AfricaPress-Tanzania: THE ultra-modern stadium will remain long as Benjamin Mkapa legacy in sports, but sportsmen and women’s excellence in the global arenas, arguably tells the best of his 10-year presidency.
Called the National Stadium, but globally the 60-capacity stadium is most often called Benjamin William Mkapa because it was him who promised to construct it in 2003 after seeing a huge crowd that gathered at the Dar es Salaam International Airport to cheer Simba after eliminating giants Zamalek in the CAF African Championship under the tutelage of Kenyan James Siang’a.
For serious sports analysts, in simple word, Mkapa’s biggest legacy is ‘sports professionalism’, which to many, came under globalisation guise. During his reign various sports gained global look and professionalism became an anthem then.
The 2003 win over the then CAF Champions League defending champions put the Tanzanian giants on global map; Hence an arena of the global standard was needed to fit the growing atmosphere.
The magnificent looking stadium is dead silent, but those who actually spoke the best of Mkapa were sports personalities and their excellent performance outside Tanzania.
Globally, athletics best coloured the 10 year reign of Mkapa presidency with 12 medals, out of them five gold, two silvers and five medals, all won in All Africa Games, Afro-Indian Games of 2003 and Commonwealth Games.
Mkapa’s arrival in 1995 witnessed marathoner Simon Mrashani and boxer Haji Ali Matumla winning gold and silver medals in All Africa Games of Zimbabwe in 1995 and four years later in 1998, Mrashani won a silver medal the Commonwealth Games of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia while Geway Suja grabbed bronze for Tanzania.
The best Tanzanian performer in the event was a southpaw boxer, Michael Yombayomba who earned Tanzania the only gold medal. Prior to the Club Games, Tanzania had won a silver in All Africa Games of Johannesburg, South Africa.
Marathoner Francis Naali, who won a gold medal the Commonwealth Games of Manchester and John Yuda who won bronze in the 10,000m race, also brightly coloured Tanzanian athletics during Mkapa reign.
A year later in 2003, 800m star; Samuel Mwera and Lwiza John had neon-signed Tanzanian supremacy in athletics.
Mwera won a gold medal in 800m race of All Africa Games held in Abuja, Nigeria while Lwiza came out with a bronze.
A few weeks later, the 800m specialists were on podium at Afro-Asian games held in India. This time it was Lwiza who won a gold medal while Mwera came out with a bronze.
Though it was Juma Ikangaa who made Tanzania look a marathon country, John Yuda also played a role in making the country, a home to fine long distance runners.
Most of his brilliances were noted during the second term of Mkapa’s presidency.
In 2002, the Dodoma born runner won bronze in the World Half Marathon Championships and a few months later he won silver in World Cross Country Championships.
A year before he won a bronze medal in World Half Marathon Championships and later went on to win gold medal in 10,000m during the East African Championships.
While athletics placed Tanzania on the global arena, the second term of Mkapa presidency saw four; Golf, cricket, motorsports and basketball developing to the continental status.
It was in 2004 when Tanzania was awarded one of the eight rounds of African Rally (ARC), while basketball under the then sponsorship of Tanzania Breweries Ltd became a force to reckon with at the continental level.
In 2002, Tanzania won the East African Golf Challenge trophy after ending second and third in its past attempts. Not the stadium that best describes his legacy, it is what athletes did to the country during his reign.
