AN athletic luxury bus handed over to the national soccer team Taifa Stars on Thursday is expected to inspire the team in its campaigns in various tournaments, team sponsors said.

The bus worth 200m/- , was handed over to the team by sponsors Tanzania Breweries Limited (TBL) through its Kilimanjaro Premium Lager beer flagship and the general focus is to provide a fun environment where players thrive in a team atmosphere.

The presentation ceremony took place at TBL headquarters in Dar es Salaam and was graced by the TBL Managing Director Robin Goetzsche and attended by the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) president, Leodegar Tenga, football stakeholders and other officials.

TBL bought the bus as part of its sponsorship contract which was signed in May last year and also as its objective to raise the status of Taifa Stars. Speaking during the hand over the MD said, "It is now almost ten months since we started sponsoring Taifa Stars and our objective as sponsors is to see the team winning and improving its status and we as sponsors are pleased with the results so far."

The MD said that the bus hand over was a sign of TBL's commitment to promote football in the country and urged the beneficiaries to take good care of the bus and continue striving to be the best always. "We will continue to support you and expect you to give us a good return for our investment by winning as many games as possible and keep improving in the FIFA rankings," he said.

The Kilimanjaro Premium Lager Brand Manager, George Kavishe said the bus, which is a 51-seater, was bought from Yutong and cost more than 200m/-. Giving the specifications, Kavishe said the bus is Yutong make, built on 4X2 Chassis, engine 300 HP Cummins, front fitted with electric retarder and ABS, fuel Tank 800 litres, seat 50 X1 reclining, with seat belts, 2 TV Monitors with LCD, Music System with 8 speakers, Pantographic doors, Pantographic boots, electric rear view mirror, two fridges and air conditioner.

"Our players should be comfortable when travelling hence the reason for us as sponsors choosing to go for a modern athletic bus that has advanced facilities like, TVs, fridge, which we urge the team to take good care of," he said adding that they did not buy the bus just because the contract requires them to do so but because they also care about the comfort of the players and ensuring that the status of the team is improved.