Zanzibar assures fairness in all sports

ZANZIBAR: THE Zanzibar Government has guaranteed citizens that it will create conducive environment for all sports in Zanzibar.

The remarks were made by Zanzibar President, Hussein Mwinyi at a brief ceremony for the laying of a foundation stone at Amaan’s Outdoor stadia that will include variety of sports, including football, table football, netball, basketball, handball, judo, boxing and volleyball.

President Mwinyi said: “The government will provide the best infrastructure for all sports in Zanzibar.”

However, he said they decided to emphasise the issues of sports because Zanzibar has many talents and they deserve to train and play in a standard area.

“Zanzibar government will continue to make sure all the sports centres are well prepared and organised as we have many young talents in our country,” he explained.

Amaan Stadium (also spelled Amani) is a stadium in Zanzibar, Tanzania. The stadium has 15,000 capacity.

The stadium was built with Chinese government aid and opened in 1970. This was China’s first stadium project in Africa and it marked the beginning of its stadia diplomacy over the decades.

The stadium was the location of a ceremony on 5 February 1977, uniting the Afro-Shirazi Party and the Tanganyika African National Union into the Chama cha Mapinduzi.

The stadium underwent refurbishment again with Chinese assistance, reopening in 2010.

Recently the stadium was under construction as the government aimed to have a well standard stadium with international features.

Amaan is the biggest stadium in Zanzibar and is termed as one of the international stadiums which are found in Tanzania respectively.

The annual Revolution Day anniversary celebration at the national level will be held at the stadium on 12 January, 2024.