Sports / Soccer
Caf delegation to inspect Zimbabwe stadia
01 Jan 2013 at 08:32hrs | Views
A delegation from the Confederation of African Football is expected in the country to inspect stadia to be used for Caf competitions this year.
In a telephone interview from Harare, Zifa chief executive officer Jonathan Mashingaidze said they had received a communiqué from the continental football body informing them of their visit.
"A Caf delegation is coming next week to look at our facilities and see if they meet the stipulated standards to play host to games of continental magnitude. We have the Caf Champions League and World Cup qualifiers coming up and it is a routine check by Caf," Mashingaidze said.
Dynamos FC are Zimbabwe's only representative in Caf club competitions.
Zimbabwe could have had another giant Highlanders participating in the continental competition but Bosso missed out due to a boob by Zifa to register the Bulawayo giants for the 2011 Caf Confederation Cup without their consent.
Caf went on to ban Highlanders from continental competitions until 2015. Zifa's appeal on behalf of Bosso has seen the matter set to be heard by Caf in April.
With Highlanders out of continental competitions, it means that the Caf delegation will end their tour in Harare where they are expected to have a look at Rufaro Stadium which is home to Dynamos.
They might also visit the giant National Sports Stadium which was closed for the better part of last year to allow work to be done on the facility's drainage system.
DeMbare start their campaign in the preliminary stage at home a week after the Africa Cup of Nations finals on 17 February against Lesotho Correctional Services with the return leg set for the weekend of 1-3 March.
The Harare giants are tipped to easily progress to the first round where a stern test awaits them as they will face the winner between Club Berzetin of Tunisia and Ettihad of Libya.
The North Africans have always been tricky customers for Southern African teams.
If they manage to clear the first round hurdle, Dynamos will square off with Caf Champions League Cup holders Al Ahly of Egypt in the second round.
In a telephone interview from Harare, Zifa chief executive officer Jonathan Mashingaidze said they had received a communiqué from the continental football body informing them of their visit.
"A Caf delegation is coming next week to look at our facilities and see if they meet the stipulated standards to play host to games of continental magnitude. We have the Caf Champions League and World Cup qualifiers coming up and it is a routine check by Caf," Mashingaidze said.
Dynamos FC are Zimbabwe's only representative in Caf club competitions.
Zimbabwe could have had another giant Highlanders participating in the continental competition but Bosso missed out due to a boob by Zifa to register the Bulawayo giants for the 2011 Caf Confederation Cup without their consent.
Caf went on to ban Highlanders from continental competitions until 2015. Zifa's appeal on behalf of Bosso has seen the matter set to be heard by Caf in April.
They might also visit the giant National Sports Stadium which was closed for the better part of last year to allow work to be done on the facility's drainage system.
DeMbare start their campaign in the preliminary stage at home a week after the Africa Cup of Nations finals on 17 February against Lesotho Correctional Services with the return leg set for the weekend of 1-3 March.
The Harare giants are tipped to easily progress to the first round where a stern test awaits them as they will face the winner between Club Berzetin of Tunisia and Ettihad of Libya.
The North Africans have always been tricky customers for Southern African teams.
If they manage to clear the first round hurdle, Dynamos will square off with Caf Champions League Cup holders Al Ahly of Egypt in the second round.
Source - chronicle
