Free transportation offered to Tanzania supporters in Tabora for CHAN

High expectations await the Tanzania national team when the country co-hosts the African Nations Championship (CHAN) beginning on August 2 and supporters from the Tabora Region have been offered free transport to Dar es Salaam for the Taifa Stars games.

An almost 14-hour drive from the regional capital to Dar es Salaam, the football-loving region’s Taifa Stars supporters will have support from the regional government for the massive occasion: “These matches are being hosted right here in our country, so we must show up in numbers to support our national team. I’ll make sure there are enough buses to take fans to the stadium and bring them back — all for free,” stated Tabora Regional Commissioner Paul Chacha in comments recorded by Tanzania’s Daily News.

Tanzania kick off the tournament on Saturday in Group B where the Taifa Stars will get center stage treatment with the only match of the day against Burkina Faso. The game will take place at Tanzania’s centerpiece venue, the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam.

The only other venue in Tanzania for the tournament is at the Amaan Stadium in Zanzibar, an even more ardous trip for Tanzanian supporters from the more inland regions like Tabora.

The Taifa Stars are largely expected to be the strongest team of the East African host nations with more modest expectations for Kenya and Uganda. Pressure is growing with some supporters anticipating a challenge to win the tournament while Tanzania president Samia Suluhu has offered a substantial cash reward of 1 billion Tanzanian shillings (over $389,000) if the Taifa Stars win the tournament.