By Nixon Nyikadzino
News Correspondent
Zimbabwe’s sporting infrastructure has received a major boost with the National Sports Stadium recently attaining Category Three status under the Confederation of African Football (CAF) grading system, allowing the country to host international matches at the giant facility.
While the development is cause for celebration, it has also exposed the wider challenges facing recreational facilities across the country, particularly in high-density suburbs.
Following independence, Zimbabwe inherited a network of recreational facilities that had largely served the white minority, while efforts were made to expand sporting infrastructure into high-density areas to meet the needs of the black majority.
However, there has since been limited investment in the maintenance, protection and upgrading of many of these facilities.
Across the country, soccer pitches have deteriorated, with some losing their playing surfaces, while tennis, basketball and netball courts have become dilapidated and, in some cases, unusable.
The situation has been compounded by the encroachment of residential and recreational land for peri-urban farming, market gardening, churches and businesses.
Warren Park has not been spared.
But a major revival project is now taking shape in the suburb, with businessman, educationist and philanthropist Gilbert Muponda leading efforts to reclaim and rehabilitate several recreational facilities.
Muponda, who regards Warren Park as his home, has embarked on a project aimed at transforming the suburb’s sporting facilities into a centre of excellence.
The initiative is being spearheaded through the Gilbert Muponda Foundation (GMF), which has previously undertaken philanthropic and community development programmes in Warren Park and other parts of the country.
Muponda has also founded the Gilbert Muponda Group of Schools, an initiative he says is focused on giving vulnerable children and aspiring young people opportunities to pursue their educational and sporting ambitions.
At 53, Muponda is a businessman and economist whose career has spanned banking and finance, education, aviation, media and sports development.
He said the Warren Park project was driven by his desire to give back to the community while demonstrating that sporting facilities could be restored through partnerships between communities, the private sector and local authorities.
“I just want to invest in this project as a philanthropist, educationist and businessman. I also want to lead by example and prove to all that it can be done,” Muponda said.
He said GMF had engaged the Harare City Council’s social services department before embarking on the project.
“We approached the social services department at the City of Harare offices and shared with them our vision. That is why you see that we have begun the process of reclaiming, levelling and restoring the land for its mandated purpose, which is sport,” he said.
The project targets the restoration of three football fields, a tennis court, basketball court and two netball courts.
The facilities will complement two existing soccer fields that are currently operational.
Muponda said his broader vision was to create a sporting ecosystem where young talent could be developed while sport itself became a viable business.
“We want Warren Park to lead by example by becoming a sports centre of excellence. Our vision is also to turn sport into a business by making sure that academies thrive and have up-to-standard facilities to develop young players and athletes,” he said.
“We do not want to leave anyone or any place behind, and Warren Park will be a living example of the fruits of our efforts.”
Ward 15 councillor Tafadzwa Machirori welcomed the initiative, describing it as a timely intervention for the community.
“It’s a very good initiative. It restores the two soccer fields which were previously there and will bring the total to four. This will go a long way in promoting responsible sportsmanship among our young residents,” Machirori said.
Terrence Silumba, an avid football supporter and executive committee member of one of the area’s zonal football teams, said the project was a dream come true for Warren Park.
“We were very much concerned about having to share only two soccer fields with several teams, academies and schools. The demand had become so high that we were beginning to witness conflicts among ourselves,” Silumba said.
“This gesture must be supported through and through.”
Muponda said the Warren Park Grounds Revival Project was part of his broader commitment to nurturing young talent, promoting quality education and driving community development.
He said the project was also aligned with his belief that leadership should be demonstrated through practical action and investment in communities.
For Warren Park, the revival of its sporting infrastructure could provide young people with more space to play, train and develop their talents while giving local teams and academies much-needed facilities.