GOVERNMENT is hoping to complete the rehabilitation of National Sports Stadium to meet Caf minimum standards by the end of this year, trhe Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) has said.
SRC board chairman Gerald Mlotshwa and director-general Elta Nengomasha yesterday shared an update over the renovations that are taking place at the facility.
The first batch of 15 000 bucket seats purchased from China has since arrived in Beira, Mozambique, and will be transported to Harare once paperwork is complete.
“I am happy to report that as of today, the first batch of the bucket seats is now in Beira, ready for shipping to Zimbabwe,” Mlotshwa told the media yesterday.
“Those timeframes to Zimbabwe are what we are busy trying to ascertain so that we give accurate information.”
He added that the target is completing all the work by December, but they will have to do major work with the pitch itself.
Nengomasha elaborated that while they are waiting for the full complement of the bucket seats to arrive, a lot of ground has been covered in relation to other areas that Caf has demanded to be attended to.
“In preparation to receive the bucket seats and other equipment, we are securing the stadium with a new perimeter fence. We expect that to be complete by the end of August,” she said.
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“Water reticulation, if you come to the stadium, you will find that the first half of the reticulation has been done. The trenches have been dug and the piping is on site.”
She added that the turnstiles are already at the stadium together with the CCTV equipment and they were now waiting for installation of the equipment.
Generators have been acquired as well as new flood lights.
“We need special lighting for the floodlights, which is in line with Caf standards. In terms of the floodlights, there is a contractor that is in place and most of the preliminary work has been done,” Nengomasha said.
The Warriors will play all their home Africa Cup of Nations matches in other countries since the country does not have a Caf-certified stadium.
Next month, the Zimbabwe senior national men’s team will host Cameroon in Uganda, the same venue they will host Kenya and Namibia in October and November, respectively.
