By Sheldon Hakata
CLEARLY football, or soccer as it is popularly called, is now a major business.
The phenomenal growth of the sport of football can easily be traced. From being a weekend recreation around the 1960s, it has developed to a stage where major business houses are prepared to spend an ever-increasing amount of money to grow the beautiful game.
What happens on the field matters, for goals mean bigger pay packets for the players, more profit for the clubs and greater popularity with the fans. It also gives players a golden chance to fame and a new way of life, like in the case of legendary shot stopper Bruce Grobbelaar who turned out for Liverpool and Peter Ndlovu, who donned the Coventry jersey, among a host of others.
Sadly, there are thousands like them all over the country whose talents are hidden because of lack of scouting. This is still a major problem as the game moves into the professional era in this universe.
Thousands of spectators passed through the turnstiles of Zimbabwean football stadiums in the past seasons. Indications are that these figures are set to rise this season, making soccer, by far, the country’s major spectator sport.
Football, in colonial Rhodesia, was mostly played by blacks and managed by the same. But this was after football, as a sport, was brought from developing Britain to the colony, then known as Southern Rhodesia in 1890, by soldiers and, later, missionaries and white settlers.
Sport was central to white identity. Even mining baron Cecil John Rhodes, the colony’s namesake, was a passionate sportsman. For whites, football served an important purpose of building a white Rhodesian distinctiveness.
Sport was also an instrument of social control.
Mine workers from Transvaal brought football to the Rhodesian black community around 1923.
Township soccer clubs sprang up almost overnight due to the logical rules and low costs of the game. African welfare societies and government-supported agencies that provided services to the townships had to create infrastructure that could distract black workers from more ‘daring’ activities such as bookmaking and demonstrations.
Football was organised around private clubs in Southern Rhodesia. The biggest football clubs were Highlanders and Dynamos, both established in 1926 and 1963 respectively.
White soccer clubs were often racially based, with social clubs for the Scottish, Portuguese and Greek settlers, for instance. The difference between black clubs and white clubs was stark and very revealing.
Zimbabwe attained majority rule on April 18 1980.
Since then, Zimbabwe has been somewhat mediocre in African and World Cup football. It is among a handful of some African nations that have never made it past the top-16 in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Football’s uneven development in the country is a legacy of decades of racial discrimination.
However, the resilience of football’s black leadership during the period of white rule conserved the country’s most popular sport during its darkest period.
The issue of stadia
The ban by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Zimbabwe’s stadiums has brought to the fore the fact that most of the football facilities in the country are archaic after having been built well over 50 years ago.
The country’s representatives in all football competitions play home and away matches in foreign lands, away from their beloved fans.
Zimbabwe senior men’s football team — the Warriors — as well as their female counterparts, the Mighty Warriors, and club representatives in the regional competitions will all battle it outside the country’s borders because of the state of our stadia.
It has, however, been a very disappointing start to the new ZIFA leadership after suffering a shock defeat in the first leg of the penultimate 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifying round in Luanda.
Zimbabwe were, as a result, on the back foot as they head for a reverse fixture on February 26 2025, at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Pretoria, South Africa.
However, there’s always a big and painful prize to pay for hosting home games away from home —the usual fan base morale boosters will not be there.
In Zimbabwe, we have inherited colonial football stadia which we have failed to upgrade, eventually holding back the game of football.
Most of the sports grounds are wholly owned by local authorities and mining companies.
The live match experience is part of being a football fan, this is one of the ways clubs get revenue.
However, there are several structural factors that can affect the economics of the domestic game. One of the most valuable assets in football is the fan base. Therefore, the value of a football team can be linked to the fan base and popularity.
The club football administrators haven’t been successful in activating this relationship. This has made the product distasteful. So, hopefully we will get modernised stadia soon.
The last 30 or so years have seen a rapid increase in the development of sporting facilities. However, experts believe that it is cost effective to build new structures than renovate an existing one to meet the required standards and expectations. This has been the case with National Sports Stadium, Rufaro Stadium, Gwanzura and Barbourfields stadiums.
It will always be a fact that a modern stadium is not just a home ground for the team, but rather a focal point for the community that brings commercial interest into the area.
Local arenas only function on match days and so can generate only one income stream through football attendances. This income stream is the anchor of most clubs’ financial position. Revenue sources for football clubs can include media rights, merchandising, sponsorship and transfer receipts.
Other countries in the region and across the continent, such as Zambia, South Africa, Egypt and Morocco, have comprehensively invested in their sports facilities.
Local Premiership clubs can as well unlock the other revenue sources through building own multifunctional state-of-the-art training facilities.
Questions are always asked why major clubs, like CAPS United, Highlanders and Dynamos, do not have club shops as well as museums. These are alternative revenue streams as well as the immortalisation of these clubs’ rich histories. Any club that owns a home ground provides its fans with a a sense of belonging.
The stadium does not need to be huge though.
CAPS United, Dynamos and even Highlanders do not necessarily need a 60 000-seater stadium for crowds that average between 10 000 and 20 000.
Zimbabwe football has non-existent broadcasting rights to talk of. Match attendance are the only revenue stream or asset available to clubs. Gate receipts will play a crucial role in attaining financial sustainability for these clubs’ success.
Football is an extremely perishable product, therefore, tickets can only be sold before a match is played, mostly on match days.
Match day revenue is the major source of income for our football. Introduction of an electronic ticketing system would be an efficient way for revenue collection. E-ticketing system saves time and money for those attending the event as well as the event organisers.
These steps eliminate hooliganism and ticketing cartels as only those with tickets can gain entrance.
Matches have to fulfil certain conditions for dynamic pricing and revenue management services when selling tickets.
The manner in which fans consume football has drastically changed and will continue to change enormously, especially at modern stadiums.
No ticket should be sold at the stadium.
Stadiums are one of those places at which football supporters are converted to customers who spend before, during and after games. Modern stadiums have been redesigned to promote consumerism. They now boast bars, cafeterias, restaurants, theatres and hospitality boxes.
Fans do not only go to watch football matches but also to enjoy refreshments and entertainment offered at the stadia.
ZIFA, the Castle Lager Premiership clubs and municipalities need to move with the times in facility management.
Meanwhile, the 2025 Castle Lager Premier League officially started on February 22, with the Castle Challenge Cup between league champions Simba Bhora and Chibuku Super Cup winners Dynamos.
Dynamos won the game 5-3 after penalties following a one-all regulation time draw at Rufaro Stadium.
Fixtures
The Premier Soccer League announced fixtures for the 2025 Castle Lager Premiership.
The Castle Challenge Cup losing finalists, Simba Bhora, start their campaign against FC Platinum on Match Day One.
Highlanders face MWOS, who replaced Hwange FC, after buying franchise.
The duo of Harare giants, Dynamos and CAPS United, face off with ZPC Kariba and Green Fuel respectively on Match Day One.
Other notable fixtures in the opening round include Scottland FC vs Triangle United while Kwekwe United lock horns with Ngezi Platinum Stars.
The first instalment of the Battle of Cities between Highlanders, at home, and CAPS United will come early on Match Day Six.
The Harare Derby between Dynamos as hosts and CAPS United is pencilled in for Match Day 12.
The Battle of Zimbabwe, between Dynamos and Highlanders, comes on Match Day 14, with the Glamour Boys hosting first leg.
