LEAGUE champions Scottland remain defiant in their bid to bring continental football home after they submitted the National Sports Stadium as their primary venue to host Eswatini’s Nsingizini Hotspurs in next month's CAF Champions League preliminary round.
With a Saturday deadline looming for participating clubs to register their home grounds with the Confederation of African Football (CAF), the Mabvuku-based side has forwarded the giant facility to Zifa for onward transmission, keeping Botswana's Obed Itani Chilume Stadium in Francistown as a fallback option.
Scottland host the first leg of the preliminary tie on September 5, before traveling for the return fixture in Eswatini a week later.
However, hosting the clash in Harare depends entirely on a late race against time, as the National Sports Stadium has remained closed to international football since 2020 due to extensive renovations.
Hopes were briefly pinned on the newly constructed Chahwana Stadium in Kwekwe, but the venue ultimately fell short of CAF’s strict minimum requirements. While the facility satisfy most of the continental body's initial inspection criteria, it is being undone by the absence of a major commercial or international airport in its immediate proximity, a lack of requisite hospitality infrastructure such as a four-star hotel, and the absence of fully certified, high-intensity broadcast-grade floodlights capable of supporting night fixtures.
Consequently, attention swung firmly back to the capital.
Scottland officials, alongside government and Zifa representatives, toured the National Sports Stadium this morning, emerging from the tour convinced that the arena is nearing readiness.
A source who was part of the delegation suggest that roughly 90 percent of the refurbishment work is complete, sparking cautious optimism that the stadium could be given the greenlight to host the match.
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The source detailed the remaining hurdles, noting that while core structural elements are finished, critical functional areas are still being finalized.
"Quite a lot of work has been done but the areas of concern are the competitions areas," the source said. "I would safely say it's about 90 percent complete but the remaining 10 percent is the one that is critical. We are talking about the dressing rooms that are being touched up. The home team dressing room is done, and it's very beautiful. They are currently working on the away team dressing room which should be done in the next 48 hours. They are left with the partitioning of the toilets, also in the referees dressing rooms. They are also yet to put furniture in the CAF office and installation of signage in and around the stadium. But that can be done within a few days."
Despite the remaining cosmetic and functional touch-ups, significant strides have been made across the facility. Technicians have overhauled essential match-day infrastructure, including the playing surface, electronic turnstiles, seating, the giant screen, and advanced audio systems. In a major boost for stadium security, a comprehensive monitoring network has been installed.
"In terms of the turnstiles, the turf, the seats, the big screen, the audio system and the security system is all sorted. Every seat in the stadium is now covered by a camera so in the event of a disturbance or vandalism, the security can pick the hooligan from their seat," the source added.
To navigate CAF’s stringent approval protocols, Zifa is maintaining a direct line of communication with the continental governing body, dispatching daily video and photographic logs of the ongoing developments. Under modern CAF regulations, on-site inspectors no longer hold unilateral authority over venue homologation, a safeguard introduced to curb past manipulation. A CAF inspector is expected to visit the facility in the coming days, though Cairo has already been kept closely appraised of the rapid progress.
"The CAF inspection process now requires that. A CAF inspector will still come but he does not make the decision because the process was manipulated previously. The CAF inspector will be invited in the coming few days, but CAF is fully appraised about the developments here. There is hope, but if that fails, they (Scottland), have listed Obed Itani Chilume Stadium in Francistown as their alternative venue," the source said.
Official comment from Scottland could not be obtained. Club secretary-general Fortune Bgwoni indicated that a press statement regarding the venue logistics will be formally issued on Monday.
