THE 2024 Amputee Africa Cup of Nations (AAFCON) had dual significance this year as it was also serving as a qualifying championship for the amputee football World Cup.

For our part, the national amputee football team, who have affectionately been given the moniker of the Tembo Warriors, went into this year’s AAFCON with high hopes of putting their best foot forward at the competition, which is rapidly growing in prominence.

Sadly though, despite making a titanic effort, the Tembo Warriors were disappointingly eliminated from the AAFCON in the early stages of the football tournament.

This unfortunate setback can be put down to the non-existence of a national amputee football league, which incredibly hampered the Tembo Warriors’ exertions at this year’s AAFCON.

Indeed, it is crystal clear that there needs to be an immense change in how we go about readying ourselves for not just amputee football competitions but mammoth Paralympic sporting championships in general.

Our long-standing modus operandi of preparing for huge Paralympic sporting competitions annoyingly consists of total inactivity for long spells followed by sudden and earnest preparations for such sporting events.

As was recently demonstrated by the Tembo Warriors at this year’s AAFCON, this particular manner of preparations has been amply proven to be undeniably flawed and ineffective.  

If we are dead serious about producing magnificent displays at prestigious Paralympic sporting events, then we absolutely need to ensure that local Paralympic sporting championships frequently take place throughout every year.

It should be noted here that Paralympic sporting tournaments are infuriatingly few and far between on the local scene, which massively hinders our prospects of doing well at international Paralympic sporting extravaganzas.

 Therefore, it is hoped that local Paralympic sports will hastily undergo a sea change which will result in Paralympic sporting competitions taking place with regularity on the home front.

Let us now dive into domestic football where the top tier Premier League came to an excitingly dramatic end mid-last week.

Heading into the final round of matches, Azam FC and Simba SC were locked in an intense battle to finish as runners-up to the recently crowned league champions Young Africans SC.

In the end, it was Azam who edged Simba to finish in second place as the former had a better goal difference than the latter despite both sides dramatically wrapping up their league campaigns with the same number of points.

Consequently, this then means that Azam will join league champions Young Africans as our country’s two flag-bearers in the greatly respected CAF Champions League next season.

Indeed, Azam’s participation in the CAF Champions League next season will mark the first time in quite a while that the ice cream makers will be competing on arguably continental football’s most distinguished stage.

In addition, many passionate Tanzanian football fans will be fervently hoping that Azam can follow in the footsteps of local heavyweights Simba and Yanga, who have both progressed to the quarter-finals of the CAF Champions League in recent seasons.

Thus, despite the fact that Azam will be entering into uncharted territory relatively speaking in the CAF Champions League next season, it is hoped that the ice cream makers will prove to be up to scratch in this revered African football championship.