Fortunately when Zambia team was wining the Nations Cup title in Libreville, the CECAFA President who is also the Tanzania Football Federation boss, Leodegar Tenga was one of the dignitaries selected by the Confederation of African Football, CAF, to watch the match from the VIP stands.
Tenga knows the prowess, history and charisma of the Zambian team since he was one of the players at the final qualifier match at the Dag Hammerskjold Stadium in Ndola to power the Taifa Stars into last eight of the Nations Cup in 1979.
Knowing the background of Zambia’s rough road to the prestigious title might be a good starting point for the TFF President to work out a plan to boost our national team’s performance in African football.
This is a wake up call to Tenga and his secretariat, be it at TFF or CECAFA to chart a plan to improve national and regional football.
Tenga admitted during an interview after his arrival from Libreville that Zambia exhibited a playing pattern which is not much different from that of other teams in the CECAFA bloc.
We have seen all efforts to guide our national team into the qualifier berth of the Nations Cup end up in frustrations since their only success in 1980.
The plan should first focus on strengthening the football infrastructure before throwing all the efforts into the search for corporate sponsorship.
Availability of playgrounds even those of the inferior type without grass is more important than having abundance of talents which is thrown in the dustbin.
It is time the football federation worked hand in glove with responsible authorities in the ministries of lands and sports in ensuring that schools have playgrounds to groom future football stars.
Efforts must also be made to improve the premier league which is tainted with favouritism when it comes to officiating matches particularly those involving Simba and Yanga teams.
Substandard league is always associated with under par players and the consequences are reflected in the national team.
Frustrated with the poor show, Tanzanian soccer fans now cheer and follow premier leagues of other countries particularly the European ones.
There is low attendance at the stadiums during league matches, crippling revenue collection for both the clubs and the federation. It is not too late however. We can send our team to South Africa for the Africa championship next year if we put hard work into the team.
There will be highs and lows for Tenga and his line-up of leaders as they set their focus on building up a team that will bring success.
TFF must be innovative and if possible Tenga must work closely with the Zambia Football Association’s president Kalusha Bwalya who is at the centre of Chipolopolo’s recent football heights.
There is no harm in seeking help as long as the request helps football development.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Today, Africa will witness the Africa Cup of Nations final, which for many soccer observers involves King David and Goliath, when Zambia’s national team will play against Ivory Coast’s star-studded national side.

As one observer put it, “the cream of African football’s Europe-based aristocracy will meet with a robust Africa-based challenge. Of the Chipolopolo squad, only the superb young goal-scorer, Emmanuel Mayuka of Young Boys Berne, plays his club football in Europe.”

Whichever way we put it, the truth is that Zambia has reached the final stages about 18 years since they last played the Africa Cup of Nations final, after losing an entire gifted national squad in a fatal plane accident in 1992.

The lesson we learn here is that it’s possible for Tanzania as well as any East African country to reach where Zambia, our neighbours have reached as long as we have good managers in our football federation and the national team.

The question many have been asking is why not Tanzania? Three decades without playing the finals of the Africa Cup of Nations and we still have people calling themselves managers of our football? Do we really need them after they have failed to make this country shine in various international football tourneys, especially the Africa Cup of Nations?

Our football today is in a pathetic situation with the Premier league dominated by corruption, poor management and lack of professionalism as well as losing the best talents. Our managers are just busy with quarrels, mismanagement of resources and they pretend not to see how our football standards have declined.

The Tanzanian first division league of 1992 was better in terms of talents and the quality of football than what we call today the Premier league, though in those days the government had no interest in helping our football.

The First Division league in those days was dominated by a few Asian traders like Mohamed Dewji, Murtaza Dewji, the late Abbas Gulamali and Ahmed Bora, but still, there was definitely a better game than what we have today.

What’s appalling is that at a time when we have a President of the United Republic who cares and loves football, we still can’t utilise that opportunity by identifying, recruiting and retaining the best talents for our national team as well as various football clubs in the country.

We ousted the previous management that used to manage our football under the chairmanship of Muhidin Ndolanga and replaced it with the one led by our football icon, Leodgar Tenga, but we are still in a pathetic situation in the game domestically and internationally.

If the current management that gave more hope to this country has failed to improve our football, do we still need it? If it has failed to establish a good Premier league in the country do we still expect anything from it? It has failed to try and convince the government to bid for hosting the Africa Cup of Nations finals in future.

Why not Tanzania? Who said we don’t have the infrastructure? Dar es Salaam, Mwanza and Zanzibar can manage the Africa Cup of Nations provided that Kirumba and Amani stadia are renovated to support our current $40 million national stadium facility.

Mwanza has excellent hotels and so does Zanzibar. These hotels can accommodate African teams as well as travelling football fans. Dar es Salaam has many upmarket hotels, and we have hosted various international events including the giant World Economic Forum.

But still we have managers who believe that Tanzania can’t host the Africa Cup of Nations finals or they just don’t see the potential that we have as a nation. Either they are naïve of the potential we have as a country or they are just dumb managers.

We are informed that the Tanzania Football Federation has never approached the government with this idea, and never indeed saw it as a practical scenario. They have fallen in the trap of those who believe that this country at the age of 50 can’t host teams from 16 African nations.

Twiga Stars inaingia uwanjani huku ikiwa na faida ya ushindi wa magoli 2-0 ya ugenini walioupata kwenye mchezo wa kwanza jijini Windhoek.

Akizungumza na waandishi wa habari jana, kocha msaidizi wa Twiga Stars Nasra Mohamed alisema wamejiandaa vizuri kwa ajili ya ushindi kwenye mchezo leo na tayari wamefanyia kazi mapungufu waliyoyaona kwenye mchezo wa kwanza.

Twiga itasonga mbele hata kama itafungwa kwa tofauti ya mabao isiyozidi moja.

“Pamoja na kupata ushindi kwenye mchezo wa kwanza tulipoteza nafasi nyingi za kufunga. Tumeshafanyia marekebisho makosa hayo, hakuna hofu tutapata ushidi tena,” alisema Nasra.

Aidha, alisema kuwa wameshamaliza matatizo ya posho na wachezaji wao na sasa kazi imebakia kwa wachezaji kutimiza majukumu yao.

Naye Naodha wa Twiga Stars, Sophia Mwasikili alisema kuwa wachezaji wenzake wapo kwenye morali ya juu na wanategemea kuopata ushindi kwenye mchezo wa leo.

“Tulikuwa na matatioz kidogo ya posho zetu, lakini tunashukuru uongozi wa timu na TFF (shirikisho la soka) kwa kuwa tumemalizana kwa kutupa stahili yetu…,” alisema.

Wakati huo huo, Boahari ya dawa nchini (MSD) katika kuhakikisha Twiga Stars inafanya vizuri kwenye pambano lao la leo, jana walikabidhi hundi ya sh. milioni 10 kwa Katibu Mkuu wa Shirikisho la Soka (TFF), Angetile Osiah kwa ajili ya timu hiyo.

The Olympics are held once every 4 years and are the pinnacle of sports events. The amount of TV coverage and media focus on athletes  is massive even by global standards. It is a win at the Olympics that makes a sportsman a true icon of the sport and shows that the individual, or the team for the matter, has become a global champion of the World. This has happened to the US Swimming team while the US Basketball team was seen to have failed for having missed the crown.

Tanzania on the other hand is still waiting to take home a crown. This only happened at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow when Filbert Bayi won a silver medal in the 3000m steeplechase and Suleiman Nyambui won the 5000m.

FAILING TO PLAN IS PLANNING TO FAIL

The question then is what ails Tanzania in terms of sports? It is a question whose answer readily comes to mind if you consider the old but true saying that if one fails to plan, one is actually planning to fail.

The Olympics games are the World’s stage for excellence in performance. Olympic athletes are tried and tested endurance performers. So how is it that Tanzania has generally prepared for failure by failing to plan?

PLAN: The best way to achieve set goals is to have a set goal. It looks more certain than ever that the Tanzania Olympic Committee (TOC) has no set targets to which they are working. At TOC it is business as usual. The public is not even aware of what their target is. In contrast,  Kenya who have several times been winners of 5- 8 Gold medals at previous Olympics announce every Olympic year what their target is.

RESOURCES: It is also clear that Government investment into sporting resources is far from satisfactory. The very idea of stopping sports from being in the curriculum in schools has contributed negatively in the quest to develop sports. Simply sporting talent is seen, identified from age seven to 13. Anyone starting sports at 23 is already too late in many sporting disciplines.

TRAINING: We are not developing and using many sports trainers from within a local pool of talent. The result is that we are short of coaches and sports talent spotters. We have too many arm chair strategists in Tanzanian sports.

MANAGEMENT: Management is probably the worst of Tanzania”s problems. Even with the former Tanzania Golf Union Chairman, Dinoz Malinzi, as Chaiman of the National Sports Council, it seems that Tanzania is still going to go against the average of 1 manager for every 15 athletes as the Olympic Charter proposes. This simply means for every 15 athletes, a team should have on average 2 officials. However it has become traditional for Tanzania to have a representation of 7 athletes and 15 officials.

The question then is what would these 15 officials be doing managing 7 athletes across 2 or so disciplines? If resources are the problem why can’t these 7 athletes be handled by 1 official and supported by the High Commission officials? The Tanzania High Commission in London is one of the biggest worldwide. They have a cultural attache who could coordinate and assist the sports delegates and Tanzanians in London could also provide assistance.  This would save the Government money.

Is it fair to use these games as the opportunity to fly girl friends to capitals of the World at Tax Payers cost?

What is the Ministry in charge of Youth and Sport doing to curb this reckless and wanton squandering of public coffers by our managers of sports. Plenty it seems need to be done to bring a sense of order into sports management if we are to create jobs ad opportunities for young Tanzanians with talent.

In todays world sports is business. We are still managing it as child’s play. To our own detriment. When shall we wake up and realise?

The Tanzania Olympic Committee (TOC) has named Hassan Jalafu as the country’s leader of delegation during the Olympic Games to be held in London in July this year.

TOC secretary general Filbert Bayi said Jalafu, who is the deputy board chair of the committee, will lead the Tanzanian athletes and officials at the Games.

Bayi said currently there are only two athletes who have qualified for the games. Boxing will have to qualify for the London Games at their Africa qualifying games to be staged in Morocco.

While if swimming athletes fails to qualify only two will participate on solidarity tickets.

Bayi however said that his committee will have a full number of athletes from all disciplines in May and also said they were planning to go in camp the same months for final preparations.

He said his association has identified Bradford University in Leeds , UK as a place to have their camp , he was non committal on the days of the camp saying it will depends on the number of local athletes who will qualify for the games .

“Chances are we might camp in England at Bradford University in Leeds, am not sure of the date for the camp and also the number of athletes who will camp but if many Tanzanians qualifies for the games we will stay there for one months, but if few qualifies we will be there for two months, its my hope that the camp will help us to acclimatize with the weather of England” he said

He also said if his association fails to make necessary arrangements for the camping in time they will just camp as the Olympic village in the Uk , he said   The Games’ Village is expected to be opened on 16 July, 11 days before the start of the Olympic Games.

Bayi who is a former international runner himself said chances of local athletes performing well at the games are very minimal, he said the country is doing very little to promote sports in the country.

He said the country sports authorities must accept that there is a need to have another generation of athletes as the current one is phasing out due to age and other factors.

Bayi attributed this to the ban of sports programs at all schools some years ago , he said the ban affected the continuous program which was designed to promote sports in the country .

“ Since the banning of sports programs in our schools the country has experienced lack of committed and serious sports men, there is a gap that is exist in development of sports in the country and you must know that   the current sports stars are phasing out ” he said

He also said though the government re introduced sports programs in the country schools , very few is being done to promote and sustain the program ,Bayi said if this will go un checked the country risk to remain on the bottom of all sport activities .

Timu hiyo imefanikiwa kuingia kwenye fainali na kuweka hai ahadi ya kulitwaa kombe hiyo baada ya kuwatimua Simba kwenye nusu fainali kwa mabao 2-0 wakati wa mechi iliyochezwa usiku wa kuamkia Januari 10.

Kipigo hicho kwa simba kiilitokea siku chache baada ya watani wao wa jadi Yanga yenye mashabiki wengi Tanzania nayo kupokea kichapo cha magoli 3-0 katika mechi ya raudi ya robo fainali kutoka kwa Azam.

Kwa hali hiyo, Azam imefanikiwa kuzitimua timu hiyo huko Zanzibar  huku ikibaki  kwenye fainali na timu nyingine ya Zanzibar ambayo itapatikana usiku wa kuamkia Januari 11 katika mechi itakayoshirikisha timu za Jamhuri na Mafunzo.

Tayari Yanga iluishatangaza kwamba Azam sasa ni timu pinzani kali kama Simba baada ya kukubali vipigo viwili tofauti kwani mwishoni mwa mwaka jana ilifungwa magoli 2-0 na mwaka huu kukubali magoli 3-0 kutoka kwa timu hiyohiyo.

Baadhi ya mashabiki wa soka Dar es Salaam wameelezea vipigo hivyo kwa timu za Simba na Yanga kuwa ni mwanzo wa kupoteza umaarufu  huku wengine wakisema watahamia ushabiki wao Azam.

Timu ya Azam ilianzishwa miaka michache iliyopita na mfanyabiashara maarufu  nchini na kuweza kujenga uwanja wa kisasa ukiwa na vyumba mbalimbali vya mazoezi na starehe.

Lakini pia  uongozi wa timu hiyo umeajiri kocha kutoka uingereza na kupewa jukumu la kuiunda timu imara itakaoleta ushindani Afrika.

Kwenye ligi kuu Tanzania inashika nafasi ya tatu ikiwa chini ya Yanga  na Simba, lakini kwa kasi iliyonayo sasa kama itaingia nayo kwenye mzunguko wa pili wa ligi hiyo, upo uwezekano  ikatwaa ubingwa.