Tanzania's Afcon bid boosts Sports budget up by 705 percent
What you need to know:
- The budget also has allocated Sh258 billion for development projects while in the last budget, Sh11 billion was allocated.
Dar es Salaam. Tanzania’s preparations for hosting the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations finals (Afcon) including developing other sectors have led to a 705 percent increase in the budget of the ministry of Culture, Arts, and Sports.
This was revealed yesterday by Culture, Arts, and Sports minister Damas Ndumbaro when tabling his ministry’s budget of Sh285.3 billion for the 2024/2025 financial year compared to the budget of Sh35.4 billion for the ending 2023/2024 financial year as the increase has been Sh249.8 billion.
Ndumbaro substantiated that in the budget, Sh11,280,116,000 has been allocated for salaries compared to Sh9,651,285,000 allocated in the 2023/2024 budget and other expenses amounting to Sh15, 847,483,000 compared to Sh13, 962,596 of the last fiscal year budget.
The budget also has allocated Sh258, 190,788,000 for development projects while in the last budget, Sh11, 831,160,000 was allocated.
He said Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda, will co-host the finals of Africa’s major football tournament through the Pamoja Bid that is required to meet the criteria of the African football governing body (CAF).
According to the minister, Tanzania has the responsibility of building a new state-of-the-art stadium to be named the Samia Suluhu Hassan Stadium in Arusha, as well as renovating the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium and other training grounds that will incur huge sums of money.
Apart from the sports sector, the ministry also plans to invest in the Culture and Arts sector so that to achieve significant national development.
“Following the numerous and significant responsibilities that the ministry must undertake, especially considering that in 2027 the countries of Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda will co-host the Afcon finals, the government was supposed to start preparations in 2023,” said Ndumbaro. Apart from that, Ndumbaro said so far Tanzania has attained significant sports development on the continent.
He explained that the qualifications of the football giants, Young African (Yanga) and Simba SC for the CAF Champions League quarterfinals is the significant development of football in the country.
“Yanga and Simba have made history in East and Central Africa and as well have made Tanzania become the first country to have sent two teams to the competition,” he said.
According to Ndumbaro, the qualification of the national women’s football team (Twiga Stars) for the CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, qualifications of JKT Queens from the Cecafa Zone for the CAF Champions League as well as Taifa Stars’ qualifications for the Afcon finals are an indication that Tanzania has attained the significant development in football under President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
