It’s not every day that an East African football team gets to play a match with one of the greatest teams in the world. Late last month Spain’s celebrated team Real Madrid landed in Tanzania, and on August 23rd play a thrilling match against Tanzania’s Select 11. Dar es Salaam’s National Stadium was packed with approximately 40,000 football fans. In attendance were Tanzania’s president Jakaya Kikwete, the country’s Minister of Information, Youth, Culture and Sports Fenella Mukangara and the regional commissioner of Dar es Salaam Said Mecki Sadiki.
The 3-1 score against Tanzania wasn’t too bad considering they were playing a match with the Real Madrid. In fact, the East African country played very well compared to Brazil’s national team, who were memorably beaten 7-1 by Germany on their home tuff during the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Considering the Spanish team had world-renowned footballers like Luis Figo, Christian Karembeu and Ruben De La Red it’s kudos to Tanzania’s Select 11 team. Some of the Select 11 players who played significantly were Shaaban Ramadhan, Mecky Mexime, Habibu Kondo and Shadrack Nsajigwa. At the end of the game President Kikwete signed the football and awarded it to Ruben De La Red.
Real Madrid was in Tanzania to promote the country’s tourism industry and spur the growth of football in the country. The team also visited the country to scout promising footballers to play in Spain. During their stay in the country the team got to visit tourist sites such as the Ngorongoro Crater Conservancy, and took time to hike Mount Kilimanjaro. They had an autograph signing session in Arusha for their avid fans. Denis Sebo of TSN GROUP organized the trip.
