The government has committed to refurbishing major stadia in the country which could see national teams return to playing their home games at home.
Finance minister Mthuli Ncube pledged ZWL$136 billion towards sport development in his national budget announced yesterday.
The Ministry of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture has been allocated ZWL$136,2 billion to spearhead the development of the sports, recreation and cultural activities including rehabilitation of major stadia,” Ncube said.
The Zimbabwe national men's football team became the first team to play their home match in foreign and when they hosted Nigeria in Rwanda for their Fifa World Cup Group C qualifier last month.
While the commitment would come as a welcome development especially for football stakeholders, the figures presented may not be enough to cater for the said needs.
Zimbabwe national football teams are playing their homes games in foreign lands after all local stadia were banned by Fifa over failing to meet minimum requirements.
The money allocated towards sport development as well sprucing up of major stadia and recreational facilities works up to about US$20 million.
The National Sports Stadium alone requires major works including the installation of bucket seats and electronic turnstiles among other major works.
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It's not clear whether the government also wants to take over the Harare City Council run Rufaro Stadium which shut amid renovations.
Other sport codes will also expect government funding for their facilities as well as having their foreign trips financed.
