The number of athletes who will represent the country in forthcoming Commonwealth Games scheduled for Glasgow, Scotland, will be known on Friday.
Tanzania Olympic Committee (TOC) Secretary General, Filbert Bayi
To determine this number, the government, sports associations, Tanzania Olympic Committee (TOC) and other stakeholders will meet this Friday and select athletes who have met the qualifications required to compete in the quadrennial event which starts on July 23 this year.
Bayi said the number allocated to Tanzania delegation for the games is 36, including 26 athletes and ten officials. He said the meeting on Friday will decide on either to reduce the number or increase it and that will depend on qualifications of the athletes plus government’s ability to foot the bill for extra athletes.
“We are going to decide on the number of athletes who will make the trip to Glasgow for the Games and we are going to be very strict on our decisions based on performance and qualifications,” insisted Bayi.
He also added that the number of athletes may decline because some of local athletes lack qualifications, giving an example of the boxing team, which comprises boxers who lack AIBA accreditation which is among the requirement to compete in the event.
“Tanzania boxers and their trainer who lack three Star AIBA coaching licence may miss the games if extra efforts in solving the problem are not made quickly before June 11 this year, which is the deadline for submission of ‘Team Tanzania’ final squad by TOC to the Commonwealth Games organisining committee,” Bayi said.
Apart from boxing, Bayi disclosed that other associations also face the same fate as their athletes lack qualifications and some associations are accused of presenting false information to the TOC.
“We have discovered that some associations have tampered with records of their athletes, who happened to have no qualification for the games, but we warned them that we cannot tolerate that and we are going to axe them from the list,” vivid disturbed Bayi said.
About 50 local athletes who are listed in the provisional team are currently undergoing intensive training abroad ahead of the Commonwealth Games. However, that doesn’t mean all of them will represent the country in Glasgow. It will strictly depend on their performance and qualification.
The athletes have set their base in China, Turkey, Ethiopia and New Zealand. The government promised to cover the cost of at least 50 athletes for the Commonwealth Games if they meet the qualification required.
Meanwhile, the Glasgow 2014 Queens Baton Relay team has expressed its appreciation to the Tanzania Olympic Committee (TOC) and other stakeholders for making the Baton relay in the country a success. The Baton relay commenced from National Stadium to State House where it was presented to President Jakaya Kikwete.
By BETRAM LENGAMA, Tanzania Daily News