National Stadium should be commercialised

More than a year has elapsed after the ultra-modern National Stadium was declared complete and ready for use but the contractor’s fence made of corrugated iron sheet is still there; though partly dilapidated.

Those who are gifted with rational reasoning would have expected to see the fence dismantled so that the surroundings of the stadium gain a clean image of completion of construction work.

Despite its completion, the Main National Stadium has not been accorded adequate attention in terms of turning it into an income generating unit. The sports facility has rarely been used to host special matches and seemingly nobody thinks of making it a place where more other sports events and activities can be accommodated.

Ever since the completion of the National Stadium, only the senior national team, Taifa Stars, has had the opportunity to use it for both build-up and competitive international encounters. Simba and Yanga have had the opportunity to use it too when they meet in the Premier league. Of course the two teams are the country’s number one crowd pullers since they have a lot of members, fans and supporters an aspect that makes their games attended by tens of thousands of people.

Athletics Tanzania (AT) has had the opportunity of using the stadium only twice when they hosted the national athletics competitions last year and this year.

The use of the Main National Stadium seems to be very segregational since only the likes of Simba and Yanga will have the opportunity whilst players of other clubs will never play in the stadium unless they are national players.

I am of the opinion that all this has been happening because of lack of people with creativity on how to maximise the use of the multi-billion shillings facility. I keep wondering why a country full of vigour in political polemics can have such an acute shortage of pragmatic thinkers.

Apparently we are becoming a nation with very good planners, but lack serious people who can turn the plans into reality. Initially it was reported that soon after the completion of the main National Stadium, the construction of the National Indoor Stadium and the Olympic-size swimming pool would begin.

Several years after the completion of the Main National Stadium, there are no signs of phase two of the project being embarked upon. May be all those promises were part of the long lived tradition of big mouthed political slogans.

Syllersaid Mziray is a lecturer-cum-soccer coach