During a parliamentary session on Thursday, Sports, Recreation, Arts, and Culture Minister Kirsty Coventry announced that Zimbabwe’s national football team will soon return to the National Sports Stadium to host international matches.

Since 2020, the Warriors have been compelled to seek alternative venues for their matches due to a ban on the country’s stadiums for failing to meet the standards set by CAF. This ban has affected not only the National Sports Stadium but also Barbourfields and Mandava Stadiums, all of which require improvements to comply fully.

Last year, the Warriors had to utilize a stadium in Kigali, Rwanda, to host Nigeria in a FIFA 2026 World Cup qualifier. However, Coventry informed the Sports, Recreation, Arts, and Culture committee in parliament that her ministry has secured partnerships to facilitate the renovation of the 60,000-seater National Sports Stadium in Harare.

“The goal is to make sure that we do not play another game outside the country and I do believe we are on track to make sure that it happens.

“I promise you that I am doing everything in my power to make sure that we will not play another home game outside this country,” Coventry said.

However, she was unable to provide additional information regarding the mentioned partnership.

“I will not give you specific dates because of the partnership that we have.

“They have asked us to respect them and give them a bit of time to internally put things in place then make a formal announcement,” she said.

The government allocated ZW$24 billion in the 2024 budget for the renovation of the massive facility.

However, Coventry criticized local sports associations for the deterioration of Zimbabwe’s football.

“We have incredible talent but the bureaucracy, the corruption, the lack of good governance in our national associations do a disservice to every single young person who has the dream of becoming the next Peter Ndlovu,” she said.