President Jakaya Kikwete has reminded athletes who will represent the country at the forthcoming Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland that they are deeply indebted to the nation and the only way to appease it is to win medals.
President Jakaya Kikwete
Bidding farewell to 39 athletes leaving on Wednesday for Scotland he said winning medals at the Games will preserve the country’s integrity and pride at the international sports arena.
“We have been experiencing a medal drought for quite some years now, but I believe that this time around you are going to win medals for the country and for your own fame,” the president said before handing over the national flag to Team Tanzania captain Selemani Kidunda.
The president seemed to be optimistic that Team Tanzania, whose athletes have trained intensively abroad for the Games, will perform well and come back with medals.
The Head of State commended the efforts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation under Minister Bernard Membe in collaboration with the Ministry of Information, Youth, Culture and Sports to facilitate the team’s overseas training.
He also thanked the Tanzania Olympic Committee (TOC) and the respective national sports association for preparing the athletes to enable them to achieve the standards required for the Games.
“I acknowledge the great efforts made to ensure our athletes are adequately prepared and special thanks should go to Minister Membe and his ministry for sending our athletes abroad for training through the Sports Diplomacy programme. It’s my hope there will be no excuses for a poor show,” he said.
The president further urged the athletes to put their all and battle with confidence without fearing their opponents during the Games as with the adequate training and their abilities anything is possible.
“I believe you can do what other athletes can do, and I have faith in you that you can make our country proud because, yes you can,” President Kikwete insisted.
On his part, the Deputy Minister for Information, Youth, Culture and Sports, Juma Nkamia, said he also believes the team will fare well at the Games and appreciated the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation in preparing Team Tanzania.
Giving a vote of thanks, TOC President Gulam Rashid assured the president that the athletes are going to Glasgow to compete and to safeguard the country’s honour.
He also commended Membe’s efforts in facilitating the abroad training through the Sports Diplomacy and he pleaded for the programme to be sustainable as it will ensure better performances for the country in future.
“We still have the All-Africa Games scheduled for Congo-Brazzaville in 2015 and the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2016.
So we still need the Sports Diplomacy as it will assist in preparing our teams for more competitions ahead,” he said. Team Tanzania comprising athletes, boxers, cyclists, judokas, table tennis players, swimmers and wrestlers jets off this evening for Glasgow.
The 49-people delegation is led by the Director of Sports in the Ministry of Information, Youth, Culture and Sports, Leonard Thadeo, who is already in Scotland.
By BETRAM LENGAMA, Tanzania Daily News