Africa-Press – Tanzania. WOMEN soccer is rapidly gaining popularity in many parts of the world and so is to the local Women league bankrolled by Serengeti Breweries Limited (SBL) under its Premium Lite banner.
Women league’s products are clearly seen in the national women and youth teams that today have become victors in various regional and continental level tournaments.
Tanzania, like the rest of the world, is now seeing more and more women attracted into this sport as ever before.
For those who may not be aware, women’s football has a longer history than most people would expect. There were a number of women’s clubs in the 1890s and one in north London was reported to have attracted a 10,000 crowd to a game at Crouch End.
Preston was the stronghold of women’s football in its early days, the famous Dick Kerr’s Ladies being formed there in 1894 and earning a lot of money for charity.
We are told that their match with St Helen’s Ladies on Boxing Day 1920 had 53,000 onlookers inside Goodison Park and thousands of them were locked outside.
The FA banned women’s football from its clubs’ grounds but its view that football was ‘quite unsuitable for females’ changed towards the end of the 1960s.
The Women’s FA (WFA) was formed in 1969 and within three years the first ‘Women’s FA Cup Final’ and England Women’s international had been played.
However, in many parts of the world including Tanzania, women soccer still does not get the attention it deserves.
In an interview with this paper, Tanzania Football Federation Marketing Manager, Aaron Nyanda said lack of sponsorship to women league has been one of the serious problems facing the development of women soccer in the country.
“In Tanzania, the plight of women soccer is even much worse. Since its inception, the National Women League has been lacking in financial support to enable it to operate smoothly like its men’s counterpart, that is, until Serengeti Premium Lite, came on board that we are seeing a new lease of life to women soccer”, Nyanda said.
On January 2018, the SBL under Serengeti Premium Lite banner entered into three-year sponsorship deal with Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) to support the National Women League.
Through the sponsorship, Serengeti Premium Lite became the first ever sponsor to support women soccer in the country.
Nyanda said the sponsorship has enabled the federation to run the league in less stressful environment due to the financial support offered.
“Before this sponsorship, it was difficult for teams to go and play away matches because of financial problems. The league is now gradually gaining popularity and we are even starting to hire professional players from outside the country,” he said.
The marketing manager noted that TFF recognises Serengeti Lite as a worthy partner in football development in the country and not just as a sponsor due to its solid and continued support to the sport. Notably, Tanzania is one of a number of Eastern African nations on the rise in regard to women’s football.
It’s one of the first East African nations to qualify for the continental Africa Women’s Cup of Nations and more significantly, Tanzania won the 2016 CECAFA Women’s Championships.
Since then, the nation has grown from strength to strength, launching its first ever top-tier national women’s league with an official sponsor on board.
SBL Head of Beer, Anitha Msangi says SBL is proud to engage with the women’s premier league, adding that the sponsorship has played a significant role in empowering women to increase their participation and performance in the sports sector in general, and in soccer in particular.
She further notes that Serengeti Lite believes that by giving more visibility to the numerous talented women in the sport, it can help to raise their profile and the attractiveness of women’s soccer.
“Soccer is no longer just a form of entertainment to the fans nor is it just a preserve for men only; it is also meant to unite and inspire people across the globe. It is also a source of steady income to the players,” she said.
The beer’s sponsorship towards Serengeti Lite Women’s Premium League follows a long history of sponsoring the men’s national soccer team that currently continues to enjoy the support of the company through its flagship brand-Serengeti Premium Lager.
