Sakubva Stadium: Who is fooling who?

Tis more than what meets the eye in the suspension of Sakubva Stadium from hosting Premier Soccer League matches as the country’s football authorities continue dithering on the re-inspection of the match venue well after City of Mutare finished the recommended refurbishment work.

Last Friday marked exactly three months after Sakubva Stadium was banned from hosting top-flight league matches following the June 26 incident in which a goalpost collapsed when visiting Bulawayo City goalkeeper swung on it during a league encounter against Manica Diamonds FC.

The turf at Sakubva Stadium had also deteriorated to unacceptable standards owing to overuse during that time.

However, City of Mutare, albeit not having been formally informed of areas that need attention within the stadium by the PSL or Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA), has long finished refurbishment work in sections they thought needed attention when the facility was suspended.

Of late, the turf has greatly improved since its suspension by ZIFA’s First Instance Body

(FIB) and the new FIFA approved goalposts have been installed warranting FIB re-inspection, not only for the benefit of Mutarebased clubs, but also fans and businesses operators in the eastern border city.

For some strange reasons, football authorities, including those that were at the forefront in suspending the facility are not coming out clean on the date and time they will re-inspect the stadium, prompting reasonable suspicions of the existence of an invisible force.

When asked when they will visit Mutare to re-inspect Sakubva Stadium on Wednesday morning, ZIFA spokesperson and FIB member, Xolisani Gwesela referred all questions to PSL.

“Talk to PSL, they are the ones who arrange for the re-inspection,”said Gwesela, who ironically was the first to confirm the suspension of Sakubva Stadium on June 28.

When contacted for comment, PSL spokesperson, Kudzai Bare referred this reporter back to Gwesela.

“That issue is under the purview of FIB and you may talk to Xolisani Gwesela,” she said.

Ironically, Sakubva Stadium in now in a far much better shape compared to Vengere Stadium in Rusape and other stadia across the country where PSL matches are being hosted.

A letter dated August 23, 2022 from the City of Mutare addressed to the PSL chief executive, Kenny Ndebele, inviting PSL to re-inspect the stadium, which this newspaper is in possession of, clearly indicates that the local authority has gone out of its way to install world class goalposts.

“We are glad to inform you that we have installed new approved high quality FIFA imported aluminium goalposts at Sakubva Stadium. May you kindly send your inspection team to inspect the goalposts.

“We are still waiting to get a formal report on the condemnation of the stadium so that we can attend to the areas that need our attention. In light of the above commitment shown by City of Mutare, we hope Premier League matches will return to Mutare,”reads a letter signed by City of Mutare’s Acting Town Clerk, Blessing Chafesuka.

Sakubva Stadium has been suspended from hosting Premiership matches countless times in the past because of reasons that range from poor maintenance, overuse and at times, heavy handedness on the part of those mandated to homologate the facilities.

Accordingly, City of Mutare is not amused that football authorities decided to communicate the suspension of the stadium through social and mainstream media without formally communicating their concerns.

In a no-hold barred interview, Chafesuka said they are not aware why the football authorities are not responding to their request to have the stadium re-inspected.

“Initially, we read about the suspension of Sakubva Stadium through the social and mainstream media. There was no formal communication to us about their concerns.

“It is also important to note that the goalpost that collapsed was installed and approved by the same people who then condemned it. Now that we have installed new FIFA approved goalposts that were secured at a cost of US$15 000, we wonder why they are not coming back to re-inspect the facility.

“Our letters are not being responded to and we are forced to believe that there could be a hidden agenda other than the need to refurbish the stadium. We strongly believe that Sakubva Stadium is way much better than Vengere Stadium in all aspects, but somehow some people see it differently,” he said.

Chafesuka said the acquisition of a new turf is also work in progress.

He noted that football authorities also need to consider City of Mutare’s commitment given that the local authority collected only $2 million since the stadium started hosting matches this season against PSL thousands of United States of America dollars needed for refurbishment work.

“Yes, the turf is not in its best state, but it is even better than what we see in most stadia across the country. We are actually in the process of acquiring a new turf. We went to tender twice and we got a quotation of

US$200 000.

“Therefore, we are considering other options in sourcing finances to have a new turf installed at Sakubva Stadium. I think PSL need to appreciate that Mutare City Council is so much committed to see the stadium in its best possible shape.

“We are investing more than what we are collecting from Sakubva Stadium and I thought football authorities also need to be considerate instead of punishing us. You may check the number of staff members we currently have at the stadium, all this is an effort to ensure that we meet the minimum required standards,” he said.

A visit to Sakubva Stadium by this newspaper this week revealed the turf has greatly improved from the time the stadium was suspended and new FIFA approved goalposts have been installed, while more than 20 contract workers are reporting for duty on a daily basis working on different areas of the sports facility.*