Women soccer league should be nationwide

This is the first time the Tanzania Football Federation has come with new innovation that would not only ease selection of players for the national team, but also ease employment when the clubs would attain professional status.

The league, if properly organised will certainly unearth talent and expose players who had initially failed to secure platform to display their football prowess.

It is very clear that on organising this kind of a league, both clubs and the football federation are enduring some challenges. Travelling and accommodation cost are just some of the issues the teams will have to come across though some sponsors are trying to ease these predicaments.

It is always a huge task when new projects are launched but with determination, focusing and courage, these hardships might eventually be ironed out.

Though instant expansion of the league to hit big number from the present one is a daunting task for the organisers, at least regional representation should be targeted to attract fans across the nation.

From historical background of women football that started with small street clubs of Sayari up to the formation of rival sides in the likes of Mburahati Queens in Dar es Salaam, it looks we have a lot of potential still unexploited from this game.

The national women team, Twiga Stars that reached the 2010 Africa Nations Cup finals staged in South Africa is a testimony of the gravity of talent we have in the country.

The Twiga Stars that featured in that particular tourney had players selected from few clubs that were playing recreational football and mainly from Dar es Salaam Region. What about if we have a nation-wide league with coaches spoilt for choice of players?

Establishment of the women premiership has to a huge extent been overdue as the football federation has been and still is obsessed with men’s soccer. All efforts are being thrown into nursing and building up Taifa Stars while the team has so far failed to click when it comes to feature at international platform.

Mediocre performance has been order of the day and even the regional football championship has been a tall order for the team.

In contrast, the women soccer team, the Kilimanjaro Queens made a remarkable progress to stun the East Africans when they clinched the inaugural Challenge Cup in Jinja a couple of months ago. The team came from obscurity after going through turbulent African Nations Cup qualifier ripples to beat every opponent in Jinja.

However, this league should be organised well through officiating that has now turned out to be a stumbling block for the development of the game.

Few club officials should not be left free to influence referees and match commissioners to bend results for their own benefits.
Schoolgirls should be encouraged to play football the way their boys’ counterparts are doing.

Very possible that players who will perform well in this premiership and win national team selection might easily be spotted by agents to win lucrative contracts in foreign countries, the way Sophia Mwasikili did. All the best we need a fairy orgnanised women soccer premiership.