DAR ES SALAAM: PRIME Minister Kassim Majaliwa has disclosed that the presence of foreign players in the country’s top-flight league helps to awaken their domestic counterparts.
The Premier disclosed that during the official unveiling ceremony of Azam Media Limited, Mobile Production Vehicles for Outside Broadcasting (OB) held at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam early this week.
“When you confine yourself, it becomes challenging to go far… development comes through seeing how somebody developed, then you get jealous by figuring out what to do to be better than him.
“You need to ask yourself what they did to get there, if possible, consult and ask them the avenues they followed to reach where they are and do them in your way to be better, that is development.
“Unfortunately, our players lack commitment on the pitch, perhaps because we lack proper academies capable of producing good disciplined players from the grassroots level,” Majaliwa noted.
Also Read: PM commends VAR introduction in PL
He further added that the idea to open doors and welcome foreign players in the league has made Tanzania a better place for those who come and remind Tanzanians that there is several important bits in football.
“Our players lack commitment…I am a coach and I know that most of them are reluctant to engage in training sessions, while we all know that football requires one to train a lot,” Majaliwa noted.
He urged the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) to continue providing awareness to the public about the importance of having foreign players in the league.
“Aside from that, to establish academies…the Ministry (of Arts, Sports and Culture) should create measures to entice the private sector to establish academies for specific sporting disciplines like football, basketball, athletics and many others.
“Through that, we will be able to promote sports and ensure that the established academies are being closely monitored to assess their efficiency,” he said.
On his part, TFF President, Wallace Karia cemented that the issue of attracting foreign players is important, as it helps a lot to intensify the level of competition.
“To keep scaling up the ladders internationally, we deserve to have massive competition from our players and those from abroad,” he said.
Karia also insisted that the number of foreign players in the topflight league club will remain at 12 players per club in a season
