In good old Africa, football and by extension sports lag behind for one major reason; youth structures or lack thereof.

Compared to their illustrious peers in Europe, Asia, the Americas et al, Football Associations here crave instant success without taking the trouble to lay foundations for their long term plans to stand on.

African football foundations are largely built on quicksand. Successful and/or operational structures south of the Sahara can be counted on the fingers of one hand.

Indeed as the legendary Brazilian Pele once famously remarked, if Africa could take time to nurture and follow up on its talented youth, no continent would hold up a candle to us.

The rest of the world would only play second fiddle. One of the world’s greatest ever exponents of the game is only too aware of the potential that exists here going by his observation and quip.

Sadly as it stands, most of Africa’s potential success stories only exist on fine paper blueprints, gathering dust on high cabinet shelves, with very few if any willing to do the implementation.

One man in Sub-Saharan Africa is on a mission to demystify this narrative.

THE MESSIAH

Jamal Malinzi, the president of the Tanzania Football Federation – TFF – is on a relentless mission to sanitize and develop the game in his native Tanzania. The man who was elected in 2013 in a rancorous election beating Athumani Nyamulani convincingly has worked his socks off, literally, in his maiden term in office, to restore hitherto faded hopes and bring back smiles to the faces of football-mad fanatics in his motherland.

Football ranks only second to religion in Tanzania and whips up emotions to a scale not even politics commands.
When Malinzi assumed office, he and his deputy Wallace Karia promised a host of things, key among them creation of centres across the country to unearth rough diamonds of football stars, plans to stage age-category competitions, rope in more sponsors and attract funds to the coffers of the federation besides hosting a continental showpiece in 2019.

His team was willing to partner with other countries like the Netherlands towards achieving these ambitious plans. Thus far the results are in the public domain, with the expansion of the Vodacom Premier League from 14 to 16 teams, the massive improvement of facilities to support the beautiful game, players covered on health and injury risk insurances and the pinnacle being the Serengeti Boys playing in the CAF U17 Nations Cup in Gabon.

The astute businessman and former Secretary General of Yanga is also credited for his gallant pursuit to get Zanzibar into the Confederation of African Football – Caf – as an autonomous member besides improving coaching standards across the length and breath of Tanzania.

Under his stewardship sponsors and benefactors are filing in droves to work with the TFF in getting the sport to the next level. Kenya giant bet company Sportpesa is the most recent addition.

REPEAT PERFOMANCE

As he seeks re-election for a second term in August, the 57 year old graduate of Engineering will be keen to ensure his long term plan of building solid foundations for the future of the game in Tanzania is achieved and his impending legacy deeply etched in the annals of history this part of the world.

Football in Africa cries out for administrators who draft blueprints and soil their hands trying to execute their mandate.

More often than not FA presidents pay very good lip service but achieve very little in terms of real development and progress.

Its an old African pastime. Many delay to take decisive action and soon fall captive to cabals, unable to work freely and are eventually compromised or forced to resign to the dictates of the old order.

Jamal Malinzi started a process. He has done exceedingly well to build capacity as opposed to the favoured style of issuing dictatorial decrees. The TFF needs him at the helm for a repeat perfomance and more.