Parliament Proposes New ‘Emmerson Mnangagwa Stadium’ to End Zimbabwe’s Stadium Crisis

Parliament Proposes New ‘Emmerson Mnangagwa Stadium’ to End Zimbabwe’s Stadium Crisis

The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Sports, Arts and Recreation has proposed building a new stadium in Mt Hampden, suggesting it be named after President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, as a solution to Zimbabwe’s pressing stadium crisis.

Zimbabwe has been struggling with deteriorating sports facilities, many of which have been condemned by continental sports governing bodies. As a result, Zimbabwean national teams have been forced to play home matches abroad, a situation that has seen the country being the laughingstock of the continent.

During a pre-budget seminar in Bulawayo on Thursday, Chamu Chiwanza, chair of the committee, emphasised the need for a new stadium to modernise the country’s sports infrastructure. He urged the government and Treasury to establish a special fund for stadium development, proposing the new venue be named “Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa Stadium.”

“It is imperative to start to cast light on the state of our nation’s sporting facilities. On the 2024 performance outcome, I spoke about the epidemic which is the stadia. I propose that the treasury and the minister here should come up with a special fund that ensures that stadiums, particularly the National Sports Stadium can be renovated. As a committee, we propose that we build a new stadium at the new City and we already have a new name for it and it is called the Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa stadium,” said Chiwanza.

Chiwanza also acknowledged the current renovations at the National Sports Stadium but said that more is needed to address Zimbabwe’s stadium shortcomings fully.

“The National Sports Stadium is old, yes we are doing renovations on it. We put together a sub-committee which was chaired by honourable Jere and went there and realised that 45 percent was complete,” said Chiwanza.

The National Sports Stadium, Zimbabwe’s largest, was condemned by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in 2021 for failing to meet international hosting standards. Its deterioration is so advanced that it was also flagged by the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) First Instance Body (FIB) for failing to meet local Premier Soccer League (PSL) requirements.

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