AfricaPress-Tanzania: TAIFA Stars players have expressed their gratitude to Serengeti Premium Lager (SBL) for the sponsorship of the team, noting that it had contributed immensely to its solid and consistent winning ways.
John Bocco, one of Taifa Stars’ linchpins and a striker of outstanding repute, said that the sponsorship had immensely led to the team’s achievement registered in recent years.
Through the support, Taifa Stars qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in 2019 after almost four decades of being on the limbo of continental soccer.
“It is undoubtedly through Serengeti Premium Lager sponsorship that we are registering a string of great performances, culminating to the return, last year, to this prestigious continental football showpiece after a prolonged wait of 38 years,” Bocco said, adding: “I believe that had it not been for the sponsorship that facilitated our adequate preparations, we would not have made it that far.”
SBL became the official main sponsor of Taifa Stars in May 2017, when Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) inked a three-year 2.1bn/- deal with the company that saw the brewer’s flagship brand assume the role of the main sponsor.
Bocco’s sentiments were echoed by his counterpart, Frank Domayo, a creative midfielder in the team, who acknowledging the spirit of patriotism that SBL had built among Tanzanian soccer lovers.
“The sponsorship has played a pivotal role in influencing Tanzanians to love and stand with their national team through media and outreach campaigns, which also involved players,” Domayo said.
The sponsorship, according to the midfielder, had enormously motivated the players by ensuring that all their requirements were fulfilled on time and their welfare was wellcatered for.
“We have seen a real difference with current sponsor (SBL). We stay in good hotels when travelling and when in training camps. Our general welfare is also well looked after and as a result, we are very motivated and that’s why our performance is improving,” Domayo said.
For his part, the team’s utility defender cum midfielder, Erasto Nyoni noted that apart from the material support that the players received from SBL, the brewer went an extra mile by ensuring that the team is morally supported.
“Besides the financial support, the sponsor has always been with us in and out the pitch. We have been receiving a lot of encouragement and this has motivated us to play ever harder,” he said.
The national team’s goalkeeper Metacha Mnata specifically appreciated the closeness that the sponsor has maintained with the team attributing it to the team’s good performance.
“The sponsor has been with us in every step. The investment made to the national team is beyond the pitch. The sponsor has been very successful in bringing the nation together in support of their national team through very robust media campaigns,” Mnata enthused.
