free environment.
Furthermore, our players endure gruelling transcontinental travel just to host a game, suffering from fatigue before the referee blows the first whistle.
Financially, as Zifa president Nqobile Magwizi lamented, the burden of securing resources to host international matches outside our borders has been painfully unsustainable.
What remains deeply saddening is that it took six years of national embarrassment for the powers that be to treat stadium infrastructure with the urgency it deserves. In those six years, the nation failed to build a single new Caf-certified stadium, let alone efficiently renovate existing facilities.
The provisional lifelines previously thrown by Caf — such as the one-match grace period granted for the November 2021 World Cup qualifier against Ethiopia — were squandered, leading to immediate ban when outstanding issues like individual bucket seats, electronic turnstiles and automated ticketing were ignored.
On Monday, a glimmer of hope emerged. Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture minister Anselem Sanyatwe toured the National Sports Stadium and boldly stated that the venue is ready to host the upcoming Afcon qualifiers in September.
Thanks to a public-private partnership with Sakunda Holdings, the pitch has been totally revamped with modern drainage and 44 000 bucket seats have been installed alongside automated gates and a venue operations control room.
While the Premier Soccer League breathes a sigh of relief as the venue opens for local matches like the Africa Day clash between Caps United and FC Platinum, the international stage is an entirely different kettle of fish.
Ministerial pronouncements are encouraging, but what Zimbabweans desperately need is to hear the validation coming directly from Caf.
Based on current progress, the facility is probably ready for domestic football, but until inspectors give it an official stamp of approval we can only await international certification with bated breath.
Zifa must urgently bring Caf inspectors to the ground. We have suffered enough humiliation. The road to our seventh Afcon appearance must be paved in Harare, before our own supporters. No more administrative complacency, no more excuses — bring The Warriors home.