Presently in Arusha, Tanzania, I casually asked a guy who talked to me in the street if anyone played football in Tanzania. He said yes, and mentioned a field where a few days prior, I had seen some kids play. They were really bad.
"So where are the great Tanzanian players"
"Oh!", he said indignantly; "That is because the government doesn't support football!"
I was surprised and said that in South America no kid needed government support to play football. Instead, you see kids everywhere kicking balls or whatever with a medium round shape.
"Did Pele or Maradona need government support!?", I asked him.
He didn't say anything.
At least I know why Tanzania has never been to a world cup, and likely never will. You can't expect your government to support something the people are not really playing. Football, in spite of all the political involvement, the capitalism that today has totally overtaken the sport, still belongs to the people of the world, and any kid playing with whatever, may one day turn into a new Pele. No need for government support.
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