Audio By Carbonatix
Zimbabwe may have to find a 'home' away from home when they kick-off their World Cup qualifiers later in the year after being barred from hosting international matches by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
The Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) confirmed on Tuesday that all three of their main stadia - Barbourfields in Bulawayo, Mandava in Zvishavane and the National Sports Stadium in Harare - had failed inspection visits by CAF last November.
They are due to host Algeria in March in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers and finish that campaign at home to Zambia in September.
The World Cup qualifiers get under way in October, though the fixtures have yet to be released. Zimbabwe have been drawn in a pool with Ghana, South Africa and Ethiopia.
"Stadium authorities were notified of CAF’s position and the urgent nature of the situation at hand," ZIFA said in a statement.
"To date, neither of the three stadium authorities has requested us to invite CAF for another inspection, a position which CAF has said led to the decision to bar all three stadiums from hosting international matches."
ZIFA went on to plead for stakeholders including the government to provide funding to complete the work needed at the dilapidated venues.
"In this moment we urge all stakeholders to work for a common cause for us to quickly right this wrong which takes away our sovereignty.
"We have been using stadiums which do not meet CAF and FIFA standards for a while now, but we need to put our heads together as a country to ensure that our stadiums are renovated to meet required standards," it said.
"We are hopeful that everyone who has influence to expedite the process of bringing our teams back home will do their part."
ZIFA confirmed that it was exploring alternative venues in neighbouring countries.
Latest Stories
-
Adrobaa crowned winners as Milo U13 Championship makes grand return
55 minutes -
NAIMOS seizes excavators and shuts down illegal Riverbank mining in Eastern Region
2 hours -
NAIMOS dismantles illegal foreign mining network along the Bia River
3 hours -
Zelensky signals progress in talks with US on peace plan
4 hours -
Policemen assaulted in Jirapa; AK-47 rifles stolen
5 hours -
Bibiani tragedy: Toddler killed by moving Toyota Pickup
6 hours -
Don’t scrap OSP – Anti-corruption CSO demands review
7 hours -
GIS, EU vow closer security cooperation to boost northern border control
8 hours -
IGP leads major show of force with new armoured fleet
9 hours -
Two female prison officers killed in ghastly crash
9 hours -
Abolish or Reform? Abu Jinapor counsels sober reflection on debate over future of Special Prosecutor’s Office
11 hours -
2026 World Cup: Can Ghana navigate England, Croatia, and Panama in Group L?
11 hours -
NAIMOS task force arrests 9 Chinese illegal miners, destroys equipment at Dadieso
12 hours -
NAIMOS advances into Atiwa Forest, uncovers child labour, river diversion and heavy machinery
12 hours -
NAIMOS Task Force storms Fanteakwa South, dismantles galamsey operations
12 hours
