By Nasongelya Kilyinga
TANZANIA football
and tourism sectors probably gained immensely as a galaxy of former Real
Madrid stars descended in the country for a three-day tour last
weekend.
Spanish teams especially Real Madrid and Barcelona have a huge fan
base in Tanzania as demonstrated during Saturday's friendly match when
the ex - Real Madrid's star-studded team which featured the likes of
Luis Figo, Christian Karembeu and Fabio Cannavaro faced Tanzania's
Select XI squad at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam amid pomp and
fanfare.
Most fans were excited to see the former Tanzania's talents taking on
the former world's best but were brought back down to reality with a
3-1 final score.
The former Madrid players displayed classic football and dominated
the entire 90 minutes of the game and won lots of admiration from close
to 40,000 football fans led by President Jakaya Kikwete.
Never mind the score line, the crowd on the evening was treated to a
game of real thrills and spills and as promised Real Madrid legends
really showed quality.
Fans were probably reminded scenes of UEFA Champions League and La
Liga. The legends also provided Tanzania soccer fans with what could
rightly be described as a golden opportunity to see what topflight
professional football is like.
However, there were important lessons for Tanzania to learn from the
visit, the biggest of them all is the fact that most Real Madrid
ex-players emerged as a result of well set up youth development
programmes in their respective countries.
They also went through well- defined professional programmes at
senior level up to the time of their retirement. Even at their
retirement, they are still going through professional way of doing
things, a fact that is utterly lacking in Tanzania.
They reminded us that there is no way that one can avoid soccer
academies and succeed in the competitive world of soccer. Figo,
Cannavaro, Karembeu and others are all the products of a well-planned
youth development programmes.
Tanzania has always struggled to set up soccer academies and we
really need to begin learning that there is no short cut for our
football to progress without viable youth systems.
And, the good thing is that Madrid legends tour came as a blessing
for the country because the head of delegation of the Real Madrid
legends, Rayco Garcia, said they plan to come back to Tanzania and open
an academy as a starting point in helping football development.
It was really a good thing to hear from the officials of Real Madrid,
one of the historic clubs in the world and ten times European club
champions. They made it clear that the main aim is to help develop
football here and have some Tanzanian players in Real Madrid in future.
With vast experience in both senior and youth football especially in
the area of coaching, many football fans hope that if the new academy
will be set up, it will to a large extent help transform the country's
football standard.
It is every one's hope that the academy with qualified coaches will
help the youth whose hearts beat for football to realise their dreams of
becoming fine football players and perhaps even play in a great team
one day.
And, Real Madrid move will certainly supplement efforts already
initiated by Sunderland FC and Symbion Power, to set up the academy at
Kidongo Chekundu in Dar es Salaam. The construction work at Kidongo
Chekundu will soon start.
What is important now is for the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF)
to make sure that they provide a conducive environment for the Real
Madrid project to be a reality.
They should keep into contact with the Madrid officials to ensure
that the dream project comes into a reality. It is evident that the TFF
in the past, had failed to make follow up to initiated programmes with
foreign experts and even local organizations with some ambitious
projects ending up into a white smoke.
Another sector that benefited from the tour is tourism because the
Madrid legends visited various Tanzania safari tourist sites like the
Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Mount Kilimanjaro and many more.
The icons also had an opportunity to interact with fans in Moshi and
Arusha. The ex-Galacticos who jetted at Kilimanjaro International
Airport on Sunday afternoon were cheered by hundreds of people who waved
national flags along Moshi-Arusha Highway, as the players were en route
to Kilimanjaro National Park (KINAPA).
The former footballers who impressed at La Liga in the past passed
through some parks, and admired waterfalls and had a bit of hiking the
Africa's highest mountain, for about 400 metres before they were issued
certificates by the Minister for Information, Youth, Culture and Sports,
Fenella Mukangara.
Apparently, to have the Real Madrid greats come to Tanzania greatly
promoted the country in a good way. It was good for the country and fans
because the visit went a long way in supplementing Tanzania's efforts
in promoting the country as a tourist destination and exposed the
country's investments opportunities.
It is a fact that famous names always provide good Public Relations
(PR) opportunities and with such big names as Figo, Cannavaro and
Karembeu, the country really got good publicity. This tells us that it
is important for the country to have frequent such high profile visits
and maximum coverage is important for the good of the rich tourism
sector.
The hope is that these players, who were also presented Makonde
carvings made from ebony wood by President Kikwete, will become good
ambassadors of Tanzania's hospitality and its attractive tourist
destinations.
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