President Magufuli rewards triumphant Taifa Stars players with pieces of land
Tanzania President John Pombe Magufuli has awarded each Taifa Stars player with a piece of land plus and cash token equivalent to Sh500,000 for qualification to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
Tanzania beat cross-border rivals Uganda 3-0 in Dar es Salaam in a must win encounter on Sunday to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations finals for the first time in 39 years.
Goals by Erasto Nyoni, Aggrey Morris and Simon Msuva secured the win for the hosts at the National Stadium.
BETTER PERFORMANCE
“I’m very happy for you Taifa Stars and the entire nation,” Maghufili told the triumphant players at State House, in Dar es Salaam.
The Head of State has also backed the players to go all the way and win the tournament in Egypt.
“I did not expect you to reach this stage following the poor show after you lost to Lesotho. Since then, I have not received any phone call or replied text messages from the Minister responsible for Sports. I believe you can put a better performance in Cairo and go on to win the tournament,” he said.
CECAFA NATIONS
Meanwhile, Cecafa secretary general Nicholas Musonye has lauded East African countries following their impressive show during the just concluded qualification campaign.
“As a region, we are proud to have four teams at the event and we are confident that the four countries will rise to the occasion during the tournament proper in Egypt. We hope our government will support their preparations,” explained veteran football administrator.
Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Burundi have all qualified for the tournament which will be played in Egypt between 21 June to 19 July 2019.