Plans to bring Real Madrid to Zimbabwe at an advanced stage

SPANISH giants Real Madrid could make an historic tour of this country, for a one-off date against the Warriors, if negotiations between the club and Zimbabwe Tourism Authority officials, which started here on Saturday, bear fruit.

There is a very good chance that Zimbabwe could play host to Real Madrid, during the European football season break in July, after ZTA officials and representatives of the club opened talks in Spain on Saturday.

ZTA chief executive, Karikoga Kaseke, met representatives of Real Madrid for about an hour, on Saturday afternoon, in the preliminary negotiations that could see the galacticos coming to Zimbabwe for a tour.

The meeting was held at the Zimbabwe stand at the FIRTUR International Travel and Tourism Exposition.

Kaseke and his Real Madrid counterparts agreed to immediately establish a technical team to work on the logistics of thrashing a deal that would see Real coming to play a match at the National Sports Stadium.

"The negotiations are constructive. Zimbabwe is a good country and we are interested in bringing our first team to Zimbabwe but we need to engage further on the technicalities," a spokesman for the Real Madrid representatives said through an interpreter.

"It has to be off-season, during our break between June and July."

The negotiations came three days after the Zimbabwean delegation to the FIRTUR, led by Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister, Walter Mzembi, watched the El Classico Copa del Rey match between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabue Stadium on Wednesday night. The heavyweight contest ended in a 1-1 draw.

Speaking after the meeting, Kaseke said they had insisted on Real Madrid bringing a full-strength team to Zimbabwe for the tour.

"I have emphasised that we need a full strength Real Madrid with Cristiano Ronaldo, nothing less," said Kaseke,

"We are, therefore, going ahead with technical aspects as per agreement.

"Remember, we brought Brazil in 2010 and there is nothing that can stop us from bringing Real Madrid."

The invitation to bring Real Madrid to play in Zimbabwe comes under the ZTA Perception Management and Celebrity Host Programme.

The programme has been used in the past to bring Brazil and international music superstars like Shakira, Akon and Sean Paul, among others.

The ZTA programme has helped change perceptions on Zimbabwe, especially in Europe, where the media and politicians have always wanted to paint the country as an unsafe tourist destination.

Real Madrid's arrival in Zimbabwe, in the event everything goes according to plan, could be a major event that could draw interest from beyond the country's borders with the presence of the Spanish side likely to generate spectator in South Africa, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and Mozambique.

Should the ZTA pull off their one and bring Real Madrid to town, it would be their second major coup, in three years, after they brought Brazil to Harare, against all the odds, for a tie against the Warriors in the countdown to the 2010 World Cup show.

Real Madrid have a big following in this country, just as they do across the world, and they regularly boast to be the biggest football club in the world, something that Manchester United also lay a claim on.

The Spanish giants have won three world club titles, two Uefa Cups, one Uefa Super Cup and have been hosts to a battery of some of the finest players to play the game - Alfredo di Stefano, Puskas, Ronaldo (Brazil), Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane.