Dar axed from Taifa Cup Basketball
DODOMA: THE defending champions of the CRDB Bank Taifa Cup Basketball, both men and women’s teams from Dar es Salaam, have been removed from the draw three days before the competition’s tip-off.
The competition tips-off tomorrow and concludes on June 29th at the capital city, Dodoma.
The Tanzania Basketball Federation (TBF) that is the tournament organiser, decided to remove the Dar es Salaam teams from the Taifa Cup draw over the weekend, just a few hours after the draw had taken place due to financial constraints.
The men’s defending champions, Dar es Salaam, were supposed to play against teams from Mara, Unguja and Iringa in Group A.
On the other hand, the women’s champions were set to start their campaign in Group C against teams from Morogoro, Tanga, and Mara.
However, both teams will no longer be participating in the competition. In a statement released by TBF over the weekend, it was mentioned in the ‘Daily News’ that the decision to remove the teams was due to a misunderstanding and disagreement between the Dar es Salaam Basketball Association (BD) and the Dar es Salaam Basketball Clubs (DBC) regarding confirmation of the participation of the defending champions.
TBF received a letter from BD on June 11, 2024, stating that due to financial constraints, they would not be able to support the men and women’s teams to participate in the Taifa Cup 2024 competition.
However, on June 13, 2024, the DBC sent another letter confirming that it would cover the participation costs for the Dar es Salaam teams (both men and women) and had received approval from BD to do so.
“It should be noted that, on June 11, 2024 TBF received a letter from BD informing TBF and the basketball community of Dar es Salaam region that they will not participate in the Taifa Cup 2024 competition due to the financial constraints to support the men and women’s teams.
“On 13th June 2024; TBF received another letter from the DBC informing and confirming that it will cover the participation costs (travel, accommodation and food) for the Dar es Salaam teams (women and men) and that it has received all blessings from BD,” the letter said. TBF included the Dar es Salaam teams in the draw based on this confirmation.
However, on June 14, 2024, the TBF received an email from BD denying the letter and information presented by DBC about covering the team participation costs.
Due to this confusion and the lack of agreement between BD and DBC, the federation decided to remove the Dar es Salaam teams from participation.
TBF apologised for any inconvenience caused by the decision. “Due to this confusion and the lack of agreement from BD and DBC, the federation has decided to remove the Dar es Salaam teams from participation.
“Therefore, we would like to inform the public and basketball stakeholders in the country that Dar es Salaam is not participating in the Taifa Cup.
“The federation apologies for any challenges and inconveniences due to the decision,” it noted.
