Former Warriors vice-captain Ovidy Karuru has urged the government to expedite the renovations at the National Sports Stadium so that it is ready in time for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.
Zimbabwe has been drawn in Group J of the AFCON qualifiers, alongside Cameroon, Namibia, and Kenya.
All the qualifying matches will be played between September and November 2024.
However, there are concerns that the Warriors will not be able to fully capitalize on home advantage if they continue to play their home fixtures outside of the country.
In their most recent World Cup qualifiers, Zimbabwe hosted Nigeria in Kigali, Rwanda, and Lesotho in Johannesburg, South Africa, managing to collect just a single point.
In an interview with NewsDay, Karuru, who has represented Zimbabwe at two previous AFCON finals, believes that playing home matches away from home significantly diminishes the team’s chances of qualifying for the 2025 AFCON tournament. He said:
The authorities should speed up the renovations so that the boys can play their home games at home.
Home advantage plays a very big role when playing international games. That feeling of being at home is priceless.
We can say we feel at home playing in South Africa, but it’s not the same when playing in Harare or any other city in Zimbabwe.
I know the feeling of playing at home and playing away. The boys want support and to be loved. They need to know that they have all the support from the authorities.
The authorities should try to make the stadium ready for our home games and I’m sure they will also see the difference when games are being played at home. I’m hopeful that they will get it right.
Since 2019, Zimbabwe has not had a CAF-certified stadium capable of hosting international matches.
In that year, CAF condemned all of the country’s major stadiums, leaving the national team without a suitable home venue.
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