Football resumption advocates need to zip it, Covid-19 is real

coming from outside our borders.

On Tuesday, the country recorded 113 positive cases and all but one were local transmissions, bringing the cumulative figure of active cases to close to 2 200.

There is so far no evidence suggesting that the numbers will subside anytime soon.

Despite these sobering statistics, we still have people that are calling for the resumption of sporting activities in the country, particularly football.

As alluded to earlier, these are perfect examples of people in denial and practising denialism.

Those calling for the resumption of football are basing their arguments on the fact that other leagues like the Premier League in England, La Liga in Spain, Bundesliga in German and Serie A in Italy resumed competitions and their matches went on smoothly.

Closer to home in South Africa, matches are set to resume next month.

What these people calling for the start of local matches are not telling us are the costs that came with resumption of football in the mentioned leagues.

In South Africa, for example, Martizburg United chairman Farook Kadodia early this month told the media that clubs were spending nothing less than R35 000 for mandatory testing and sanitisation.

“Look, the whole sanitisation process of the training field, the stadium and the changing rooms, all these things come at a cost. The testing also, you take 40 people for a test and its nothing less than R35 000 up to R40 000,” said Kadodia.

Over and above that South Africa has also created what they call a bio-bubble, which is a biologically safe environment, where matches will be province.

Once games start, all teams will be based in that province and at a particular location.

Can our clubs, even with the assistance of Zifa, afford these costs, especially when fans will not be allowed into the match venues?

Are we, as a country, capable of coming up with our own bio-bubble as South Africa?

Remember there is also the issue of homologated stadiums in terms of our own standards and some of those facilities are in Harare, Bulawayo and Zvishavane; three towns that have seen a spike in Covid-19 cases.

So those calling for the start of football in Zimbabwe must just zip it because the environment is not conducive, at least for now.

“I cringe when I hear people in football talking about football resumption locally without research or relating to the reality of the growing Covid-19 numbers and the state of our medical, economic and facilities’ preparedness to deal with this pandemic,” said a club administrator.

It is clear that there can be no resumption of football just yet and those calling it must just zip it! held in Gauteng