MUHAMMAD Feizal Sidat, a Caf stadium expert, has given a glowing assessment of the ongoing work at Chahwanda Stadium, stating that the facility is on course to meet requirements for Caf stadiums' Category 2 matches.
Category 2 includes stadiums that are eligible to host Under 17 and Under 23 African Cup of Nations qualifiers, as well as Caf Champions League and Caf Confederation Cup preliminary round matches.
Sidat, a former head of stadium inspections at Caf, was on a mission to assess for the second time, the work that is being done at the Kwekwe stadium.
Boosting a 15 000-seater capacity, 24 rooms for accommodation and 12 retail shops, the stadium is slowly taking shape as the installation of bucket seats is steadily progressing.
Elements that include electronic turnstiles, modern dressing rooms, medical rooms and anti-doping rooms have also been worked on.
After a two-hour assessment of Chahwanda Stadium, Sidat was impressed by the ongoing works at the facility, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Speaking after the assessment, the Mozambican said the new stadium will meet the Category 2 requirements, with room to qualify for upper categories.
"As we are all aware, Caf is the continental body that sets its requirements for stadiums in different categorisations from 1 to 4, the highest being categories 3 and 4.
- Mat South innovates to boost COVID-19 vaccine uptake
- Inside sport: What has gone wrong at Dynamos?
- Inside sport: What has gone wrong at Dynamos?
- Inside sport: Future bright for Zim football clubs
Keep Reading
"So today we've done a two-hour inspection on the facility, on the venue from exterior areas going into the main bowl area to the pitch and we can notice that there have been improvements and areas that have been modified in accordance to our last recommendations a few months back which shows that there is good progress in terms of meeting the category 2 requirements set by Caf.
"Of course, the stadium is not only to be used for continental competitions, but also definitely for national Caf and PSL competitions, but we always want to think ahead, and I know from the project priority, everything is achievable," he said.
