It took us seven years and a lot of money in renovations to finally convince the Confederation of African Football (Caf) that our stadium was now up to international standards.
Now that it has happened, the challenge is how to keep the stadium in good condition so that it does not suffer the same fate as in 2019, when it was banned from hosting international matches.
Surely, if we were serious about our sporting ambitions, we would have constructed a modern sporting facility during the 15 years that elapsed since Caf first issued its warning.
Now that we did not do it, and there are no plans to do so, we have to live with what we have and hope that it will not be long before this old facility is overtaken by time and eventually banned for good.
We would have loved to have Barbourfields and Rufaro Stadiums on standby, but the Harare City authorities chose to invest in a car park and stadium bars rather than upgrading the facility itself to meet Caf specifications.
One cannot help but laugh at the repeated promises by Harare mayor Jacob Mafume that Rufaro would be ready to host the Warriors, compared with the final product that emerged from the renovations.
Surely, when it comes to international football, Rufaro Stadium and Barbourfields are now history, consigned to the archives.
Only the National Sports Stadium remains, and we need to safeguard it jealously.
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Football analyst Admire Muhimeke has warned that overuse of the facility could see it lose the condition it has regained.
“I think we need to keep Premier League football away from this stadium. Having three games in a week is just too much. I think it should be reserved for international football only to allow the pitch to recover after use,” advised Muhimeke.
At one time, we had matches at the National Sports Stadium on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, something Muhimeke says must stop.
Surely, it is a fact that this is a national sports stadium and, apart from major national events, there would be no harm in hosting major athletics meetings, which do not come around all that often.
This stadium now belongs to the Ministry of Sport and not the Ministry of Public Works and National Housing.
As such, all those musical shows and church gatherings must also come to an end.
Surely, the crowds that come for football are very different from those attending musical galas, and the stadium risks vandalism if musical shows are allowed to continue.
After all, how much does the Ministry make from hiring out the stadium to music promoters and churches?
As we prepare to host the Democratic Republic of Congo in October, the churches and music promoters should go back to the venues where they held their gatherings when the stadium was closed for renovations.
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