FORMER Warriors captain Ovidy Karuru has implored government to speed up renovations at the National Sports Stadium to enhance the team’s chances of qualifying for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals in Morocco.
Zimbabwe were drawn in Group J of the Afcon qualifiers together with Cameroon, Namibia and Kenya, with the top two nations after home and away clashes booking a place at the finals.
All the qualifiers will be played between September and November this year, raising fears the Warriors, who played their last two international home matches in Rwanda and South Africa, will again host their home Afcon qualifiers outside the country’s borders.
Government in May said renovations work at the condemned National Sports Stadium will only commence in October.
Karuru, who helped the Warriors qualify to two Afcon finals, says playing home matches away from home diminishes the team’s chances of qualifying to the finals.
“The authorities should speed up the renovations so that the boys can play their home games at home,” the South Africa-based Karuru said.
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“Home advantage plays a very big role when playing international games. That feeling of being at home is priceless. We can say we feel at home playing in South Africa, but it’s not the same when playing in Harare or any other city in Zimbabwe.
“I know the feeling of playing at home and playing away. The boys want support and to be loved. They need to know that they have all the support from the authorities.
“The authorities should try to make the stadium ready for our home games and I’m sure they will also see the difference when games are being played at home. I’m hopeful that they will get it right.”
The country does not have a Caf certified stadium to stage international matches since 2019 when all local stadiums were condemned by the continental football governing body.
Zimbabwe hosted Nigeria in Kigali and Lesotho in Johannesburg in the World Cup qualifiers where they managed to collect just a point.
Zimbabwe returned to the Afcon draw after missing the last edition due to a Fifa ban.
They were seeded in Pot 4 for the draw after they slipped to 38th position on the African rankings.
Consequently, the Warriors were drawn in a tough pool, but Karuru believes it could have been worse.
“There is a big chance of qualifying because if you look at it, there are no more big teams that players should be scared of like before,” the 35-year-old reckons
“Every team is beatable and we shouldn’t really focus on trying to beat Cameroon, but we should focus on winning all our home games and also get positive results when we play away. We should try to get at least a point or collect all three points away, which is very possible,” added Karuru, who has 50 Warriors caps.
The homeless Warriors are also coachless after interim coach Jairosi Tapera’s contract ended on Tuesday on the team’s return from an unsuccessful Cosafa Cup sojourn, where they crashed out in the first round.
The Afcon finals are set for Morocco from December 21, 2025 to January 18, 2026.
Afcon qualifying groups
Group A: Tunisia, Madagascar, Comoros, Gambia
Group B: Morocco, Gabon,Central Africa Republic, Lesotho
Group C: Egypt, Cape Verde, Mauritania, Botswana
Group D: Nigeria, Benin Libya, Rwanda
Group E: Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, Togo, Liberia
Group F: Ghana, Angola, Sudan, Niger.
Group G: Cote d’Ivoire, Zambia, Sierra Leone, Chad
Group H: DR Congo, Guinea, Tanzania, Ethiopia
Group I: Mali, Mozambique, Guinea Bissau, Eswatini
Group J: Cameroon, Namibia, Kenya, Zimbabwe
Group K: South Africa, Uganda, Congo, South Sudan
Group L: Senegal, Burkina Faso, Malawi, Burundi