Former FIFA secretary-general Fatma Samoura says Zimbabwe needs bankable projects, not just government funding, to attract private capital for sports infrastructure.
Fatma Samoura, former FIFA secretary-general and now an Advisory Board member of the African Collaborations Group (ACG), has urged Zimbabwe to develop commercially sustainable sports facilities to attract private and institutional investment. Samoura stated that the country's infrastructure challenges stem not from a lack of money, but from a deficit of projects that investors can confidently finance. Zimbabwe has long struggled with facilities unable to host major international events, with several stadiums previously failing to meet international standards.
Samoura proposed that the solution lies in a new business model for sports infrastructure, moving beyond government-funded refurbishments. She highlighted the ACG's Victory District model, which advocates for integrated sport and entertainment developments designed for year-round revenue generation, rather than relying solely on matchdays. This approach aims to create an "infrastructure ecosystem" where sport functions as a genuine economic sector.
According to Samoura, implementing such a model in Harare could yield significant benefits, including job creation, tourism boosts, enhanced athlete development, and a consistent calendar of sporting and entertainment events. She emphasized the need for transparent regulatory frameworks for public-private partnerships and government willingness to grant mandates to credible development partners, ensuring projects can become self-sustaining rather than dependent on public subsidies.
Why it mattersInvestors are affected because the lack of bankable projects prevents them from deploying allocated funds into Zimbabwe's sports infrastructure.
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