PRESIDENT Ali Mohamed Shein has said that although Zanzibar Heroes lost heavily in the December 2019 CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup tournament in Uganda, they deserve praise because they were a threat to other teams.
“Some people were surprised by my invitation to the players of Zanzibar Heroes to the State House after they lost in the tournament. We should praise them because, despite losing, they were a threat to their competitors,” Shein said when he graced this year’s sports festival.
The annual festival held on every January 1st, is meant to promote regular physical exercises among members of the public to minimize contracting Non Communicable Diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
Different groups matched for a kilometre distance before assembling at the Mao Zedong Stadium in the city, where President Shein emphasised on regular body exercise.
The gathering was also opportunity for the president to push for early preparation of Zanzibar teams before regional tournaments.
He appealed to the Zanzibar Football Federation (ZFF) and the National Sports Council of Zanzibar (BMZ) to build a culture of preparing Zanzibar Heroes earlier with multiple friendly matches before any future tournament.
President Shein also directed the office of the Second Vice-President to work with the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training; and the Ministry responsible for sports to ensure people with disability are involved in sports and take part in competitions.
The State Minister (Office of the Second Vice-President) Mohamed Aboud Mohamed said the festival is an opportunity to remind athletes and respective bodies responsible for sports to start preparations early before venturing into international competitions.
“There is no easy match without proper and sufficient preparations,” said the State Minister.
Commissioner of Sports Sharifa Khamis joined the Zanzibar Body Exercise Sports Association (ZABESA) Officer Sihaba Mohamed to thank President Shein and President John Magufuli for promoting and supporting physical body exercise in the country.
