FORMER Tourism and Hospitality minister Walter Mzembi has revealed that Zimbabwe once pursued a bid to co-host the FIFA World Cup, claiming he secured the support of then-FIFA president Sepp Blatter for an exploratory campaign.
In an X post, Mzembi said that while in government in 2010 he initiated talks with FIFA over a joint 2034 tournament bid that would have paired Zimbabwe with South Africa and Botswana.
He stated that Zimbabwe was slated for a headline role in the plan, with the National Sports Stadium earmarked to stage both the opening and final games.
“During my time I succeeded in convincing FIFA that Africa could host WC 2034 again through a collabo with RSA, Bots and Zim. Sepp Blatter endorsed it, this was in 2010, but the dream got lost along the way!
“Zimbabwe was going to host the Opening and Closing matches, not because we thought it would win, fine if it would, but the principal objective was to fix Brand Zimbabwe!” he wrote.
Mzembi added that staging a marquee friendly between the Warriors and Brazil’s five-time world champions at NSS in 2010 was part of the strategy to position Zimbabwe as a credible host.
“I brought Brazil to Zim leading a delegation of three. We met the entire Brazilian Football Federation president and team, Dunga the coach and ultimately President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to convince them Brazil could camp in Zimbabwe ahead of WC2010.
“We got the match, and I think it was a beautiful thing to see them play the Warriors. All eyes were on Zim, NSS was packed to overflow outside, Harare ground to a halt that afternoon,” he said.
Over 15 years later, that aspiration appears remote. Zimbabwe has no FIFA-accredited stadium for international fixtures and the Warriors now host matches outside the country. Saudi Arabia has also been confirmed as the unchallenged host of the 2034 World Cup, ending any prospect of Zimbabwe hosting that tournament.
