Over the last couple of years, it is evident that some positive movements and developments are happening in Tanzania. Recent developments including success in the regional stage of World Cup qualifying show that Tanzanian Football is progressing in a positive manner.
Since 2017 we witnessed the Tanzanian u17 winning the CECAFA football tournament for boys, this was followed up with Tanzania hosting the U17 African finals with the national team making it to the Final 8 of the African competition and barely missing out on a spot to the U17 World Cup.
The Tanzanian U20 boy’s team also took the U20 CECAFA tournament in 2019. They followed this progression and made it to the Final 8 in Madagascar and barely missed out on a spot in the U20 World Cup.
Not to be outshined, the Tanzanian Women won both the U17 and the U20 COSAFA women’s tournament held in South Africa. The women’s teams in recent years have proven a force to be reckoned with as they are doing very well in African Football.
This success in the regional and international stage is partly due to increased tournaments and exposure of kids/youth players. The Football federation now has a U20 boys league, we also see a women’s national football league as well. Arusha annually hosts the biggest youth and grassroots football tournament called the East African Chipkizi Cup bringing together thousands of kids and youth to compete and hone their skills. As a result, many players have been selected to the Youth and National teams for both boys and girls. Some of these players are now playing abroad and will build the core of the next generation of Tanzanian football greats.
Furthermore, the Tanzanian Football Federation has stepped up its efforts in the training of trainers “Coach Development”. We see more coach development training going on across the country. We also see some new instructors being trained and groomed to train and coach the next generation of coaches with modern techniques and insight.
In order to be able to play beautiful and attractive football, it is required to have good facilities and infrastructure. The investment is huge but at the end of the day, it is necessary. We see the Football Federation as well as the Government of Tanzania has placed a great emphasis in working together to build and develop infrastructure. Slowly we can see new fields and facilities being developed. This is not only good for football but also for the country as well and tourism. A perfect example can be seen in Karatu, Arusha, this new facility allowed the football federation to host the CECAFA U20 football tournament in Arusha.
Steps were taken by the youth teams of Tanzania to invest in the development of coaches, increased youth tournaments and competition locally and internationally as well as the development of infrastructure. This gives hope that if the progression is maintained, Tanzania has a bright future and will be a force in the near future.
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