Africa-Press – Tanzania. PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan has pledged that her government will construct two state-of-the art Sports and Arts Arenas in Dar es Salaam and Dodoma as one way to promote sports in the country.
She said this at the State House in Dar es Salaam over the weekend as she received the U-23 CECAFA Cup trophy which the youth team clinched in Ethiopia recently.
“The request to have modern Indoor arenas has been there for a long period of time that is why we now need to take it seriously and I want to have them constructed in both Dar es Salaam and Dodoma.
“This will enable us to host various international sport events like Volleyball, Netball, Basketball and many others thereby helping to popularise our country to the rest of the world,” she said.
She added that the construction of the Indoor arenas is very expensive as such when everything will be in place; they will begin constructing it in one area while the other will be on standby.
Again, the president directed the National Sports Council to make sure that all sports governing bodies in the country exercise good governance insisting that no success in sports can be reached in unstable environment.
“To say the truth, as a country, we cannot make big steps in sports if we fail to practice good governance that is why I am directing the NSC to fully make sure that they work hard to facilitate it so that the sports bodies can work freely and profitably,” she said.
Furthermore, the head of state hailed the idea to establish the annual Tanzanite Women Sports Festival (TWSF) of which she pointed out that much emphasis about the festival should be on the plight of women footballers.
“Some of these football players have lost women qualities such that it will be difficult for them to be married when their tenure of playing expires as such, the Sports Development Fund should begin to invest in their future after football. “For now, we are happy because they make us proud whenever they do well in various games but let’s try to think about their future when they will no longer be playing. Are we creating a good life for them?” the president quizzed.
She then seized the opportunity to laud Azam Media Limited for their massive investment in sports sector while calling other companies to borrow a leaf from them.
“They started with football but now, they have extended their coverage to Boxing which is also gathering momentum and is being loved by many people in the country as such, others should come aboard to invest in sports similar to what Azam are doing,” she remarked.
About Covid-19 vaccination, the president encouraged sports men and women to go for and be vaccinated saying it is the right thing for them to do as they travel a lot from one place to another.
Earlier, the Minister for Information, Culture, Arts and Sports Innocent Bashungwa noted that they have already employed a consultant who is figuring out the cost of the proposed Dodoma Stadium and the two Sports and Arts Arenas.
“By constructing a big stadium in Dodoma, it will help the nation to stage various activities easily considering the fact that the Dodoma city is growing rapidly hence the existing stadium cannot accommodate the expanding population,” he said.
