Zimbabwe national soccer team, The Warriors’ World Cup return leg encounter against Somalia that had been set for this weekend in the City of Kings, Bulawayo has been postponed and moved to the capital city, Harare.
Zifa Communications and Competitions manager Xolisani Gwesela confirmed the development in a press statement released by the country football governing body, Zifa.
The match which was initially scheduled for September 8 at Barbourfields in Bulawayo has now been postponed to Tuesday 10 September at the giant National Sports Stadium in Harare.
According to the statement, the postponement and change of venue have been necessitated by the fact that the Somalia Football Federation (SFF) failed to secure flights to Zimbabwe in time for the initial fixture date which was Sunday September 8.
The venue of the match has also been moved from Barbourfields Stadium in Bulawayo to the National Sports Stadium in Harare because Barbourfields will host another international match, the Under 23 Zimbabwe/South Africa, Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on the same day, September 10.
However, kick off time remain unchanged with gate charges pegged at RTGS10 for the Rest of the Ground ticket, RTGS20 for Bays 15 to 18 while fans will have to part ways with RTGS50 to access the VIP arena.
The statement reiterated that the decision was taken in consultation with the world football governing body, Fifa.
“We understand the inconvenience this development presents to all stakeholders and we unreservedly apologise for the unexpected developments.
“In the spirit of fair play, African solidarity, brotherhood and togetherness, we felt the Somali Football Federation’s request was reasonable and sincere, thus we had to consent, otherwise the match would not have taken place at all.
“The world governing body, FIFA have also commended ZIFA for this wonderful gesture,” read the statement.
Zifa urged football fans that had bought ticket for the Sunday match to use the same tickets for the rescheduled match while those that would not be able to travel to Harare for the match can easily be refunded.
“All those who had already purchased tickets will still use the same tickets and for those who cannot make the trip to Harare, we have authorized our ticketing partner, ClicknPay, to accept requests for refunds.”
The Warriors play Somali in Djibouti today in the first leg of the World Cup qualifier at 17:00 hours.
