TZ,
Mauritius in 4 Nation rugby opener
By Kazzi Ally, Arusha
Tanzania meet Mauritius in the opening match of the Four-Nation
Rugby Championship scheduled to kick off this Saturday at Friedklin Complex
Ground, a few Kilometres from Arusha town.
Tanzania and Mauritius have never met before, and it will be the first encounter
that rugby fans in Arusha are eagerly waiting to watch.
Tanzanian national team coach and manager, Tinus Aucamp, said to The Express
that his players have received both intensive and extensive training inside and
outside Arusha region in readiness for the gig encounter.
“They are all high spirited about this perspective, and have promised to put on
their best showing to ensure their team wins the match, ” said Aucamp at his
team’s training base in Arusha.
The second match set for a kick off on Saturday will pit Burundi against Rwanda,
at the same venue.
Both teams played against Tanzania in the inaugural Tri-Nation rugby
championship held at Brae Burn School in Arusha last year.
“I have not watched the two teams in the recent months, but we played against
them last year and managed to beat them, and got a ticket to play in the Super
16 championship held in Swaziland,” said Aucamp.
Morogoro set for Cargo Stars Open
By Joyce Macha
The 2005 edition of The Cargo Stars Morogoro Open Golf Championship
debuts its tee- off this weekend at Morogoro Gymkhana club course.
For years, Cargo Stars Open Golf Championship has been the biggest golfing event
in Morogoro, that has attracted a big number of players from all the golf clubs
of Tanzania.
The Championship as it used to be in the past, expects to gather all the top
golfers in the country including the national team stars.
Stanley Sanga, one of the country’s most prolific golfers, said he was going
there with a sure winning hand.
“I am going there to silence Adam Mohamed and his Morogoro team mates. They have
won in the past three events, but this time it is our turn to clinch the title,”
said Sanga at his training base at Dar Gymkhana Club.
According to the organisers, other players expected to play in the tournament
come from Mufindi Golf Club(Iringa), Moshi TPC and Moshi Gymkhana
Club(Kilimanjaro), Arusha and the hosts Morogoro.
The event will cover 54 holes beginning with the first 18 holes this Saturday,
August 7, and there will be a second 18 holes play before staging the final 18
holes on Nane Nane day, August 8, 2005.
Together with Sanga and Adam Mohamed, other good players poised to shine in the
tournament include Rajabu Iddi, Emanuel Juma, Ayne Magombe, Godfrey Leverian,
and Olais Mollel.
Nikitas
stars in Big Fish Golf
By Burton Brown
Morogoro-based golfer, Georges Nikita, continued to shine in Dar es
Salaam as he once again emerged the A division winner of the Big Fish Monthly
Mug Golf tournament, held over the weekend at Dar es Salaam Gymkhana Club golf
course.
It was his distinctive score of three under par net 67 strokes that earned him
the title, beating his closest rivals by hefty strokes.
“Dar es Salaam has given me a warm welcome and let me have a second win”, said
Nikitas.
A week earlier, Nikitas also won the division A title of ALAF Golf tournament,
which is one of the biggest sponsored tournaments the Dar club has staged this
year.
The A division runner up was Boniface Nyiti, who posted five over par net 75
strokes, which he played off handicap 12.
The second runner up position went to Simon Sayore, who finished the 18th hole
with seven over par net 77 strokes.
In B division, Jesse Mwangi took the top honours with his good one over par net
71 strokes, one above Adam Ngamilo who came runner-up with 72 net.
The division’s second runner-up was C Methu who posted three over par net 73.
About 35 golfers took part in the tournament, which climaxed the monthly mug
series of July.
Tusker Cup victory revitalises
Simba
By Burton Brown
The spectacular victory Simba SC recorded in this year’s edition of
the Kenyan Tusker Cup title rejuvenated the Dar side, and warned other clubs of
a danger ahead of them in the remaining matches of the Vodacom Premier League.
Simba won their second Tusker Cup title after beating Kenya’s Tusker FC in the
epic final match held last Saturday at Moi Kasarani Stadium, on the outskirts of
the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.
Upon their arrival in Tanzania, Simba SC players boasted of being about to win
all their remaining matches of the home league, and retain their national league
title for the third year in a row.
Talking to The Express, this week, Simba SC Captain, Selemani Matola, said their
1-0 win in Nairobi was a clear indication of his team’s supremacy in East
Africa.
“ Those teams at the top, their supremacy is on the cliff-edge since we, the
owners of the title, are back to take it once again,” boasted Matola.
Simba went to Nairobi leaving behind an ugly record of losing to minnows, Twiga
Sports, in the match held at the Sheikh Amri Abeid Stadium, Arusha.
However, the team stunned soccer fans when they beat Ghanaian giants, Asante
Kotoko, 4-2 before proceeding to the final and beating title favourites, Kenya
Tusker.
The team will lock horns with Police Dodoma in the match to be held at Jamhuri
Stadium.
Simba has so far collected 31 points, leaving Moro United to continue leading
the table with 41 points, while their archrivals, Dar Young Africans, are in the
runner-up position with 39 points.
If Simba managed to defend the league title, they will be making their third
entry into Africa’s Champions league.
Citizenship league sights
big talents
By Burton Brown
The newly launched Agenda participation Citizenship Soccer
tournament ended over the weekend, at the Dar es Salaam University Ground, with
impressive success.
Besides producing a number of distinctive soccer talents among secondary school
students, the event was good consolation to the players who had missed the
Inter- Secondary Games for about a decade.
Soccer enthusiasts who turned out for the matches saw most of the boys who
featured in the tournament could easily play for all national sides, from under
17, 19, 23 to the senior national team Taifa Stars.
However, it was Tegeta secondary Boys who took the crown when they thumped
Tambaza High 5-0, in the goal-infested final match held at UDSM ground over the
weekend.
Spearheaded by Rajabu Msuya, Nusura Mhunzi and Hamidu Juma, Tegeta Boys
completed outclassed their opponents in all sections, dictating terms from the
first minute to the final whistle
In that match, Rajabu Msuya scored 2 goals for
Tegeta, while Muhunzi also scored 2 while Hamidu scored one goal.
Jitegemee took second runner-up position after beating Kinondoni 4-2 in the play
off for the third position.
TCA, Burhan in Cricket final
By Boogie Juma
Tanzania Cricket Association Development team meeting Annadil Burhan
are set for fierce battle, when the teams meet in the TCA League Cup final match
at Annadil Burhan oval next week.
Scheduled to take place on August 14, 2005, the match is expected to inspire
all the best efforts of some distinguished players from both sides.
Burhan managed to reach the final stage on walkover after their opponents, Union
Club failed to honour the match after missing their key players.
On the TCA side, Benson Mwita, Hamisi Abdallah and Abhik Patwa will spearhead
their team’s win against Taher Jiwajee, Annadil Burhan’s most industrious player
at the moment.
In B division, Union B side are pitted against Ekta B, in another final match
scheduled to take place at Annadil Burhan Ground this weekend.
Union B romped into the final after winning all their four matches while their
opponents have managed to win three matches and lost one.
In another development, the Under 19 National Cricket team will this weekend
play three build up matches at Sokoine University ground in Morogoro.
The matches, according to one of the team officials, Paul Manyanda, are part of
the preparations for World Cup qualifiers to be held in South Africa later this
year.
Pagal glances at his glorious
past
By Express Reporter
Tanzanian ace driver, Davinder Sahota Pagal, took a brief glance at
his glorious past that made him re-scrutinise his retirement from the sport with
plenty of steam in his driving hands.
It was a tough moment as he and his Sahib Singh stepped forward to receive the
trophy as the best driver of the year 2004.
Pagal was one of the drivers who starred in the Annual Sportsman’s Gala held
over the weekend at Barbecue Village Restaurant in Dar es Salaam.
“ I feel deserted when I am out of the wheeling business, but it makes me
consider my fans who have been urging me to continue rallying. I think I need
more time to think before deciding what to do next,” said Pagal amid cheers and
big hands from the rally fans.
Pagal and his navigator received the best driver and navigator of the year 2004
awards, while Omar Bakhressa and Mohamed Rassam were runners-up in driving and
navigation disciplines.
Third overall were Sameer Nahdi Shanto and Georgie Ferreira, while Iringa Motor
Sports Club(IMSC) was declared the club of the year 2004.
The event also awarded the best performers of the 2003 season, and the best
club of that year.
Tanganyika Motor Sports Club was nominated the best club of the year 2003 and
its Chairman, Satinder Birdi failed to hide his joy at the achievement.
Morogoro-based veteran driver, Collin Higgins, took the best driver’s award of
the year 2003, while his long time co-driver, David Sutton, was awarded the
prize in the navigation category.
The runners up in driving and navigation were Saleh Balhabou and Georgie
Ferreira, while third overall were Abdulrahman Simba and Fahim Taher.
The Chairman of the Automobile Association of Tanzania, Nizar Jivan, his vice
Gautam Chavda, and the Convenor of the Rally Commission of Tanzania, Arif Ahmed,
officiated at the gala.
Mrashani fades into thin air
By Kazzi Ally, Arusha
The unknown whereabouts of Tanzanian Olympian Banuelia Mrashani
brought fear to the athletics enthusiasts, including her brother and mentor,
Simon Mrashani.
Banuelia, whose last presence was in the 2004 Olympic games held in Athens
Greece, has not been seen in any of the local and international races for about
nine months now.
“I don’t know where she is now, even her employers at Moshi Police College are
startled with her disappearance and have decided to terminate her employment,”
said brother Simon Marashani, a silver medallist in the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Common
wealth games marathon.
Efforts to trace the long distance heroine through various international
athletics competitions have failed to yield any fruitful outcome.
Before melting away, Banuelia’s best time of 2 hours, 24 minutes and 59 seconds
that she set during the Tokyo Marathon in 2002 gave Tanzania the 19th position
in the world ranking for women marathoners.
Her time is third ranked in Africa behind Catherine Ndereba of Kenya, and the
Ethiopian lady Gete Wami who clocked 2 hours 22 minutes and 19 seconds.
Up to the present, Great Britain’s runner Paula Radcliffe owns the best
marathon time for women. She has 2 hours, 15 minutes 25, which she set in London
on April 13, 2003, followed by Kenyan Catherine Ndereba, 2 hours 18 minutes and
47 seconds.
The third country is China with 2:19:39, followed by Japan 2:19:41, Norway is
fifth with 2:21:06 and USA is sixth with 2:21:16.
Other countries with good records include Russia, Germany, Ethiopia, Ireland,
Romania, Latvia, Belgium, Portugal Italy, Australia, Poland, Mexico and
Tanzania, South Africa and the Czech Republic.
Marathon prizes, great
entertainment in DSM
By Timothy Kitundu
In marking its fifth anniversary in Tanzania,and as a gesture of
thanking its customers, Vodacom Tanzania will organize at the Leaders Club
grounds in Dar es Salaam a special entertainment event on August 13th, 2005,
which will include a half-marathon competition and a music concert.
Speaking to the press Wednesday in Dar es Salaam, Vodacom Marketing Director
Junaid Munshi said that the half-marathon will commence from the Leaders Club
and will be divided up into three categories of 21, 10 and 5 kilometre races.
“The prizes for winners will include cash, medals and certificates, and the
total prize money up for grabs is Tsh.13,100,000 for men and women for all
categories,” he said. Adding that the cost of registration will be zero.
According to Munshi, entry is open from 1st to 10th August, and a maximum number
of 2,000 athletes can participate. Entry forms, according to him will be
consolidated into a data base and will be available at several outlets in the
city.
Speaking on the same occasion, Vodacom Marketing Manager Ephraim Mafuru said
that he hoped there would be keen competition in the 5, 10 and 21 kilometre
races coming from both men and women.
“In the 21 km. category, the first winner for men will scoop Ts.2 million while
for women the first winner will get Tsh.1 million, whilst the first winner for
men in the 10 km. category will get 1million and of the women the first winner
will get Tsh.500,000,” he said (not explaining why women got half the money for
running the same distance).
Mafuru added that in the 5 km. race, the men’s first winner will scoop
Tsh.400,000 whereas the women’s first winner will get Tsh.350,000. Generally,
the highest prize is Tsh.2 million while the lowest prize is Tsh.50,000.
To wind up the celebrations, a music concert will be held on the material day
from evening till dawn. Five groups will participate in this, and they include
African Stars Band (twanga pepeta), Wanaume Group with Juma Nature, Msondo Ngoma
band, Zanzibar Stars taarabu and Mangwea.