By Onny Gangata
Premier Soccer League (PSL) returnees,Telone fc have approached the Gweru City Council (GCC) with the view of striking a deal that will see the team renovate Ascot stadium and in return get a waiver on ground hire or a even a lease agreement, The Echo can exclusively reveal.
Ascot stadium last hosted PSL football in the 2021/22 season when it was used by the now defunct Whawha fc.
The telecoms owned side prefers to use the rustic facility as their home ground for premiership matches due to the stadium’s proximity to the Wifi boys’ support base mainly drawn from the surrounding suburbs of Mtapa,Mambo and Ascot.
Telone are reportedly keen on footing the costs of renovating the stadium so that it meets the required standards and in return get a waiver on stadium hire fees.
GCC, the owners of the facility and the Wifi boys leadership have held discussions on how both parties can mutually benefit from the arrangement.
“We have held meetings with Telone fc, we are still communicating trying to find ways of working together and how best we can make use of Ascot stadium,” GCC spokesperson Vimbai Chingwaramusee told The Echo Sports.
“As a local authority, it is in our interest to ensure that the stadium is refurbished to meet the PSL standards.We are working towards that, it is one of our agendas and hopefully teams will be using Ascot stadium soon.”
Four time league champions FC Platinum have a lease agreement with the Zvishavane town council for the use of Mandava stadium. Sheasham also have a similar arrangement with Bata shoe company for their Bata stadium.
According to a ZIFA First Instance Board (FIB) report based on their last inspection visit at the facility last year, several areas need attention before the stadium can be homologated.
Ascot stadium is generally in a bad state and requires a major facelift to meet the acceptable standards. Some of the areas that have to be attended to include the playing surface, dressing rooms, the VIP section, seating areas for the rest of the ground, access and exit points for spectators as well as ablution facilities.
The stadium does not have a media centre while the existing camera stands are now obsolete and have to be pulled down while the parameter fence is equally in a bad shape.
“The stadium must have dedicated access,exit routes and seats for spectators with disabilities and their helpers in a safe and secure position,” reads part of the report.
“All such seats must provide an unobstructed view of the field of play.Dedicated sanitary facilities in sectors containing seats for spectators with disabilities must be made available.”
The WiFi boys will most likely use Bata stadium as their home ground when the season commences at the end of next month, with the hope of having Ascot stadium ready for the second half of the season,if they strike a deal with the local authority.
Earlier this month,Telone president Oscah Nduwure told state media that his club was pulling all stops to ensure they play their home matches in Gweru.
“As a club, we can’t confirm yet which stadium we will be using for our home matches but our preference will be in Gweru and the club is doing everything to get us there,” he said.
Meanwhile, Telone’s preparation for the upcoming season are on course, the team had a friendly match with Bulawayo Chiefs on Saturday at Mkoba stadium.
While the WiFi boys have been quiet on their transfer business, it appears the technical team led by Tendai Chikuni have kept faith in the bulk of the players who featured in division one last season.
Notable new faces in the Telone side over the weekend included striker, Aubrey Nyandoro,who was with ZPC Munyati, goalkeeper, Matripples Muleya and Polyester Shoko.
