Dr Mwakyembe, speaking after gracing Saturday’s international friendly match between Taifa Stars and visiting Botswana at National Stadium in Dar es Salaam, stressed the need for increased investment in the youth in a bid to turn around the country’s football fortunes after years of being underachievers.
“I think we’re almost getting rid of that famous saying by our elder Ali Hassan Mwinyi that we’re like the madman’s head which everyone would learn how to barber,” said Mwakyembe referring to recent feat by Serengeti Boys, who made history by reaching the 2017 U-17 AFCON finals.
Mwakyembe said he was delighted by Bakari Shime’s Boys and underscored the importance of the nation committing more resources towards the development of sports from the grassroots.
“I have been reminded by the TFF leadership that for 37 years we’ve never reached where Serengeti Boys are now going to, so that is a ray of hope, there is a little ray of light which shows the direction in which Tanzanians are heading to. “We must use that opportunity to improve our football, and the result gives me a lot of hopes that it is now significant that as a nation we should work towards improving our teams,” he said.
The new sports minister insisted that there is no shortcut to sports excellence: “Tanzanians should not expect achievements in football and other sports without investing in youth.
We need to prepare our youngsters from the grassroots so that they can play better.” Mwakyembe said for example the Taifa Stars players demonstrated a lot talent during the 2-0 victory against Botswana on Saturday but they were short of physicality as compared to their opponents, revealing that players need proper training to have best physicality.
Meanwhile, Coach Salum Mayanga, who took his first charge of the senior national team Taifa Stars during the Saturday’s friendly against Botswana, said his side still has a lot of work to do despite the win.
Taifa Stars skipper, Mbwana Samata, who features for Belgium side KRC Genk, scored a goal in each half to mark a perfect start for Mayanga. Mayanga expressed his delight on the outcome but noted that there is still a room for improvement as they prepare for their second build-up match, which is against Burundi, set for tomorrow.
“We sat our team to counter and used some of the chances that came our way. It’s nice to get off to winning start but there’s still of work ahead, we need to improve the standard of our overall performance,” the Stars new coach said.
Stars used the match as strengthen test ahead of the continental assignments - the 2018 African Nations Championship (CHAN) qualifiers and the 2019 AFCON qualifiers as well as to improve their position in the FIFA rankings.
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