Zimpapers Logo

Tadious Manyepo Sports Reporter
THE Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation have crafted a raft of new measures, including the employment of a full-time general manager, as they bid to transform the National Sports Stadium into a facility which matches its status.

The giant stadium has just been transferred into the hands of the Sports Ministry from the Local Government and Public Works Ministry.

‘’Good news – it has been agreed that ownership plus operations of the National Sports Stadium in Zimbabwe will be transferred to Ministry of Youth, Sport, Art and Recreation,’’ Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation Minister, Kirsty Coventry, tweeted on Tuesday.

‘’We have the experience plus passion to use this opportunity for Zimbabwe to become a sporting powerhouse.’’

The National Sports Stadium, along with all other stadiums in the country, was banned from hosting international matches by CAF after it failed to meet the minimum standards demanded by the continental football governing body.

This has since forced the Warriors’ 2021 AFCON qualifier against Algeria to be shifted to South Africa at the end of this month.

The Government recently released $13,7 million towards the rehabilitation of the country’s biggest sports stadium.

The authorities also decided to hand over the control of the venue to the Sports Ministry as they felt they were strategically positioned, and equipped, to manage the stadium well.

And, the Ministry, has hit the ground running with Deputy Minister, Tino Machakaire, revealing they were working on a special budget aimed at giving the facility a massive face-lift.

He said the Ministry was working to make sure the stadium will have a general manager to oversee the operations at the facility.

Previously, such an arrangement worked well for the National Sports Stadium when it was under the direct supervision of the hardworking Midge Henderson as general manager.

“The transfer of the National Sports Stadium to our Ministry is a huge leap, and a challenge too,’’ said Machakaire.

‘’We need to make sure the state of the facility is kept really up there. That stadium has the potential to be transformed into a world-class facility.

“Contingent plans and strategies to make that happen are definitely in progress.

‘’We are engaging various ministries in Government to come on board as they also have roles to play in the transformation of the stadium into a first-class facility.

‘’We will look at the general accessibility to the stadium.

“We need to make sure that the facility is easily accessible, the roads leading to the facility have to be widened and, obviously, we have since engaged the Ministry responsible for that.’’

He said the facelift also needed to take into account the appearance of the giant stadium.

“The outside of the stadium has to be immaculately paved, with marked car parks and installed with CCTV for security reasons so that no one tampers with the spectators’ vehicles,’’ Machakaire said.

“We are currently working on a budget to make sure that the stadium has a full time general manager as well as an engineer who constantly checks the stadium.

“In addition to that, we will employ full-time artisans, including plumbers, electricians, landscapers for the maintenance of the pitch, the sitting bays, and ablution facilities among a host of other things.”

Machakaire said the Ministry was also looking at installing bucket seats throughout the stadium to meet international standards.

However, they will need to invest in excess of US$9 million towards that exercise.

“It is also our wish to install bucket seats in the entire stadium this year, if we can get the funding,’’ he said.

‘’There is determination in the rank and file of the Ministry and we are very confident that we will be able to deliver.

“But, as you might be aware, Government has since allocated about $13,7 million for the refurbishment of the stadium at the moment so that, in the interim, the venue is allowed to host international matches.

‘’That is a short-term objective and we are saying in the long-term the stadium will be transformed and given a massive facelift.”