The Warriors will also play South Africa in their Group C matches for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
The first game against Lesotho will take place on June 7, 2024, at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein, kicking off at 6 pm CAT.
Due to the unavailability of suitable stadiums in Zimbabwe, the match had to be moved to a neutral venue. This decision came after the Premier Soccer League closed all local football fields before the qualifiers began in November last year.
The Warriors will play against Nigeria in Rwanda in their second campaign match. The game against South Africa will be held on June 11, 2024, at the Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg, starting at 8 pm CAT.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) banned Zimbabwe’s national soccer teams from using all local stadiums for international matches in 2019. This decision came after a CAF stadium inspection in November 2019 found that the stadiums did not meet CAF standards. Despite provisional certification for Barbourfields Stadium, issues raised in the inspection report were ignored, leading to the ban.
FIFA suspended Zimbabwe in February 2022 due to governmental interference in the nation’s football associations. This 18-month suspension prevented the Warriors from participating in international competitions, including the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations and the women’s Africa Cup of Nations tournament. The ban was lifted in July 2023, allowing Zimbabwe to return to competitive football.
As a result of these issues, the Zimbabwe Warriors have had to find alternative venues for their “home” matches, including playing in foreign countries like Rwanda.
The decision to play home matches abroad riled football fans.
Tino:
“Zvimwe zvinosvodesa izvi!!! Stadium inomboda marii chaizvo kuvaka?”
Jadon:
“Saka hamusi kutoda kugadzira ma stadium kuti titambire on home soils here?”
Admire:
“No coach, No Stadium 🏟️ embarrassing 😭”
Fungai”
“Our home away from home…”
Source iHarare
