Tanzania: Premier League Sponsors Asked to Increase Funding
Mwanza — As the Vodacom Premier League 2016/2017 season is just three weeks away from kick off, several soccer officials and fans have challenged the league sponsors to consider increasing funding for the competing clubs.
Speaking at different occasions here the fans said the fact that most clubs lack reliable source of revenue, which would otherwise, help them run smoothly.
Mwanza based Toto Africans Sportsperson, Cuthbert Japheth, said most clubs competing in the top flight lack of enough funding for them to operate smoothly, the fact which cripples their performance. "Most clubs are poor... they can hardly afford to run pre-requisite development programmes especially for youth.
The biggest challenge is that our clubs apart from the big few in Dar es Salaam, does not have reliable financial base and they solely rely on handouts from sponsors to run their programmes," said Japheth.
A soccer fan in Mwanza, John Msafiri, also supported Japheth's sentiments, but challenged club leaders to be creative and innovative enough to set up new sources of revenues.
"They need to initiate money minting projects, instead of completely depending on sponsors," he said, while also challenging Vodacom Tanzania to increase their sponsorship package for next season's league, which kicks off on August 20th this year.
It will be curtain raised by Charity Shield game to pit reigning champions, Young Africans and Federation Cup winners Azam FC on August 17 at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam.
"Our teams need to prepare effectively for the league, they need reliable transport during the league and players need to be taken care of in-terms of allowances. What the teams are receiving at the moment was not enough and we appeal the league's main sponsor -- Vodacom Tanzania to increase its sponsorship package," said Msafiri.
Responding to the call, Vodacom Tanzania Sales and Distribution Manager for Lake Zone Victoria Chale said they have taken the challenge and promised to work on it immediately.
"It has always been in our ambitions to make sure that the sponsorship package keeps improving for the betterment of our league. Our players must as well benefit from the sponsorship and this will in the end make the league more competitive," Chale said.
However, Chale said for the past ten years, Vodacom sponsorship has brought about big success in the league, in which new talents have been identified, adding that the mobile phone company will continue to invest heavily and improve the league's sponsorship package.
Chale called on other companies to come forward to sponsor the league so that teams could benefit by receiving more funding.
KUPATA KAZI POPOTE NCHINI BONYEZA 'HAPA' CHINI.
