After the holiday break Cedar Tanzania started sporty into the new year. On the 18th of January 2020, we hosted the Cedar Tanzania-TackleAfrica tournament for all our coaches and young players who are participating in the initiative which combines football with sexual and reproductive health and rights education.
The Cedar Tanzania team was off to an early start: crossing Lake Victoria from Mwanza to Kamanga together with tents, chairs and a sound system. Some coaches and their teams were already on the pitch warming up when we arrived. You could feel already that the teams were keen to start playing–and eager to win. To make it easier for the teams who live far to reach the field, a small bus was hired to pick them up and bring them to the pitch. Due to heavy rains and soaked soil, the bus got stuck next to the pitch – fortunately, the driver managed to pick up all teams before he got stuck.
When all 14 coaches had registered their teams with 20 players each – a total of 280 participants – the first of 18 matches of the group phase was kicked off. Throughout the day, the Cedar Tanzania team raised awareness on the importance of knowing one’s HIV status. Because once someone knows that she or he is HIV positive, they can receive proper follow-up care and benefit from life-prolonging antiretroviral treatment. To that end, a dedicated team from Kamanga Health Centre offered free voluntary counselling and HIV-testing services all day long. It was a huge success with 218 people tested, mainly young people participating in the programme.
The whole Cedar Tanzania team participated in the tournament, everyone was involved in one way or another. Our Accountant Steve and Project Manager Dylan demonstrated their skills (and stamina!) as referees, our medical volunteer, Dr. Vasanth, was able to follow-up on his regular profession by supporting us as First Aider and most importantly, our Field Officers, Abdul, Wakili and Mussa, did a great job in coordinating the event from linesman to lunch.
After 18 matches the group phase was over and eight teams remained in the fight for the championship. The games were only interrupted by a herd of cows and goats that were led to their respective feeding grounds – with a shortcut through the playing pitch. Whilst the matches were being played, the bus was still stuck in mud, even after multiple attempts to pull it out by various other vehicles. And as the day went on, the poor driver managed to dig the bus even deeper into the ground.
In the late afternoon, the two finalists were determined: Kamanga A United against Mkolani FC. We saw a thrilling final that was only over after penalties and won by Mkolani FC. The winning team was rewarded with brand-new football shoes from adidas who generously donated them to Cedar Tanzania. The players accepted their prizes with proud smiles and celebrated their win with loud chants. After a long day, Cedar Tanzania’s Field Officer Abdul, who was the man in charge of keeping the ball rolling that day, concluded: “It was exhausting, but everyone seemed to have fun and to enjoy the day. So it was absolutely worth it.”
In the end, even the bus driver managed to get his bus out of the mud, with the kind support of a community member and his truck, and was able to return all the kids back safely to their homes.