The FIFA Financial Governance team has been working consistently with the Tanzanian Football Federation (TFF) on improving several key areas in terms of financial management and governance under the FIFA Forward Development Programme. Continued engagement with the new TFF administration during regional workshops and regular correspondence – including the hiring of a completely new finance team at the Federation – has seen the FIFA team provide tailor-made guidance and information exchange in areas such as installation of accounting software, filing of supporting documentation and reduction in cash transactions.

TFF invited the FIFA team to visit Tanzania to get first-hand experience of the reforms and changes that have been introduced in their financial management and governance processes, and to provide more hands-on support and guidance in this area where needed.

TFF welcomed the FIFA delegation to Dar Es Salaam at a time of great excitement and hope for Tanzanian football. The senior men’s national team had recently qualified for their first CAF Africa Cup of Nations in almost 40 years and the country was in the midst of preparations for the CAF Africa U-17 Cup of Nations. The FIFA delegation was introduced to the members of the new Finance team who took the time to demonstrate first-hand the accounting software and filing system that has recently been introduced. They also walked the delegation through the new processes that have been implemented for the approval and payment of expenses, all documented in a finalised financial manual for the Federation.

The exchange of information was not only one-way, however, as the FIFA delegation gave advice on how to optimise some of these processes to get even more out of the changes made already. Furthermore, the FIFA delegation ensured that all TFF staff were aware of their reporting obligations for the upcoming central review and statutory audit, and how the filing system and records could be kept more fastidiously to facilitate an easier process for both TFF and the auditor when they arrive.

FIFA closed off the mission by visiting some of the existing and planned footballing facilities in place in Tanzania, with a discussion on how the FIFA Forward Programme could be fully leveraged to maximum benefit of TFF and all footballing stakeholders in the country.