Harare based Premier Soccer League teams face a stadium crisis ahead of the new season with only one pitch available for the five teams based in the capital city.

Harare has five stadia that have been used to host PSL matches before namely National sports, Rufaro, Gwanzura, Dzivarasekwa and Lafarge cement stadium but only the National Sports Stadium which is certified for international matches is available for use in the Premiership and is supposed to be shared by League defending champions CAPS United, Dynamos, Harare City, new boys Yadah Stars and returnees Black Rhinos. 

Rufaro stadium is still undergoing a massive refurbishment following the removal of artificial turf for natural grass while Gwanzura which was condemned by the ZIFA grounds committee in 2016, is yet to be renovated to meet requirements to enable it to host PSL matches.

Lafarge stadium in Mabvuku was last used by Flame Lily in 2015 and hasn’t been attended to since then while Dzivarasekwa which last hosted a high profile game in 2011, has been neglected and is now home to ZIFA division two and boozers’ teams.

Speaking after the PSL annual general meeting on Saturday, the league’s acting chairman Kenny Mubaiwa said there is a challenge of grounds for the Harare based teams.

“It is a headache.

“Harare City promised that by the time the season starts, Rufaro would be ready for use but that might not be the case as we understand that there is still a lot of work that still needs to be done,” said Mubaiwa.

In the past clubs like Black Rhinos, Gunners, Motor Action who didn’t enjoy a large fan base in Harare resorted to using venues outside the capital such as Rimuka in Kadoma and Sakubva in Mutare but Mubaiwa said the option of other teams using stadiums outside Harare is not viable.

“There are costs involved with traveling that requires money and in the end it ends up being costly for the clubs.” 

The PSL boss said they have already informed their clubs to brace for more mid-week games this season.