Zimbabwe Cricket’s decision to pour US$12 million into a 10,000-seat ground on the edge of the Zambezi is drawing praise and protest in almost equal measure. The Fale Mosi-oa-Tunya International Cricket Stadium, rising a short drive from the falls, is due for completion in August 2026 and has been pencilled in for the 2027 men’s ODI World Cup, which Zimbabwe will co-host with South Africa and Namibia.
Work is moving quickly. The square has been laid, irrigation pipes snaking under imported turf, while crews finish embankments and dig trenches for permanent power and water. Contractors have turned to the players’ pavilion and a glass-fronted media centre that ZC hopes will impress broadcasters as much as visiting teams.
Why build here? Administrators argue the project could turn Victoria Falls into a “destination venue”, tempting the sport’s biggest drawcards – and their travelling supporters – to Zimbabwe. England are the obvious target once the World Cup dust settles. They have not toured since 2004, yet thousands of their fans already pass through the area every year on safari itineraries. ZC believes cricket could piggy-back on that traffic and inject foreign currency directly into the game.
Critics see it differently. David Coltart, Zimbabwe’s former sports minister and twice mayor of Bulawayo, has led the push-back.
“Victoria Falls is a small tourist town with a tiny cricket supporting population. The development of this boutique stadium is unprecedented worldwide,” he wrote on Facebook. “In every other Test-playing nation, the primary investment by their Boards has been to invest in existing stadia in large population centers right across their countries.”
Coltart pointed to decaying club grounds from Mutare to Masvingo and warned that the new build diverts money from more urgent needs. “It must be clear that this stadium is not primarily part of an objective to take the game to smaller centers to promote the game. It appears to be mainly to have a stadium in a tourist center to attract foreign teams who will come for reasons beyond the sole purpose of playing cricket.”
He broadened the critique to schools. “Whilst this may be admirable if the financial health of ZC was good, it is a terribly misplaced budgetary priority given the fact that cricket venues in cities across the country outside of Harare are collapsing and there is, as stated above, a near total collapse of cricketing facilities at most Government schools countrywide.”
The starkest warning followed. “Unless we focus on the development of grassroots cricket and the game right across the country, our ability to play the game well at international level will continue to erode and ultimately the Victoria Falls stadium will become a white elephant.”
ZC officials have not responded publicly to Coltart’s comments, but privately they insist the sums add up. Ticket revenue for four World Cup matches, combined with broadcast fees and title sponsorship, is projected to cover roughly half the construction cost. The remainder, they say, will be recouped through hosting fees and hospitality packages when full-member sides tour. A senior board member, speaking on background, added that ICC infrastructure grants can be unlocked only for new builds that meet tournament specifications, making refurbishment of older grounds less attractive.
Analysts remain split. Former national coach Stephen Mangongo told local radio that a single high-quality venue “can lift standards overnight by exposing local players to elite conditions”. Yet grassroots administrator Tapiwa Moyo countered that a world-class square “means little if an eight-year-old in Gweru still practises on concrete”.
History offers cautionary tales. Namibia’s Walvis Bay complex hosted the 2003 Under-19 World Cup but has since fallen dormant, while Sri Lanka’s Hambantota stadium stages cricket only sporadically. On the flip side, Lord’s and Newlands thrive precisely because links to major tourist hubs broaden their appeal.
Numbers aside, there is a wider debate about identity. Zimbabwean cricket, once the model for emerging nations, now battles for relevance after missing the last two men’s World Cups. A showpiece ground at one of the world’s natural wonders could rekindle pride; it could equally highlight the gulf between ambition and grassroots reality.
The bricks and mortar will soon tell their own story. For now, bulldozers track across red earth and local schoolchildren peer through the fence, wondering whether this arena is being built for them – or for visitors they may never meet.
