Clive Thabo Dube
Sports Reporter
The downward spiral of the economy culminating to the lack of attention paid to football stadia across the country’s divide has come to haunt the country’s topflight league.
With just 12 games played so far, for the 2023-24 campaign the football games have come to sudden halt.
The deterioration of the few stadiums spread across the country that hold football matches has not been spared by the lack of funding for maintenance, renovations and upgrading. This has become a major concern to the football fraternity.
Actions to safeguard against the decline of Zimbabwean stadia’s were expected to have taken place well before the season began so as to meet regional and international standards.
After being barred from holding regional games by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in 2019, one would suppose maintenance at the stadiums would have been top priority for local councils, ZIFA, PSL and SRC to improve the alarming state of the stadiums, but, alas, the football custodians still remain ignorant to CAF and FIFA recommendations.
The failure to take action to upgrade stadiums to meet the required standards has cost the country and football players many opportunities.
But the battered pitches and cement terraces are not the only worry, the country’s stadiums are required to have Venue Operations Center (VOC), for security and emergency protocols, electronic turnstiles and individual numbered bucket seats amongst other things. In reality there’s need for Zimbabwean stadiums to be modernized to be suitable to hold FIFA sanctioned games.
On Tuesday, the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League (PSL), out of the blue, brazenly announced the suspension of all PSL matches owing to maintenance work to be carried out in several stadiums across the country. The announcement comes just a few days after releasing Match Day 13 fixtures and barely four months off the season.
Releasing statements which utterly disturb the game willy nilly has became a familiar stunt for PSL, showing confusion taking place in the high offices.
The one stadium which has caused the league shutdown is the gradually deteriorating National Sports Stadium (NSS) which hosts 2- 6 games each week this season. NSS has been the mostly used stadium by Harare based teams.
Zim GBC News publishes full statement below:
PRESS RELEASE
7 June 2023
TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF CASTLE LAGER PSL MATCHES
This serves to advise that the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League is taking a break with immediate effect and will resume on the 1st of July 2023.
This has been necessitated by the maintenance work on water reticulation being carried out at the National Sports Stadium and to allow the playing field to regenerate.
We also expect refurbishment works at Rufaro, Nyamhunga and Sakubva stadia to be completed before we resume Castle Lager PSL matches.
KUDZAI BARE COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA LIAISON OFFICER__
Flooding matches into one venue with deficiency means to maintain, easily destroys the sports field. Badly affecting teams, players and the fans.
Other Stadiums have been entirely deserted for years. Across the country, lush green turfs have visually detoriated and Rufaro stadium continues to miss its deadlines.
The incompetence of PSL authorities and its colleagues involved in the governing of football, and facility owners is dragging football downhill and are taking the beautiful game with them. In the eyes of many watching, current football administrators have failed in their mandate. Fans are infuriated by the move and this has further made the league struggle to attract lucrative sponsors.
Those at the helm of football continue to offer promises with no signs of fruitful results. At this current rate, the future of Zimbabwean football is surely uncertain.