ZIFA has brought in Muhammad Feizal Sidat, a stadium expert from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and its former head of professional football, to check if the ongoing renovations at the National Sports Stadium (NSS) are on track to meet CAF standards.
The work at the stadium includes installing bucket seats, electronic turnstiles, and upgrading facilities like dressing rooms, medical rooms, and anti-doping rooms to modern standards.
Sidat is in town to carry out a preliminary inspection of the progress so far, ahead of a full CAF assessment set for July.
He’s expected to take a quick breather before heading out for a tour of the stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
According to sources who spoke to The Herald, Sidat will later meet with ZIFA officials and stadium authorities to give his feedback and recommendations on what still needs to be done. Said the source:
It is a key visit that should be beneficial to everyone who is keen to see the stadium work being finally completed. This is because when you get expert advice and guidelines, it means you will not be going ahead with renovations blindly without following that which CAF and FIFA want to see done.
There is no doubt that Zimbabwe’s failure to have a CAF-certified stadium has continued to be a major talking point each time national team or club international assignments come.
In some instances, it has resulted in the country being ridiculed, while at the same time, playing away at rented homes has cost ZIFA and the clubs that play in the Champions League and Confederation Cup a fortune when one looks at the financial outlay that is used.
Zimbabwe currently has no CAF-certified stadium, forcing both national teams and local clubs competing in CAF inter-club tournaments to host their home matches in other countries, including South Africa, Botswana, Rwanda, and Uganda.
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