Even Old Trafford has same problems as Rufaro Stadium says Harare City Council
By Darlington Gatsi
WHEN Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume announced the reopening of Rufaro Stadium last year after four years of closure, there was an air of optimism among football stakeholders.
An area that had been turned into a market, with trucks selling potatoes, was replaced by a well-thought-out car park, which would generate funds for the Harare City Council through City Parking. This gave a sense that the municipality was moving in the right direction.
Alas, it was tantamount to a fig that might appear ripe and juicy on the outside but full of ants inside.
The Mbare stadium continues to be exposed as Castle Lager Premier Soccer League (PSL) matches are played at the imposing football facility.
On Saturday, the VIP enclosure was flooded with water as rains pounded down, with a leaking roof offering little respite.
The embarrassing scenario reflected the stadia crisis the country is grappling with, which has seen Zimbabwean football teams playing outside the country.
Rufaro Stadium is far from meeting the international football standards set by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for hosting matches.
The stadium does not have a media room, the tunnel to the dressing rooms has not yet been expanded, the pitch lacks a proper drainage system, and an archaic scoreboard is still in use.
Despite all the glaring deficiencies, Harare City Council spokesperson Stanley Gama, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), said Rufaro Stadium is “looking good”.
“Rufaro Stadium is hosting mammoth crowds without problems thanx to the City of Harare who renovated the traditional home of football and in the process bringing back top-flight football to Harare. It’s still work in progress, and challenges are faced, but Rufaro looking good
“Today (Sunday), @capsunitedfczw hosted @ScottlandFC and the stadium was about 90 percent full. It speaks volumes to the great work done at the stadium for it to accommodate such a huge crowd. The City of Harare will keep improving those areas that need attention,” wrote Gama.
When questioned about the leaking VIP area, Gama drew comparisons with Manchester United’s home ground, Old Trafford, whose roof recently leaked.
“Even at Old Trafford such things happen. At Rufaro this will all soon be rectified,” he said.
The HCC faces the task of revamping Rufaro Stadium, with failure likely to leave Harare teams—Dynamos, Herentals, CAPS United, and Scottland—in limbo should the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) reinspect and deem the stadium unfit.
The City Council had promised to complete the installation of bucket seats throughout the stadium, with only a few having been installed in the VIP section. The bucket seats are being supplied by Henrietta Rushwaya’s company Okima Plastics.
