Of Taifa Stars and my loads of “Polees”

In normal life, people who care about your welfare and being you, will always wish you the best, celebrate with you when you win, sympathize with you, and grieve with you when you are in trouble, sick, or have lost your loved ones. 

Different cultures and communities have their own ways of consoling one another. Here in Tanzania, where Kiswahili resides, the common word used is "pole," meaning someone is sorry for what you are going through or experiencing. They sympathise with you.

So, it is absolutely normal to be given “pole” if you feel tired, sick, or have lost someone, among others.

Before I digress, it is important to note that the cardinal principle, or unwritten rule, is that whoever is giving you “pole” is on your side, or at least shares your pain, belongs to your community, or is just being humane.

But here I was, a Tanzanian fan of Taifa Stars, surprised to receive loads of “polee” from fellow Tanzanians (or, to the best of my knowledge, they are supposed to be) after the Stars went down 3–0 to the World Cup 2022 semi-finalists, Morocco, also known as The Atlas Lions. 

You might be wondering why I was the "target", for lack of a better word, of multiple 'polees'. It was my attire at work, my posts on social media, and indeed, the Mwananchi and MwanaSpoti pages (who turned me into a news item). That day, Wednesday, January 17, 2024, mindful of our first game in Group F later in the day, I did put on a Taifa Stars shirt to work. 

The postings created a lot of interactions and engagements, with a couple actually getting to know we were playing that day. A few good lucks here and there, and it was time to go watch the game. 

Fast forward; it ended the way it did, and the “polees” started flowing in. One went to the extent of saying or laughing at me, “Wamekuangusha hao.”

While it is okay to join me in my shock of loads of Polee, it is equally important to ask ourselves some tough questions.

How did we get here? Why isn’t it natural to see streets awash with people dressed in national colours on the day their team is out to represent our nation? Why do we see so much enthusiasm when it comes to Simba or Yanga, for that matter? 

And this is happening at a time when Tanzanian football is on the rise, not only in the region but continentally. Our local league is ranked 5th best in Africa; we are the only nation with two teams in the ongoing CAF Club Championship group stage; we are in Afcon 2024 (third time in our history); and we will be hosting Afcon 2027...na bado tunatembea kinyonge! I don’t get it. 

We must do, collectively, something to stand behind our Boys. 

When I was growing up, we used to follow sports through RTD, Radio Tanzania Dar es Salaam. I remember every time Taifa Stars were to play the next day, as the 7:45 pm sports programme “Michezo Leo” was coming to an end, before the 8 o’clock news bulletin, the Presenter will play a song by Morogoro Jazz (Timu ya Taifa), and part of it went like: “… na wachezaji wetu, wa Timu ya Taifa, muongeze juhudi zenu mlete sifa Tanzania….” Then it goes on, naming the squad. 

We currently have an Afcon 2024 song for Tanzania: Taifa Stars ni Timu yangu, Tanzania ni nchi yangu. But it hasn’t received enough airtime in our spaces. 

With multimedia capabilities today, the mobilisation limit is the sky. So the question is, what went wrong? What has gone wrong? Why is the majority not that concerned today? Yet we see so much enthusiasm for Simba and Yanga. Rather than point fingers at one another, the signs are clear: we need to have a collective conversation to define, align, or determine a unified purpose. And there is a lot we can benefit from in the sports industry and in the world of football, which is one of the biggest businesses in the world.

We can do better. 

But as the saying goes, for every cloud, there is a silver lining. Going through a few accounts of sports lovers pages in social media today, I am encouraged by the patriotism/uzalendo demonstrated by a couple of people, including prominent Tanzanian businessman and Simba SC fanatic Mohammed Dewji calling for our jersey to have a national flag, or Young Africans SC Media & Communications manager Ali Kamwe challenging Tanzanians to rally behind their team in a post accompanied by a picture showing Yanga player, an Ivory Coast national, Pacome Zouzoua, wearing a Taifa Stars shirt, in support of the country he is working in.

Similarly, Ugandan international Khalid Aucho, also playing for Yanga, is seen proudly wearing a Taifa Stars shirt! 

So, there are still some patriots out there. That is why, today, Sunday, January 21, 2024, as Taifa Stars faces our neighbours Zambia, I will once again put on my “uzi wa Stars” and hit the streets. 

Caution: Any message to suggest “unajivua utanzania ntakusemea uhamiaji 😊!

Go Stars Go!