Having undergone research into football in Dar es Salaam for the best part of three months, I have now returned home and plan to continue writing up and developing my ideas, now with access to more reading material on the topic. The starting point for this research was Azam FC, a club whose main purpose for management is as a means of advertising their other products and the company as a whole. Issues surrounding commercialisation and neoliberalism of the beautiful game are explored, however emphasis is placed on responses to neoliberalism within local histories (Dubai, 2010: 141), with the intention of challenging portrayals of neoliberalism as something more powerful and all-encompassing than it really is (Kingfisher and Maskovsky, 2008: 119). When writing about football in Tanzania, one must necessarily consider Simba and Yanga, who roughly divide the nations football supporters into two halves.
Yanga and Simba trace their roots back to 1935 and 1936 respectively, during British colonial rule. Despite their geographical proximity in Dar es Salaam, football supporters across the whole of Tanzanian’s dispersed population of roughly 50 million people can be divided into two camps: the green and red of Yanga and Simba. The historic rivalry between these two teams is well known and widely documented (see Tsurata, 2007), and I would suggest that due to their national identity these two teams should be arguably be considered as national teams. Following independence, the socialist government led by Julius Nyerere embarked on a large-scale project of nation building among ethnically diverse people - one example of this was the adoption of Kiswahili as the language of the nation - and Nyerere himself is affectionately referred to as Baba wa Taifa (Father of the Nation). Askew (2002) explores the role of cultural productions as a way of imagining and legitimising the new nation. Simba and Yanga are known as old joking parters (watani wa jadi) and their rivalry has been played out countless times in all spheres of Tanzanian social life, and is inseparable from the country’s football identity. In tracing the development of these two teams as national cultural productions, it’s clear that although football is undoubtedly a global sport, football in Dar es Salaam is a distinctly localised phenomenon.
Azam are now undoubtedly the third best team in Tanzania, and in fact during my research period they were successful in beating Simba and Yanga twice each, including a 4-0 thrashing of Yanga which led to the supporters adopting the slogan 4G. This slogan, signifying four goals, also has connotations of modernity; 4G is the latest generation of mobile technology, succeeding 3G. Portrayals of Azam FC are often linked to modernity, as they are described as adopting a modern system (mfumo wa kisasa) in contrast to the ancient joking relationship of Simba and Yanga: the Azam company support has allowed them to build their own football stadium and bring players in from abroad, whereas Simba and Yanga have limited resources and are said operate under the system of “ujanja ujanja”. Difficult to directly translate, this describes a shrewd business acumen which may incorporate corruption (rushwa). The secretary of the The Assembly of Elders at Simba Sports Club said himself that within the club there is excessive corruption and sharp practise (ujanja umezidi).
One group of Azam supporters state that the informal system of these clubs (mfumo usio rasmi) means that they’re holding Azam back (wanachelewesha sisi), and this particular supporter group’s name (Mpira Taaluma or Specialist Football) reflects the belief Azam FC are somehow more professional. One important analysis of Azam FC by both supporters and non-supporters alike is the praise they receive for being self-reliant (kujitegemea), and in his article dealing with the occult in Dar es Salaam’s transport system, Sanders explains how the concept of self-reliance is one which has been used by successive ruling ideologies in Tanzania to “exhilarate and motivate” the people (2008:117). Sander’s attempts to avoid an analysis which overemphasises the idea of “rupture” in Tanzania’s transition from Nyerere’s post-independence era of socialism (1960-85) to the successive neoliberal governments which have since adopted wholesale the IMF’s structural adjustment programme (ibid:115). Whereas for Nyerere self-reliance was a national project (self-reliance of the nation without foreign dependency), the neoliberal era has emphasised the self-reliance of individuals, or a collection of individuals, as in the case of Azam.
The current economic situation in Tanzania under the leadership of Magufuli has signalled an era of austerity, as his hard-line on corruption and sharp practise has inadvertently led to the gaps (mianya) by which people previously received money, perhaps informally, being filled in. Simba and Yanga, as sports clubs which are managed by their party members (wanachama) and therefore depend upon these party members for donations, have suffered alongside the country’s citizens in this economic climate. This situation is contrasted to Azam, whose self-reliance positions them outside of the sharp practise (ujanja) which is embedded in these cultural institutions and largely separates them from national politics, whereas for Simba and Yanga such a separation is difficult to make. Supporters praise Azam as they do not slip up (hawatetelezi) in the current economic climate, and this relates to the neoliberal understanding of the market as “not only the best, but the only reliable social regulator” in society (Kingfisher and Maskovsky, 2008: 117).
Formal employment opportunities are minimal, however due to their business operations Azam are in a position to offer employment, whether this be in one of their many factories or in the club’s sports complex itself. Azam supporters explain that for certain professions, i.e. transporting goods, it’s better to work for Azam than the government (bora ufanye kazi na Azam kuliko serikali) because they pay better and the position is more stable. The potential for employment is ranked as a key reason for supporting the club by the supporters themselves. Supporters explain that many have been given work as a reward for showing faithful support (ushabiki wa ukweli), and this statement was supported by the club manager himself who said that they look closely at the particular specialities of supporters and designate jobs accordingly. Interestingly, work is another area highlighted by Sanders as bridging the analytical rupture between socialism and post-socialism, as both ideologies place emphasis on hard work. The current emphasis on work is evident in Magufuli’s widespread political slogan Hapa kazi tu (Here is simply work).
It is frequently said by supporters of Simba and Yanga that Azam supporters are bought by the club (wananunuliwa). Although I saw no evidence of explicit payment, it is undoubtedly the case that supporting Azam has its perks, including the possible distribution of Azam soft-drinks at matches, as well as a large allocation of free tickets (in one particularly match, hundreds of supporters entered the stadium for free, including myself!), not to mention opportunities for formal employment. However the supporter groups I became acquainted with said that anybody who supported the club as a result of these perks didn’t last long and those that remained were true supporters (washabiki wa ukweli). Instead, they stated that their job was support the club (kazi yetu ni kushabiki), and this attitude is personified with one particular supporter group called Mpira Burudani (Party Football). One member of this group referred back to the clubs roots, as it was started by the workers in the Azam factory as their after work enjoyment and relaxation (sehemu yao ya burudani). Although we have seen that consumption of Azam products is rationalised by some supporters as a means of contribution (kuchangia) to the football club (see previous post), Mpira Burudani are more likely to adopt the attitude that football is football and products are products (timu ni timu na bidhaa ni bidhaa).
Support for the many Azam supporters, if not a majority, is a matter of sacrificing oneself voluntarily to the team (kujitolea), and although this team is shamelessly identified with its business motivation and opportunity for self-advertisement (kujitangaza), it’s a testament to the beautiful game that fundamental passion and the communitas it inspires among supporters outweighs other factors. Azam are in a unique position to compete outside of the tradition conflictual relationship and political ties of their neighbours Simba and Yanga. This arguably allows their supporters to cheer on the team without hinderance, thus creating an interesting dynamic and perhaps not an uncommon one in global football, whereby the love of football is harnessed for the private profit of wealthy individuals.
We have seen how Azam’s position outside of the Simba-Yanga rivalry is symbolic of the way neoliberalism promises freedom for markets to act unhindered by government intervention: Azam is theorised as being stable in contrast to the government in the current economic environment. This relates to the understanding that neoliberalism entails a mode of domination based on the “institution of insecurity”, as the market is understood as “not only the best, but the only reliable social regulator” in society (Kingfisher and Maskovsky, 2008: 117). However in avoiding explanations of neoliberalism as all-encompassing and instead as something unstable, it is important to recognise that governments and markets are intertwined and that the “end of government regulation is more myth than reality” (ibid). What’s more, the explanations given by supporters of Azam FC themselves for supporting the club, notably self-reliance (kujitegemea) and possibility of employment (ajira), are shown by Sander’s to be two areas which are central to both socialist and post-socialist ideologies in Tanzania, thus challenging the idea of rupture and separation between state control and neoliberalism. This aids the process of viewing neoliberalism as a “process” whose antecedents are traceable, rather than something all-encompassing and distinct from the past (ibid: 115).
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