THE inaugural women soccer league for Arusha has now been pushed forward to December, this year, with the organisers targeting the rather long, end-of-the-year holidays, so as to be assured of greater participation.
It will be the first time the city is organising this special league for women soccer teams here but with mixed feelings. Initially, the league was planned for this September but with concerns of pending school examinations, students and teachers’ participation in the games called for the postponement of the league.
According to the Executive Secretary of the Arusha District Football Association (ADFA), Zakayo Mjema, the urban precinct has decided to establish the women soccer league to be running annually, but this time round the organisers have chosen to kick-off the whole thing at the end of the year so as to gain more support.
He admits that the maiden league venture will not be easy, being the first time that the area is organising a 100 per cent female soccer event in an area where such bold undertakings for women are still being regarded skeptically by the rather dogmatic members of the local communities.
The Arusha Urban District has currently registered four women soccer teams including the Kaloleni Club of Kaloleni; the Future Stars which is based at the International School of Moshi (ISM) Arusha Campus in Kisongo, but runs an office at Ngulelo area; the Testimony Sports Academy of Sanawari and the Kijenge Youths FC from Kijenge.
Officials explain that though there are ongoing efforts to recruit more players but it is becoming a major challenge on that this type of football for ladies is yet to gain roots in the locality.
Mjema was also on view that starting the league with the few teams this year will at least serve to create morale among other potential female soccer players to join such events in future and possibly also get to form new teams in the process.
At the moment, the Testimony Academy female soccer wing of Sanawari seems to be doing slightly better than the rest, having started earlier in 2012 and even managed to play against the visiting Germany ladies’ football team known as ‘VFL Kellinghusen’ which had toured Arusha back in July 2013.
Testimony Academy beat the aliens 3-0 during the friendly match played at the General Tyre Grounds in Njiro. Testimony had also participated in the East African Cup Tournament held in Moshi last June where it was thrashed by Msimamo Youth Center team from Dar es Salaam 3-0. Should the inaugural league be successful, then female soccer events will be taken in the other six districts of Arusha in future, organisers said.
By YASINTA AMOS, Tanzania Daily news