Samia commends Tembo Warriors

Dar es Salaam. President Samia Suluhu Hassan has urged the Tanzania Amputee National Team (Tembo Warriors) to make sure they do their best in the next year’s World Cup finals to be held in October in Turkey.

The President made the statement yesterday during a special occasion held at the State House to congratulate the players on their achievements.

She said the players had done their best in the tournament in which Tanzania participated for the second time and hosted it for the first time.

“You have made the nation proud to be the first team to qualify for the World Cup. There is no other team that have reached that stage, despite featuring in many competitions. You deserve compliments for the achievements.

“But this should not let you get satisfied with the stage you have reached, you need to work hard in Turkey. The government will make sure you get prepared well and compete in the tournament,” said President Samia.

The Head of State also commended Tembo Warriors’s Frank “Mbappe” Ngailo for being picked the best player of the competition that featured 12 African countries.

“It is a milestone for the country in sports. Ngailo (Mbappe) managed to be voted as the best player of the competition. This shows that Tanzania has many talented players in various sports,” she said.

The President insisted that the government will continue to support all the national teams.

“The government is committed to sports development and that’s why we are supporting many national teams in different sports,” she said.

The country’s leader also directed the Sports ministry to prepare a special training program for the Tembo Warriors players so that they can train and play international build up matches before competing in the World Cup.

“The team need friendly matches that will make them fit before competing in the World Cup. I do not want to see the team’s camp is set up one month before the World Cup finals,” she ordered.

Earlier, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa commended President Hassan for her efforts to support sports in the country.

The Prime Minister said that the President donated Sh150 million to the hosting of the tournament.

“I commend President Samia for her continued efforts to develop sports in the country. As you know, hosting an international competition is a heavy burden, but the country has managed to host all 12 countries that enjoyed their stay in the country during the competition,” said Majaliwa.

Apart from Tanzania, other countries that have qualified for the World Cup finals are Ghana, Liberia and Angola.

Tanzania finished fourth in the tournament held from November 27 to December 4.