Gate collection row bubbles on

The ministry of Information, Culture and Sports has advised rival teams of Young Africans and Simba to negotiate with the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) in connection with gate collection deductions.

The permanent secretary in the ministry Seth Kamuhanda said the dispute can be amicably negotiated between the three parties to reach a consensus.

He said it’s time the two clubs set up a joint meeting with the soccer federation to resolve the impending row.

He said TFF has the authority to amend the rules and regulations concerning deductions and distribution of the revenue accrued from the football matches staged at the state of the art National Stadium in Dar es Salaam.

Kamuhanda said the Government is unable to intervene on the gate collections and deductions as TFF is fully responsible to iron out the shortfall.

“There is nothing impossible as Simba and Yanga have all the time in the world to open a dialogue with the football federation to resolve the issue,” said Kamuhanda.

However, Kamuhanda said the Government opens room for an agreement on how to charge the expenses connected to the use of the modern stadium.

The Government would be happy to find a permanent solution on the revenue distribution row that has been separating the two clubs and their football federation, so says Kamuhanda.

“It must be clearly understood that the Government would not interfere the decisions reached by TFF,” said the ministry’s official.

Kamuhanda said the infrequent use of the newly built 60,000-seater stadium still hurts the Government in terms of maintenance and upkeeps.

The stadium has been constructed to be used as frequently as possible and generate revenues enough to meet maintenance expenditures, including its fleet of staff, so says Kamuhanda.

However, Kamuhanda also hinted that clubs should be aware of the cost borne by the Government to construct the stadium and its subsequent maintenance costs.

The 52bn/- National Stadium was officially launched last year by Chinese President Hu Jintao after three years of construction works.

Power and water bills are soaring for the stadium whenever it’s in use as the ministry official insisted on frequent use of it to offset the expenditures.

Simba and Yanga officials boycotted to collect their share of 33m/- (each) out of 222m/- collected during their last Saturday’s Charity Shield match played at the stadium.

The officials of the two clubs have been in joint session with TFF on how best to resolve the gate collection distribution crisis.

The Mainland premiership clubs would have threatened to boycott the league but the presence of army-related teams loyal to the Government separates them from implementing the boycott.

Teams such as JKT Ruvu, Ruvu Shooting and Police Dodoma cannot join forces with the rest of the top flight sides to protest gate collection distribution.

On Tuesday this week, the two rival clubs in the premiership had threatened to boycott the league.

The twelve-team league kicked off across the country last Saturday.