The City of Harare will close one carriageway of Bulawayo Road on Monday 28 September 2026 to accommodate the huge crowd expected at the National Sports Stadium where Zimbabwe will face the Democratic Republic of Congo in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in the evening.
The match marks the return of the senior national team to the giant stadium after so many years, and authorities say traffic is expected to surge as fans are showing great enthusiasm to attend, with about 30,000 advance tickets already sold.
In a public notice dated 18 September 2026 under Ref 112/16/26 and Vote RD 05/100, Chief Traffic Officer M. Chimombe advised that the National Sports Stadium will host an evening game that requires the closure of the Bulawayo Road carriageway for motorists plying from Bulawayo into the city centre between 1600 hours and 2100 hours.
According to the notice addressed to the Public Relations Manager, the closure is a proactive measure to anticipate and manage congestion caused by the large number of soccer fans. To ensure smooth flow, a route plan has been put in place.
Motorists coming from Bulawayo heading into Harare City Centre have been advised to use alternative routes such as Solomon Mujuru Drive, also known as Kirkman, to access the city. A police checkpoint will be mounted at the intersection of Bulawayo Road and Harare Drive, where only match officials and motorists holding official advance tickets will be allowed to proceed towards the stadium. Motorists without official tickets will be diverted into Harare Drive and then into Solomon Mujuru Drive.
Motorists coming out of Harare City Centre and passing through the National Sports Stadium area will, however, ply the route as usual and will not be affected by the closure.
The notice, which was copied to the Chamber Secretary and Head of Public Safety and was received and stamped by the City of Harare Traffic Laws Enforcement Division Administration on 21 September 2026, is part of a timely intervention by authorities to ease congestion on the busy highway and allow fans to throng the stadium without major traffic disruptions.
The excitement comes as the Warriors today date Sierra Leone in Morocco, ahead of the crucial home qualifier against DRC next Monday evening.
