Barely two weeks after Morocco hosted the symposium on infrastructure development in African football, Zimbabwe face the prospect of hosting its international fixtures in neighbouring South Africa after it emerged the Confederation of African Football (CAF) will assess Barbourfields Stadium's readiness to host 2021 AFCON qualifiers in a fortnight.
Zimbabwe is in the grip of football infrastructure crisis with all but Barbourfields Stadium having been banned from hosting official CAF competitions.
Ahead of their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier against defending champions Algeria, a CAF team will inspect Barbourfields and should it be deemed unfit to host the game, it will likely be hosted in South Africa.
Barbourfields, owned by the City of Bulawayo Council, received a partial clearance to host international matches last year in November, with the inspectors demanding that the floodlights at the stadium should be improved.
CAF also recommended the City Council add "five individual seated toilets" in the dressing rooms, a massage table in each dressing room, a tactical board (white board/flip chart with pens) as well as good ventilation or air-conditioning.
Recommendations were also made for a doping room which must be near the teams' dressing rooms and must be "inaccessible to any person that is not involved with the doping control process".
The doping room, according to CAF, must be equipped with a television set, a refrigerator equipped with non-alcoholic drinks, sealed mineral water bottles, wastepaper bin for bottles, a ventilator and sufficient seating for at least eight people.
However, indications are that nothing has been done to improve the floodlighting system since the last visit, and this has triggered fears within ZIFA they could get another negative report.
ZIFA this week confirmed receiving notice from CAF that they will be sending a team of inspectors in the next two weeks.
ZIFA spokesperson, Xolisani Gwesela said CAF asked them to nominate two stadia for inspection and they have put Barbourfields and the National Sports Stadium up for scrutiny.
"CAF have indicated they are sending an inspection team in the next two weeks,'' said Gwesela.
The all-important inspection comes after Morocco successfully hosted the symposium that discussed lack of world class stadia in Africa. FIFA President Gianni Infantino and his CAF counterpart, Ahmad Ahmad attended the seminar, hosted at the Mohammed VI Football Complex.
The FIFA boss pledged $1 billion for, at least, one world class stadium in each African country.