Local women’s football in focus

08Mar 2023
Lloyd Elipokea
Sport
The Guardian
Local women’s football in focus

SINCE its infancy in the early 2000s, local women’s football has unquestionably come along by leaps and bounds.

Yanga Princess' midfielder, Irene Kisisa (R), negotiates her way past Arusha's The Tigers Queens midfielder when they took on each other in a 2022/23 Mainland Tanzania Women's Premier League clash held at Uhuru Stadium in Dar es Salaam on February 7. Yanga Princess posted a 5-0 victory. PHOTO: COURTESY OF YANGA PRINCESS

Indeed, in those early days of women’s football, many doubters and naysayers scornfully rubbished the whole idea of women playing football.

Thankfully, as time wore on, these wrongheaded critics began to change their biased attitudes due to the magnificent success that the Twiga Stars were impressively able to achieve.

However, the exciting thing about this remarkable progress is that it is not just driven by the Twiga Stars as the national U-20 and U-17 women’s football teams have also thrillingly joined in on the act.

It should be recollected that both the national U-20 and U-17 women’s football teams have gloriously clinched the COSAFA U-20 Women’s Championship and the COSAFA U-17 Women’s Championship respectively in recent years.

Still, if there were any remaining doubters of the wealth of potential in local women’s football, they must have been silenced last year when the Serengeti Girls dazzlingly went on a fairy-tale run through the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup to the quarterfinals where they were walloped 3-0 by Colombia.

Indeed, despite that bitter loss, the Serengeti Girls still deservedly earned rave reviews for their overall performance as it marked their maiden appearance at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.

Viewed against this backdrop of amazing progress, it is not difficult to make the case for greater investment into local women’s football which continues to soar to greater heights.

Such investment could include attracting more sponsors for the national women’s football league and straining every sinew to groom the raw talent at the grassroots level.

In addition, forging partnerships with countries that excel in women’s football might be a peach of an idea too.

For example, the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) could perhaps set up an arrangement with global powerhouses like the USA and England that would see our coaches visit both countries to receive further training.

At the end of the day though, what cannot be denied is the bald truth that local women’s football doubtlessly deserves much greater investment for it to truly flourish.

Speaking of doing well, many die-hard football aficionados will undoubtedly be hoping that Simba SC can maintain their winning ways in the 2022/23 CAF Champions League Group Stage after edging out the Ugandan side Vipers SC 1-0 in their last clash.

Indeed, the Msimbazi Street side is set to lock horns with their Ugandan rivals this week in what is certain to be a blockbuster showdown between the two teams who are both on a quest for glory in continental club football.

Meanwhile, as Simba SC will be trying their damnedest to get the better of Vipers SC, Yanga are also due to face-off against Malian club AS Real Bamako in an eagerly awaited 2022/23 CAF Confederation Cup Group Stage duel this week.

In marked contrast to Simba SC who had an abysmal start to their CAF Champions League Group Stage campaign, Yanga has only lost once and has since bagged a victory plus a draw against their various group opponents in the CAF Confederation Cup.

Needless to say then, it is hoped that our country’s two biggest clubs will be able to secure victories in their respective clashes as such wins could prove to be priceless once the group stage of both the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup has run its course.

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