The clash, which took place at the Nangwanda Sijaona Stadium, culminated in Azam FC commanding a 2-1 victory over Simba SC to sail through to the final.
Apart from the composure showcased by Azam FC midfielders James Akaminko, and Isah Ndala, and the way the outfit's central defender, Daniel Amoah, kept Simba SC forward Jean Baleke in check, soccer followers ought to keenly look at the game.
The duel had poor quality and there were too many misplaced passes in the middle of the pitch.
The passes that dominated the clash were long and lateral. This was so because of the poor pitch, Nangwanda Sijaona Stadium was not ready for that game.
With Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) knowing it is the one taking charge of the showdown, the federation would at least have postponed the semi-final, as was the case with the semi-final between Yanga and Singida Big Stars, until the field of play is in good condition.
This competition which started in 2015/16 has gained a lot of fans and is increasing in popularity but its preparation has been ad-hoc almost every season.
Why does TFF fail to announce the ASFC final venues a year in advance? For example, in this year's final, the federation should also fully announce the venues that will be used for the semi-finals and final of 2023/24, 2024/25, and 2025/26 seasons.
The regions that will host the matches, knowing in advance they have been entrusted with hosting them, will make good preparations for the venues and, once the fixtures are about to take place, the pitches will have the quality for hosting the ties.
The game between Azam FC and Simba SC was badly damaged by the poor condition of the pitch, causing the coaches to avoid allowing their players to be free with the ball.
If a goalkeeper plays a long ball for outfield players to contest on air, a football follower can feel that such kind of play can cause problems because the pitch hardly allows it.
A footballer might want to dribble, the ball bounces on one of the mounds of the pitch, goes out of his realm, and moves to the opponents. Now if that happens near the particular player's goal, is it not dangerous for his outfit?
When TFF organizes this competition, it is doing so poorly, I hardly know if either the federation's officials are found wanting on creativity or the body does not want to invest.
It would be quite correct if TFF had decided all semi-final matches and the final were held at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam so that fans would witness quality and fairness.
In 2017 when Jamal Malinzi was serving as TFF president, the season's ASFC final was held at Jamhuri Stadium in Dodoma, pitting Simba SC against Mwanza's Mbao FC.
The TFF has resorted to hosting the ASFC final in Dodoma given, at the time, the government's headquarters were reallocated to the region.
The ASFC final had in the following year been played at Sheikh Amri Abeid Memorial Stadium in Arusha with an announcement on the clash's hosting having been made late.
When he came to power, TFF president Wallace Karia added that the semi-final matches will be held at neutral stadiums to be designated by the authorities.
It is not a bad idea at all but TFF has refused to invest in the showdown. The regions that get the chance to organize these matches have failed to make preparations worthy of the matches' status.
Nangwanda Sijaona Stadium's pitch had, until a day before the ASFC semi-final between Azam FC and Simba SC, still been under maintenance.
Normally, the teams practice at the venue which will host the match the day before the duel but, for Nangwanda Sijaona Stadium, that was not the case.
The teams were only allowed to step on the pitch and thereafter move to other venues to practice.
Giving regions, which are not prepared to host such kinds of matches, the opportunity to do so is a problem.
Apart from the stadiums, several regions do not have training grounds where the teams will practice before the game.
The grounds where Azam FC and Simba SC practiced before the ASFC semi-final were poor. TFF should include a provision in the rules of the competition stipulating that the regions set to get the chance to organize these matches should also make sure that they prepare two good training grounds for the participating outfits.
Playing the ASFC semi-finals on venues that are not fully ready to host such ties reduces the quality of the ties because players cannot play freely.
The original goal was to take these matches to regions that have either not had the chance to host competitive ties for many years or not hosted matches at all.
Suddenly that aspect has been ignored and this season's ASFC final is set to take place in Tanga. It is not bad either but the preparation should be improved.
The last season's ASFC final, which took place in Arusha, was somewhat great because the Sheikh Amri Abeid Memorial Stadium pitch had been renovated.
Tanzania is lucky that there is a soccer stakeholder that has invested billions of money in the country's football.
To appeal to such a stakeholder to attract other stakeholders, TFF's marketing strategy must relate directly to infrastructure issues.
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