The ManicaPost
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
STAKEHOLDERS in football circles have applauded Mutare City Council — the custodians of Sakubva Stadium — for the bold move to close the facility and meet their renovations deadlines, thereby paving way for the return of top-flight league football in the city.
Manicaland’s ceremonial home of football is now ready to play host to the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League matches following the completion of extensive drainage and turf renovations that lasted more than half a year.
Last week, Mutare-based PSL outfit, Manica Diamonds and Eastern Region Division One side, Mutare City Rovers, played a test match at the venue, the first match to be played at the venue since it was closed for renovations mid last year.
Well-known football enthusiast, David Maramba said: “I think the job done at Sakubva Stadium is splendid. We really want to applaud Mutare City Council leadership for taking that bold step to close the facility and undertake the renovations.
“In the past, we were always agitated when the stadium was banned incessantly for failing to meet the required standards, but now we are confident that this will be a thing of the past. We all know how some families survive through sport, and how some lives have changed for the better through football.
David Maramba
“Going forward, we hope more investors will come on board to ensure that the facility is spruced up to international standards. We can achieve that especially now that the turf and drainage works are complete. For the record, these are the facilities that give a lasting impression to a visitor or analyst about a community or city.”
Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) Manicaland chairman, Kuziwa Nyabeze said: “We are very excited about the latest developments at Sakubva Stadium. These facilities are the backbone of the development of the game. Without sound facilities we will not be able to have proper training and competitive matches.
“Therefore, it is against this background that we really want to applaud City of Mutare for ensuring that the drainage and turf at Sakubva Stadium is back to its fine state.
“We hope and pray that going forward the facility will be mainly used for sports related occasions only for it to have a long shelf life in its state.”
Munyaradzi Zinomwe, another football enthusiast, said: “The long wait was worthy if for us soccer starved fans. Nothing beats the Sunday afternoon atmosphere watching soccer at our beloved Sakubva Stadium. Just hoping the stadium gets the nod to host PSL matches this season. We applaud the owners of the stadium, Mutare City Council for making the bold move to renovate this facility.
“This was an excellent initiative by Mutare City Council. Finally, we will be smiling all the way to our beloved theatre of dreams every Sunday to watch our local teams playing. It was a painful experience of us last year seeing Manica Diamonds driving 700km to Chiredzi for their so-called home games. Finally, the die is cast. The wait is over.”
