Work underway on Victoria Falls stadium

Article posted by Coliseum, May 30^th, 2024

Image: Zimbabwe Cricket (Facebook)

Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa has laid the foundation stone marking the start of construction of a new cricket stadium in Victoria Falls.

The Zimbabwe Chronicle said the new Mosi-oa-Tunya International Cricket Stadium will be one of the stadiums used for the 2026 and 2027 World Cups which Zimbabwe is jointly hosting with South Africa and Namibia.

Zimbabwe will co-host the Under 19 Men’s cricket World Cup in 2026 with Namibia before it jointly hosts the 2027 Men’s Cricket World Cup with Namibia and South Africa.

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Mnangagwa said, “Zimbabwe is honoured and remains ready to proudly host the 2026 cricket World Cup. The proposed cricket stadium is one of the priority projects that will be pursued with urgency as we develop, expand and improve our national integrated infrastructure.”

The government last week revealed that it is aiming to complete the stadium’s construction by August 2025.

The new venue is expected to be a multi-sport facility which will cater for other sports including rugby, hockey and netball.

Mnangagwa added, “This project is most welcome as it will enhance the rich natural heritage associated with our premium resort city.

“The location of this stadium in this city will undoubtedly contribute to the speedy attainment of tourism sector targets towards our national development aspirations as outlined in the National Development Strategy Vision 2030.”

Mosi-oa-Tunya cricket ground will be the first international standard cricket ground to be owned by Zimbabwe Cricket, which has also revealed it is planning to upgrade local cricket stadia so they meet modern standards.

Currently, there are three cricket grounds which can host international games: Harare Sports Club, Queens Sports Club and Takashinga Cricket Ground.

However, they are falling behind standards set by modern cricket grounds with cushioned seats, digital entry gates and terrace roofs.

Zimbabwe Cricket media and communication manager, Darlington Majonga said plans are underway to upgrade these facilities.

“As Zimbabwe Cricket we are the first to admit that our stadiums are no longer adequate, we had to lock out some fans during the 2023 World Cup Qualifiers but that’s not what we want to do we want to have as many people as people to access our grounds and we want their experience to be awesome when they come into the grounds.

“So work is already underway as you are aware we will be co-hosting the 2027 men’s World Cup and before that, we are also hosting the next edition of under 19 world cup together with Namibia, so these are massive tournaments and we are working to improve our facilities for more global tournaments.

“Under normal circumstances, clubs should be taking care of these facilities as you know we (Zimbabwe Cricket) are tenants these facilities are owned by clubs but improving these facilities is something we are looking forward to do together with the owners.”

Majonga added that they are looking forward to spreading the game across the country by making sure that they have a good venue in almost every city including Victoria Falls.

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