Zimbabwe has been building a new stadium near the country’s one of the most visited tourist spots, Victoria Falls. Zimbabwe’s president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, recently laid the foundation stone of this stadium. Once completed, the stadium will undoubtedly be one of the most beautiful cricket stadiums in the world.
The capacity of this stadium will be 10,000 seats, and it will be known as the Mosi-oa-Tunya International Cricket Stadium. Once completed, the Mosi-oa-Tunya International Cricket Stadium is set to host international tournaments in 2026 and 2027. Together with Namibia, Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) will co-host the Under-19 World Cup in 2026. South Africa will join the two nations to host the coveted 2027 World Cup.
The Zimbabwean government has set aside 10 hectares of land for the project, and the project would be funded by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The construction is projected to cost between $5 and $10 million. However, the ICC has said that no additional funds will be allocated for any individual project. The Victoria Falls Stadium would reportedly be a multi-sport stadium that will host rugby, hockey, and netball games as well.
“The location of this stadium in this city will undoubtedly contribute to the speedy attainment of tourism sector targets and towards our national development aspirations as outlined in the National Development Strategy Vision 2030,” President Mnangagwa remarked while laying the foundation stone.
“As Zimbabwe Cricket, we are the first to admit that our stadiums are no longer adequate, we had to lock out some fans during the 2023 World Cup Qualifiers but that’s not what we want to do. We want to have as many people to access our grounds and we want their experience to be awesome when they come into the grounds.”
“So work is already underway and as you are aware, we will be co-hosting the 2027 men’s World Cup and before that, we are also hosting the next edition of the Under 19 World Cup together with Namibia, so these are massive tournaments and we are working to improve our facilities for more global tournaments,” Zimbabwe Cricket media and communication manager Darlington Majonga was quoted as saying on the Coliseum website.
Zimbabwe cricket is currently at its lowest point, having failed to qualify for the 50-over World Cup in both 2019 and 2023. They also missed the recent T20 World Cup in the United States and the West Indies after being defeated by Uganda, a lesser-known cricketing nation.
Read More: Wankhede Stadium Mumbai || M. Chinnaswamy Stadium
