Bulawayo Warriors fans expressed dismay over venue shifting

By Tafadzwa Chigandiwa
The sudden change of the venue of Africa Cup of Nations qualifier first-round match between the Warriors of Zimbabwe and the Zebras of Botswana from Babourfields to National sports has been met with disappointment by Bulawayo soccer lovers.
Yesterday this reporter spoke to Warriors fans based in Bulawayo who expressed dismay over the sudden change of the venue for the national team game.
One Thabo Muhlwa has this to say, “What l am saying is that it’s unfair to talk about malfunction of floodlights especially at a time when we were all ready for the game to be here in Bulawayo, it’s not the first time to the change venue for a Warriors match and it’s always in the last minute.” 
He went on to lament on the need to decentralize the national team games from the capital city to the rest of the country.
“In a normal country the team should play across many cities there must be a stadium in Gweru, Zvishavane and Masvingo where Warriors play their matches, the National team is for the nation not for Harare and Harare is not a country but a city”, said Muhlwa
Yesterday ZIFA a issued press a statement that reads as follows citing faults of floodlights at Babourfields Stadium as the major reason why they have shifted the game to National sports stadium since the game is going to be played in the evening.
“The decision to move the match follows communication from the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) on the issue of floodlights at Babourfields Stadium where they could not guarantee their good working order as they were the last put to use in 2017 during the Cosafa Women’s Championship”, reads part of the statement.
Whilst the government have been preaching the gospel of devolution, there has been a growing concern over the willingness of stakeholders including those within the sporting arena to implement this government policy.