The Director General of the Department of Information who is also the Chief Spokesman of the Government, Mobhare Matinyi said the statement of the Minister of Culture, Arts and Sports, Dr. Damas Ndumbaro on the inspection of passports for fans in stadiums was sports joke and not the position of the Government
He said this yesterday in Dar es Salaam while answering the questions of journalists and editors, after talking about the success of the three years of the leadership of President Samia Suluhu Hassan
In response to a question about what is the government's statement about fans entering the stadium with a passport, due to Dr. Ndumbaro's statement that those who will enter the stadium wearing the jerseys of the opposing team will have their passports checked to confirm their citizenship
He made the statement towards the quarter-final games of the African Champions League (CAFCL) to be played on April 29 and 30, involving Simba SC vs Al Ahly of Egypt, while another game will be between Yanga SC vs Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa at the Stadium of Benjamin Mkapa, Dar es Salaam
"It is common in games when competing teams play against each other and 80 percent of those statements are just sports bragging and not official statements," said Matinyi
He said that the body with the authority to check the Travel Document is the Immigration Department, which does the activity with great professionalism and integrity
However, Matinyi has instructed the national and international football federations not to give a chance to any misleading information as the purpose of Minister Ndumbaro is to emphasize sports fans in the country to focus more on patriotism
