MOROCCO: NATIONAL Football Team ‘Taifa Stars’ will begin Africa’s 2026 World Cup qualifiers Group E campaign today, as they face Niger at the Grand Stadium in Marrakech, Morocco.
During the Taifa Stars training session at Grand Stadium Annex 1, the team’s Coach, Adel Amrouche highlighted that they are well prepared for today’s match and acknowledged the support of President Samia Suluhu Hassan to offer free chartered plane to Morocco, ensuring they had a comfortable trip.q
“I am thankful to the Almighty that we are safe, and that is most important. We are honoured with the support of our President, Samia Suluhu Hassan to facilitate our travel. If we had not had that plane, we would have suffered a lot. In Africa when you travel from East to West it is always difficult,” he said.
Coach Amrouche insisted they would do their best to make sure they make Tanzanians happy.
“Inshallah, we are going to do our best to make our people happy. My contact with the people of Tanzania is I want to make them happy. Football is football but making people is my philosophy,” he said.
Additionally, he noted that it is difficult to play two matches within a short period, especially since they face off against Niger today in Morocco and will have to return to Tanzania to play Morocco on Tuesday in Dar es Salaam.
He stressed that such a fixture is always challenging, especially for the players, but he will ensure his charges do well in both matches.
“It is not easy for coaches and players to focus on one game and then the other by a margin of a few days. Just after Niger, we will have another game. My focus is on the game ahead of me now,” he said.
A Taifa Stars winger, Simon Msuva, also spoke to the press, whereby he noted how well the team prepared, the morale to fight for their country, and the importance of football fans praying for them.
“Most importantly, we call on the fans to pray for us. We are well prepared for the match. Most importantly, we are here to fight for our nation. As our coach noted, we need to win the matches that are ahead of us. We pray that we do well in all forthcoming matches,” he said.
Furthermore, he expressed gratitude for the Head of State’s support, insisting that the team would not fail her or the nation.
“We acknowledge how the Head of State has been supporting us. We aim to do our best and repay her great support to see our team prosper,” he promised.
