The Tanzania National Rugby Team friendly match against Burundi that was scheduled to be staged this weekend in Bujumbura, Burundi, has been postponed.
The national rugby team was invited to play a friendly match against their counterparts Burundi on June 22.
However, the Tanzania Rugby Union (TRU), Secretary General, Anthony Dawa unveiled yesterday in Dar es Salaam that the match has been suspended.
"The match has been postponed until further notice for some reasons, among others, because of the union's financial constraints.
We were thrilled to receive such an invitation to play against Burundi, but we could not raise funds enough to make a trip," TRU Secretary General unveiled to the 'Daily News'.
However, Dawa said they are still working on the issue and we are likely going to set another date, once they are ready to send the team.
"We look forward for the match, but no fixed date yet and it was an honour for the union to receive such an invitation from Burundi," he said.
He noted that that the initial plan was to have the national team four-day training camp in Kigoma region to prepare for the exciting international engagement before the trip, but could not manage to do that.
"We understand the importance of the game, it is a desirable opportunity for our national teams and individual players, hence we decided to postpone and give more time to prepare ourselves as we are looking for funds to send a team to Burundi," he said.
Dawa appealed to companies, institutions, and sports well-wishers to support his association so that it can fulfill its development plans, including the Burundi trip.
He said that the match was a significant milestone for Tanzanian rugby, providing opportunities for skill development and international competition exposure.
"We are planning to have some friendly matches against two top rugby teams from Dar es Salaam and Arusha," he said.
Meanwhile, Dawa added that there will be another exciting event as there will be a Kigamboni tough rugby festival colouring the Dar es Salaam region
