Most playing fields in the area were used to build residential stands sold by municipal officials without the approval of the local authority. The development led to the firing of 24 MDC-T councillors in 2010 on allegations of corruption.
Some of the remaining ground has been taken over by Zanu (PF) youths who have set up car parks to earn money.
“We no longer have enough ground to accommodate people wishing to play soccer so we are forced to wake up early in the morning to play before the ground is crowded,” said a Zengeza 2 resident, Phineas.
Another resident from Zengeza 3, Tafara Muchabaiwa, castigated the local authority for not reserving recreational facilities for sports development.
“It is sad that houses and tuck-shops have been erected where we used to play soccer. There are three or four teams waiting to play at one ground because of the crisis,” said Muchabaiwa.
The lack of sporting ground in Chitungwiza has forced local football teams and academies to rent pitches at schools.
Former Caps United and Warriors star, Alois Bunjira, who discovered his talent in the dusty grounds of Chitungwiza said: “It’s sad that our city fathers are not in any way interested in sports development. In Chitungwiza, most of the soccer pitches where we used to play soccer are no longer there and all you find now are housing stands.”
Bunjira is the owner of Albun Soccer Academy based in Chitungwiza. “As a result of the shortage of grounds, we have been forced to go and play at Zengeza High School,” said Bunjira.
Chitungwiza Town Clerk, George Makunde, told The Zimbabwean that the take over of playing grounds happened during a period of ‘madness’.
“People were greedy and built houses in every open space. Now it’s still a problem because the people who were allocated stands in those pitches actually have all the necessary paperwork and there is nothing much we can do to stop them,” he said.
Post published in: News