Thamsanqa Vundla calls for dressing rooms size Thamsanqa Vundla

Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Sports Reporter
FORMER Highlanders striker Thamsanqa Vundla has called on Caf and Fifa to come up with a minimum size for dressing rooms instead of leaving that to the discretion of individual stadium inspectors.

Vundla argues that as long as there is no working template for stadium owners to adhere to, the inspection process can be subject to abuse by unscrupulous and even corrupt inspectors.

“I am not pointing fingers at anyone here, but what worries me is that we are always told a lot of things by these inspectors when they come to Zimbabwe and one wonders if their recommendations are genuine or not. Now we hear Barbourfields Stadium dressing rooms are too small for international men’s teams. My question is was that Mark Fish and his colleague’s views or they had a template from Caf or Fifa? If not then these two bodies must come up with one so that stadium owners are not taken by surprise and actually know what they must do, that includes all other things that these guys would raise. It must not be a case of personal wishes by the inspectors,” said Vundla.

He said even the local inspection body, the First Instance Body (FIB) must have a template and not leave it to their own personal opinion.

“Locally you get told that a certain stadium has failed to meet standards only for clubs to play at worse off venues that would have been homologated, to use their terminology. This must be like school examinations where we know that if one gets 50 percent in Mutare the symbol will be a C, the same with a student in Bulawayo, but if it was left to the discretion of individual markers, some might say that percentage is another symbol. So Zifa too must lay out all these issues so that people are not taken by surprise,” he said.

Vundla’s comments come ahead of a local inspection of Barbourfields Stadium today by the FIB committee led by Piraishe Mabhena.

Today’s inspection will be followed by another one early next month before the Caf team returns for its final inspection to determine if Zimbabwe play their home matches on home soil.

Had it not been for the ban in sporting competitions due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Warriors would have played their home Total Caf Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Algeria on foreign soil after both the National Sports Stadium and Barbourfields Stadium were condemned.

However, great strides have been made at the two venues, although for Barbourfields Stadium the issue of dressing rooms size remains an issue.

On Sunday a council official said structural alterations are needed for the dressing rooms to be extended and that would entail demolishing the VIP end.

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