Most professional soccer teams, whether club or international, receive a new kit for every game, but the Tanzanian football federation is so poor they cannot even afford to provide their players with new jerseys for each match.
The Tanzanian team’s management claimed players were not permitted to give away jerseys because the federation is unable to meet the price demands of paying for a new jersey after every match.
The incident sparked widespread criticism from the Tanzanian media and public, causing the Tanzanian Football Federation to rescind Nadir Haroub’s punishment.
“It’s obvious he couldn’t say no to Eto’o,” TFF president Leodegar Tenga said.
“It was a wise decision to give his jersey to such a famous player. This will make our country known.”
A fund raising drive was put in motion soon after the match by numerous fans to help Haroub meet the cost of replacing his jersey.
Can you imagine this ever happening in your country?
Unless you’re from Tanzania or another country in Africa, then I highly doubt your international soccer team would ever experience a scenario like this. Soccer players in most countries almost always give away their jersey, whether it’s to one of their opponents or to one of the fans.
This is just one example of why soccer in Africa, despite it being the most popular sport in the entire continent, has a long way to go until it can be on the same level as Europe, Asia, and South and North America.
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