Bashungwa made the remarks when he made a surprise visit to Taifa Stars' training in Dar es Salaam on Friday evening.
Taifa Stars, placed in Group D of the CHAN finals alongside Guinea, Namibia and Zambia, are expected to travel to Cameroon this week.
“All Tanzanians are looking at you, you should go to Cameroon and play for your country, play hard as the government is ready to support you with all the necessities, we need good results in Cameroon,” he said.
The minister, who was accompanied by his deputy Abdallah Ulega, said he was impressed with the players’ commitment after watching the training session.
“It feels great to see the players look motivated with my surprise visit. I urge the players to rise above pettiness and proudly fly our country's flag high in Cameroon,” he said.
Players attending Taifa Stars' training are Aishi Manula, Juma Kaseja, Daniel Mgore, Shomari Kapombe, Edward Manyama, Yasin Mustafa, Yusuph Mhilu, Lucas Kikoti, John Bocco, Feisal Salum and Deus Kaseke...read more on https://epaper.ippmedia.com
