Dar es Salaam — Amateur boxers expecting to feature in the Commonwealth Games have to at least participate in one international competition before hand, Tanzania Olympic Committee (TOC) has said.
Speaking on Saturday at the joint meeting that brought together representatives of the government, TOC and sports bodies that expect to represent the country in the Commonwealth Games slated for April 4 to 15 in Gold Coast, Australia, TOC secretary general Filbert Bayi said on Saturday as of present, only amateur boxers were yet to meet this condition.
He said the condition has been set by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF).
However, Bayi said that the Boxing Federation of Tanzania (BFT) has announced that it is going to host an international boxing tournament dubbed Champions of Champions next month. But, he insisted that this event must happen first before the final decision is made. He said Athletics Tanzania (AT), Tanzania Swimming Association (TSA) and Tanzania Table Tennis Association (TTTA) have so far attained the criteria.
“We met with the sports associations and discussed the preparations ahead of the Gold Coast event. All are in order except for the boxers.
“The government foots the expenses for athletes at the Commonwealth Village. We have places for 26 athletes and eight officials. So far, we have 51 names for whom Visas and accreditations have been applied. It means meeting all the criteria is key to reaching the final decision,” said Bayi.
–Majuto Omary, AllAfrica.com
