Jun 19, 2015

Zanzibar: Tanzanian Ministry Supportive of FIFA Membership Application


The Tanzanian Deputy Minister for Information, Youth, Culture and Sports Mr Juma Nkamia recently announced that his ministry will be meeting with football governing bodies both in Tanzania and Zanzibar to push for the latter’s football team to  to be admitted as a member to the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA). The Zanzibar Football Association (ZFA) had already applied in 2010 but its application was rejected on grounds of missing sovereignty.

Below is an article published by allAfrica:

 

The government will work on recommendations to assist Zanzibar Football Association get associate membership in the world football governing body, FIFA.

Deputy Minister for Information, Youth, Culture and Sports, Juma Nkamia, said his ministry would meet with football governing bodies in Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar, TFF and ZFA respectively, as well as other relevant organs to see how they could push for associate membership bid to FIFA.

"It is a good thing. We will meet with TFF, ZFA and other organs to see how we can push for that," he said in a response to a supplementary question from Murtaza Ally Mangungu (Kilwa North, CCM), who asked what was the government's measure to see to it that ZFA gets associate membership to FIFA after its bid for full membership to the world football governing body was thwarted for lack of sovereignty.

The Isles football body had applied to become a member of the world football body in 2010 when delegates, including government officials, paid a visit to FIFA headquarters in Zurich to meet its president, Sepp Blatter.

FIFA had replied in writing that Zanzibar had been denied access to membership on grounds of missing sovereignty. The Deputy Minister said the government would also work on recommendations of having a football organ for the union government.

He was reacting to a supplementary question from Ismail Aden Rage (Tabora Urban, CCM) who wanted to know why there should not be one football governing body instead of two organs TFF and ZFA that seem to have competing interests and overlapping mandates.

Nkamia had earlier said in a bid to strengthen relations between TFF and ZFA, a forthcoming African Nations Championships (CHAN) qualifier between Taifa Stars and Uganda will be played at the Amaan Stadium in Zanzibar.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister said his ministry had no information about TFF pledge that it will cooperate with other stakeholders to support ZFA bid for FIFA membership if the Isles body would continue with the efforts.

He was responding to a basic question from Jako Hashim Ayoub (Zanzibar House of Representatives), who wanted to know what the government would do to TFF officials who came to Zanzibar and pledged the football body would ensure ZFA gets FIFA membership.

 

Photo courtesy of Pierina Mariani on Flickr.