AfricaPress-Tanzania: FOOTBALL stakeholders in the country have reacted positively about the fresh remarks from President John Magufuli that soon, he will signal the green light for sports activities to resume.
The probability of seeing football leagues resume shortly were again revived over the weekend as JPM reiterated that the current spread of Covid-19 is not such threatening.
The president announced the good news from Chato, Geita when he briefed the nation about the current trend of Covid-19 pandemic saying its transmission is not that threatening as before.
“If the current trend is maintained, I am planning to let sports activities restart soon as they are a source of entertainment to Tanzanians,” Magufuli said.
It was the second time for the head of state to mention about recommencement of sports events since its suspension in March this year as a preventive measure to fight the spread of Covid-19 pandemic.
In his immediate reaction, the Chairman of Tanzania Premier League Board (TPLB) Stephen Mguto said they are on standby ready to keep the ball rolling as long as the government flag off the games.
“The speech from president Magufuli has given us more energy to be well prepared and we are currently communicating with all clubs trading in top flight league, First Division League (FDL) and Second Division League (SDL) to be ready all the time,” he said.
On his part, Taifa Stars Head Coach Etienne Ndayiragije said less than a month will be ample time for top flight league clubs to regroup and finalise preparations before finishing the season fixtures.
Queried what he thinks could be the best preparation period for the clubs before heading to the battle zone when the games are flagged off, Ndayiragije responded that less than a month is enough.
“I understand that many clubs gave their players individual training sessions to be fulfilled at their homes in order to maintain fitness levels.
“Am sure that most players were adhering to the programmes meaning that when they assemble to finish the season, they will simply be given minor training sessions to get back into the league mood,” he said.
He added that when the players regroup, they already know each other and the style of play such that there is no need to consume much time in preparation since they are aware about the playing format of their respective clubs.
“We are a bit lucky because we have not been highly affected by the lockdown like other countries as such players had enough time to go out to exercise.
Their fitness levels will surely depend on how serious they were in embracing the given solo training programmes.
“I was watching status of some players who were taking their time to go and train at beaches and in such doing, I have confidence that most of them are physically fit to resume the league games,” said him.
In the same token, Simba SC Information Officer Haji Manara thanked JPM for once again reviving hopes of letting sports activities resurface.
“As a country, we need to get the representative team for CAF Champions League (CAF CL) games and letting the leagues to restart, it means we will be able to get the real title winners of the season,” he said.
