HARARE — Five years after the National Sports Stadium was barred from hosting senior international football matches, the Zimbabwean government says the facility is “almost complete” and nearing inspections by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and FIFA.
Presenting the 2026 Mid-Term Budget and Economic Review in Parliament on Thursday, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said refurbishment works at the stadium were almost complete and that a test match had already been staged to assess its readiness.
CAF banned the stadium from hosting senior international matches in 2021 after inspectors found it failed to meet minimum standards, citing deficiencies including the lack of bucket seats, electronic turnstiles, a functional Venue Operations Centre and other infrastructure.
Since then, Zimbabwe’s senior men’s national football team has been forced to stage home fixtures outside the country while the government embarked on repeated renovation efforts, accompanied by several assurances that the stadium would soon be ready for inspection.
“The upgrading and refurbishment of the National Sports Stadium to meet FIFA and CAF international standards is almost complete. Already, a test match to assess the readiness of National Sports Stadium inspection by FIFA and CAF was played on 31 May 2026 between PSL teams CAPS United and Scottland FC,” Ncube said.
Ncube also said construction of the 10,000-seat Mosioa-Tunya International Cricket Stadium was progressing well and remained on target for completion by December 2026.
