AfricaPress-Tanzania: AS the late President John Magufuli was laid to rest in his home town Chato, Geita region yesterday, the entire sports fraternity will always decorate him for his commitment in fast tracking development of sports and arts.
Sports leaders who spoke to the media commended the Magufuli’s leadership and efforts he has done with an endeavour to make sports advance to the higher levels. They said, they well understand Magufuli’s ambition to see all sports and national teams are given equal support when they are engaged in international assignments so as to ensure they do well and bring home victories.
Magufuli had good plans which were quickly translated by the Ministry for Information, Culture, Arts and Sports, and some of them are being implemented by Permanent Secretary, Abbas Hassan who end of last year ordered the National Sports Council (NSC) to make sure they work closely with sports federations and associations.
NSC also acted fast and ordered sports associations and federations to submit strategic development plans and activities for this year, and 38 days prior to Magufuli’s death they were already executed. NSC Acting Secretary General George Msonde has confirmed to have received submissions from 38 sports bodies revealing their strategic plans.
It was never like that before, many sports association leaders were crying for the government’s support and the late President saw their tears and put in place a strategy to ensure no one is left behind.
Moreover Msonde stressed that the government is conducting a study of the events listed by sports bodies, to see how the government through the sports development fund introduced by Magufuli, can partner with them to support national teams’ preparation in various international competitions.
This was a dream for various sports discipline leaders and also a clear indication of Tanzania sports’ bright future which left nothing other than sports leaders to keep honouring JPM as their savior.
Tanzania has rich sports disciplines that include those which have already submitted their development plans such as Tanzania Wheelchair Basketball Federation (TWBF), Tanzania Ladies Golf Union (TLGU), Tanzania Wrestling Federation (TWF), Tanzania Sports Medicine Association (TASMA), Tanzania Tennis Association (TTA), Tanzania Amateur Netball Association (CHANETA), Tanzania Football Federation (TFF), Fitness Instructors Association of Tanzania(FIAT), Tanzania Body Building Federation, Tanzania Baseball & Softball Association (TaBSA), Tanzania Pool Association (TAPA), Tanzania Cricket Association (TCA) and Athletic Tanzania (AT).
Others are Tanzania Taekwon-Do-Association, Tanzania Taekwondo Federation, Tanzania Professional Boxing Federation, Tanzania Handball Federation (TAHA), Tanzania Traditional Games Federation (CHAMIJATA), Tanzania Association of Sports Centre and Academy, Boxing Federation of Tanzania (BFT), Tanzania Weightlifting Association, Tanzania Shotokan Karate Tanzania (TASHOKA), Tanzania Amateur Volleyball Association (TAVA) and Kabaddi Sport Club.
Also in the submitted list are Tanzania Basketball Federation (TBF), Tanzania WUSHU Association, Tanzania Amputee Football Federation (TAFF), Tanzania Roll Ball Association, Tanzania Universities Sports Association ( TUSA), Tanzania Swimming Association (TSA), Tanzania Para Power lifting Association, Tanzania Judo Association, Tanzania Paralympics Committee (TPC), Tanzania Olympic Committee (TOC), Tanzania Sailing Association (TSAA), Automobile Association of Tanzania (AAT), Tanzania Sports for Deaf and Tanzania Special Olympic.
All these were meant to uplift standard of sports in the country and bring back the old glory days when Tanzania used to be a power house in sports industry. Phares Magesa, who has been among the active sports leaders from Tanzania Basketball Federation (TBF) president, could not hide his appreciation for the government’s efforts.
“We were heading into good direction; the late President Magufuli has given us a big honour and hope. During his time in office basketball has made a sky-high leap in development,” he noted. “Magufuli government decided to work closely with sports associations and the federations by involving us to put in place the National Sports Development Strategic Plan that most of us fully participated in,” he added.
Magesa, who was speaking on behalf of the Basketball fraternity, has also offered heartfelt condolences to the wife of the deceased Mama Janet Magufuli and family, all the Tanzanians and development oriented lovers from all over the World. He said that Magufuli will remain in the basketball fraternity for all good work he has done.
Magesa stressed that basketball has grown up tremendously during the five years of Magufuli’s helm. To mention but a few, he said the federation last year landed CRDB Bank sponsorship in the Taifa Cup that was held in country’s Capital Dodoma, in which over 26 young players who participated at the event also benefited by acquiring scholarships to study in technical colleges and universities in Tanzania.
Through the youth development programme so far, he said, there are six youths who have received scholarships through basketball to the United States and Canada and he explained that from this year onwards the number will increase due to the presence of more stakeholders who have joined the programme.
Akiti Ally is among the youths who have benefited after landing a scholarship to study at London Basketball Academy located in Ontario, Canada in 2017. Currently he was due to join Brigham Young University for further studies and he has been doing well ever since.
The federation has acquired CRDB Bank as a sponsor in partnership with other donors such as Sanlam Insurance, Mayfair Insurance, Cool Blue and Azam TV as co-sponsors of Taifa Cup, which according to Magesa, came under the Magufuli regime. Magesa stated that many basketball courts have been constructed as plans are underway to add more public courts in different regions.
The TBF President recently successfully visited Manyara, Arusha and Kilimanjaro regions in the tour which involved government officials, basketball officials at respective areas and stakeholders in speeding up process to put in place public courts to make the game accessible to many.
Expressing volleyball fraternity’s heartfelt feelings, TAVA Secretary General Alfred Selengia said the country and sports have lost a great leader. They express him as a model leader who puts patriotism first and also effort to change the sports sector into a better position than before.
Adding, he said Magufuli made it clear that he did not want to see national teams turned ‘madman head’ that everyone used to learn shaving. In short he was angered by our team being constant losers. Selengia said he motivated all sports to fight and defend the nation’s dignity and that they were heading to the right decision through his leadership.
Under Magufuli encouragement national girls under- 21 team for the first time won Africa Zone Five Championship in 2019. The team has also finished fifth in the African Championships and qualified to play in the World Cup for the first time. National men’s beach volleyball team also won Zone Five Championship two years ago and now is in the second round of the Olympic qualifiers.
In his remarks Tanzania Golf Union (TGU) president Chris Martin said will remember him for his ambition to develop golf. “Golf fraternity was shocked and sad, he had shown interest to construct the first and modern course in Capital City Dodoma,” stated Martin.
Martin said Dodoma as country capital is important to have golf courses and hoped the Government and Minister responsible for sports Innocent Bashungwa will carry on the idea and complete the Magufuli’s unfinished business. Suleiman Nyambui a former Brunei national athletic coach and winner of bronze medal at the 1978 All-Africa Games and the silver medal in 5,000m during the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Russia said the fallen President has shocked many.
Nyambui said: “For the good things that he has done for five years and two months it clearly shows us the way. I was well aware that he was ready to make a difference in sports. We lost a true leader.” Tanzania also shone in boxing through Hassan Mwakinyo during Dr Magufuli’s leadership.
On September 8, 2018, professional boxer Hassan Mwakinyo shocked the world when he knocked out Britain boxer Sam Eggington in the second round during the fight held in Birmingham. Before the fight, Mwakinyo was not a famous professional boxer in the world and was regarded as a stepping stone.
However, Mwakinyo outshined Eggington and was later ranked among 15 boxers out of the 1,917 in the boxing record. The boxer was a hero for Tanzania and Dr Magufuli rewarded him a piece of land in Dodoma Region. Runnerss like Alphonce Simbu, Failuna Matanga also shone in various competitions and qualified for the Olympic Games.
Simbu competed for Tanzania at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the men’s marathon. He finished 5th with a time of 2:11.15. He was the flag bearer for Tanzania during the closing ceremony. He also won the 14th edition of the Mumbai Marathon on 15 January 2017.
The Tanzania Cricket Association (TCA) is among other sports associations that are mourning the sudden demise of President Magufuli. And to cherish his memories, TCA is considering of preparing a special tournament that will be honouring the late President Magufuli.
Atif Salim, who is TCA’s information officer has said that the association has a tradition of honoring and remembering those who had immense contribution for the country, sports in particular. He also added that TCA will remember Magufuli’s stand during last year’s Covid outbreak and how that helped Tanzania to get noticed all around the world.
To make sure the local cricket fraternity does not forget him, TCA will organise a tournament in the memory of Late Magufuli once the mourning period of 21 days is over.
Already TCA is annually running a tournament dubbed ‘Nyerere Tournament’s that is named after the founding president Julius Nyerere who died in 1999. Salim said there are plans also to organise the tournament that will be named after former president Benjamin Mkapa.
“Our executive committee will meet to see how we honour our beloved leaders who played a great role in spearheading for the country development and took their time to inspire and develop sporting events”, said Salim. Magufuli was unfortunately the first president to die in power and engineered for the transformation of the country in various sectors.
