Tanzania in good shape, physically and mentally for CHAN – Suleiman

Tanzania national team head coach Hemed Suleiman has declared the team’s readiness to kick off their 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN) campaign against Burkina Faso at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium on Saturday.

“We are in good shape physically and mentally and the players are in excellent condition,” Suleiman said as quoted by Daily News. “Our first training session in Ismailia, Egypt, lasted ten days. It was tough, but it made a big impact. We then moved to Karatu for a week, played a friendly match and now we are fully ready for the match.”

Suleiman took his time to thank the Tanzanian government for the support they had accorded the team heading into the tournament.

“First, we must thank the Government under President Samia Suluhu for helping us secure these camps. They have worked well with TFF (Tanzania Football Federation) to make excellent preparations. Tanzanians have continued to support us, and we ask them to keep supporting us,” he said.

“Tanzanians are behind us. I have seen their passion—it motivates us. In the last tournament, the pre-CHAN, they gave us encouragement and that was one reason we performed well. We ask them to continue to motivate us.”

On his final message ahead of the Burkina Faso game, Suleiman said; “I want to tell fans to keep supporting us. This time, we will fight and battle as much as possible to perform well.”

Tanzania previously participated in the 2009 and 2020 editions of the tournament but were eliminated at the group stage on both occasions.