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Unity essential for Taifa Stars victory
2006-09-09 09:25:25
By Editor
Taifa Stars had a good start when they beat Burkina Faso 2-1 at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam last Saturday.
It was imperative for the team to win the match for all odds were on their side.
To begin with, President Jakaya Kikwete himself, apart from attending the match to give his moral support, also graced one of their training sessions prior to the match.
Amina Chifupa, CCM Special Seat Member of Parliament also pledged 500 000/- for each goal scored by the team, adding the much needed motivation to the team.
It is not the ruling party alone who supported the team, opposition parties also took part in supporting and motivating the team through both moral and financial support.
In this vein, soccer became a uniting event for political parties set aside their differences to concentrate on supporting the team which is a national team, belonging to no party. This shows immense maturity in our political leaders.
How could Taifa Stars failed to perform well amidst such support? Further, they had the advantage of being at the home ground where scores of supporters thronged the stadium to cheer them.
It has been confirmed that Stars will resume camp on September 18 in order to start preparations for their Africa Nations Cup qualifying match against Mozambique which is scheduled for October 7. Mozambique was beaten 2-0 by Senegal.
The fact that Mozambique was beaten in its first leg must not make Stars complacent because this time around they will be playing away from home without the much needed moral support from the local fans.
As part of the preparation, it was said that Taifa Stars will play a friendly match against neighbouring Uganda on September 23 in Dar es Salaam.
It is our greatest hope that this friendly match will go a long way in helping the team identify its weaknesses so that it can rectify them before the fateful October 7 game.
With the new coach, support from political parties, both ruling and opposition and the general public, we have every hope that Taifa Stars will make it to the top. This must be the dawn of a new era for the team.
We have not been so successful in terms of soccer but it looks like we are heading towards success this time around.
Taifa Stars has already tasted the sweetness of victory and this should motivate it to want to enjoy more success especially now that the whole nation is giving it the much needed support.
It is encouraging to hear that coach Marcio Maximo has already pleaded with the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) to scout for foreign based players in order to strengthen the team.
TFF did not waste any time for it is said that it has already contacted the South African-based Selemani Matola and intends to contact UK based Davis Haule.
These two might help strengthen the team which seems to be weak in the mid field for they are very good midfielders.
The team has made a very good start, all that is needed is continued support from all stakeholders and everything will fall in place. Remember a journey of a thousand miles begins with one.
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