By Nyasha Chuma
HARARE — Local football has dodged a bullet after the Confederation of African Football granted a strict, last-minute conditional reprieve allowing up to 10 000 spectators back into the National Sports Stadium for upcoming international fixtures, bringing a massive sigh of relief to a domestic game desperately battling to salvage its reputation.
The partial clearance comes in the wake of a tragic fan death that cast a dark shadow over local sporting infrastructure and threatened to trigger an outright ban.
Under the emergency directive, the stadium will host the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament qualifier between Zimbabwe and Malawi on October 13, followed provisionally by the CAF Champions League clash featuring Scottland FC and Atletico Petroleos de Luanda on October 17. The Zimbabwe Football Association confirmed that gates will open a grueling five hours before kick-off to enforce rigorous security screening, warning that the 10,000-seat ceiling is absolute and non-negotiable. Officials emphasized a zero-tolerance stance on hooliganism, vandalism, and forced entry, noting that a CAF Safety and Security Officer will be on-site to monitor compliance. While government guarantees and enhanced crowd management protocols have kept the facility open for now, any slip-up risks immediate withdrawal of authorization, leaving local football authorities walking a tightrope to prove they can guarantee public safety.
