The government will allow a few numbers of fans to cheer their teams when the top-flight resumes from June 1
The Tanzania government has clarified only a few spectators will be allowed to watch their teams when the Mainland Premier League resumes from June 1.
The Tanzanian top-flight has been given the green light to resume by President John Pombe Magufuli after it was halted in mid-March owing to the coronavirus pandemic.
On Thursday while addressing the nation, Magufuli confirmed all sporting activities, especially the league, can resume because the country is recording fewer cases of Covid-19.
Magufuli further moved to re-open the main international airport, giving teams in the league the chance to bring back their foreign players and coaches ahead of kick-off.
The government through the Minister for Information, Culture, Arts and Sports Harrison Mwakyembe have confirmed only 11 to 12 fans will be allowed into the stadium to support their teams.
“Each team will be allowed to have a specific number of fans not exceeding 20 people, who will be seated in a way to respect social distance but they will all be tested before accessing into the venues,” Mwakyembe is quoted by Daily News.
Mwakyembe further stated each team will be allowed to get in with all players including the substitutes and technical bench members, for thorough testing before getting into the field of play.
“Before we kick-off action all teams must make sure that their playing unit including the technical staff are all tested before they enter the field of play, we must be tough on this because we are still fighting this pandemic.”
He also asked clubs to resume training immediately but keep social distance and also warned the players against spitting on the pitch as well as handshaking.
On Friday, Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) picked two regions – Mwanza and Dar es Salaam – for league matches.
Simba SC are among the teams that have already started plans to bring back their foreign players ahead of resumption.
Simba, who are chasing a third straight title, have launched plans to bring back key players in Meddie Kagere (Rwanda), Clatous Chama (Zambia), Francis Kahata (Kenya), and Sharaf Shiboub (Sudan).
Young Africans (Yanga SC) have also started efforts to bring back their coach Luc Eymael, who travelled to Belgium when the league took a break.
Before the break, most teams had played 28 matches out of 38, and defending champions Simba are on top of the table with 71 points after winning 23 matches, drawing two and losing three.
Azam FC, who had played the same number of matches, are second with 54 points after winning 16 games, drawing six and having lost as many.
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