MAYA APPLAUDS MUTARE CITY COUNCIL
The Manica Youth Assembly (MAYA) applauds the Mutare City Council for upgrading Sakubva stadium which was condemned by the local football association (ZIFA). There is no doubt that the stadium was in shambles due to vandalism and the dereliction of duty by MCC. The ground was dirty and had become a black spot and a haven for thieves, muggers, and sex practitioners who unashamedly had turned the facility into a local version of the Biblical Gomorra.
Sakubva stadium is more than a “soccer” arena but an all-around and inclusive sporting, mental health, social cohesion, business, and social facility that should transform the lives and aspirations of young people in Mutare. It is a people’s heartbeat. It is a peoples meeting point. It is where dreams turn into reality.
As MAYA, we take this opportunity to commend the local authority for finally completing the task which we hope is going to improve the level and interest in sporting activities among young people.
In the meantime, the completion of the stadium will bring Premier League football back to Mutare. We look back with de javu feeling to the years when sakubva stadium was home to illustrious clubs such as Tanganda FC, Black Rhinos, and other homegrown competitive clubs like Joppa FC, scissors utd, UBS (zupco), B and C et al where talent was abounded, taped and developed from secondary school level. This provided employment for many gave youths opportunities that kept them off the streets. Sakubva stadium developed heroes and heroines and we are happy that the “good old days are back.
As we commend the city fathers for the good work, we further implore them to turn sakubva stadium into a multi sporting center of excellence where young people can perfect their sporting prowess in various sporting disciplines.
However as we celebrate this milestone by Mutare City Council and the collaborative efforts from different stakeholders, we urge the local authority to go the full mile and renovate the other facilities such as Dangamvura, Chikanga, sports oval Nyausunzi, and Chisamba grounds so that young people across the city benefit and act as feeders towards the greater cause of sports development. We appreciate that
there is no elevator to success, one has to take the stairs and slowly but sure MCC has started on the long journey with the first step.
We take this opportunity to encourage young people and Mutare residents to jealously guard and protect the facility and other public facilities against vandalism, theft, and abuse because these facilities are ours. We must always be responsible citizens because “responsibility” starts and ends with us
As MAYA we urge Mutare City Council to keep Sakubva stadium in top condition and never blink because a stitch in time saves nine.
