Zimpapers Logo

Tadious Manyepo-Sports Reporter

MEMBERS of the First Instance Board are this week expected to inspect the newly-constructed Prophet Walter Magaya’s Heart Stadium ahead of the Premiership season kick-off scheduled for next week. 

The 5000-seater facility was built last year and commissioned by President Mnangagwa on December 10. 

Boosting a suspended pitch, all-round bucket seats, world-class dug-outs, and top-of-the-range change rooms, the ground is expected to pass the test and Yadah will be able to use the venue as their home for the 2024 season. 

And engineers are currently on site, carrying out studies on how the stadium could be expanded without disturbing action on the pitch as Prophet Magaya targets to see the facility ready for international football by June this year.

The construction of access roads is also high on the agenda.

“At the moment, everything is in place and we are expecting the FIB to come and inspect the stadium for Premiership use this week,” said Magaya. 

“We are very confident that the stadium will pass the inspection. When we were constructing this venue, we were always in consultation with the relevant experts who guided us on what to do and what not to do.

“We are very thankful to them all, including the Government of Zimbabwe. So we are saying if the stadium passes the evaluation by the FIB, we will then start our expansion works without compromising the quality of what would have been inspected. 

“We want to increase the seating capacity of the venue to 10 000 by June and eventually to 20 000. The idea is to try and make the stadium available for national team(s) use.

“At the moment, we are just waiting for the FIB who will also give us further guidance on what to do to start the expansion works on the stadium. 

“Like what I said when we were still constructing this stadium, this ground is not for Yadah Stars alone. It is not even mine. It belongs to the people of Zimbabwe and football. So we want to make it available for huge-crowd attractions like when the national team is playing.” 

Zimbabwe play their next home game against Lesotho on June 3.

With the National Sports Stadium also expected to be available by then, the Heart Stadium could as well be of huge help to Dynamos and Ngezi Platinum Stars. 

The latter will represent the country in the CAF Champions League while the former will participate in the CAF Con-federation Cup.