Ngurumbizi
Member
- Aug 8, 2011
- 97
- 114
Ngurumbizi Dudumizi
P.O. Box 1920
Iringa, Tanzania
13 August 2025
Head of Integrity & Compliance
Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)
FIFA-Strasse 20
8044 Zürich, Switzerland
Subject: Grievance regarding Young Africans SC pledge of TZS 100 million to a political party (CCM) — request for investigation and guidance
Dear Sir/Madam,
I write to lodge a formal grievance and to request FIFA’s immediate review of conduct by Young Africans Sports Club (Yanga SC), a Tanzanian club affiliated to the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF). Multiple reputable outlets reported on 12 August 2025 that Yanga SC publicly pledged TZS 100 million to the ruling political party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), to support its 2025 election campaign.
This conduct appears inconsistent with FIFA’s framework on political neutrality and integrity:
1. Duty of political neutrality (FIFA Code of Ethics, 2023, art. 15): Persons bound by the Code — expressly including “officials and players” — must remain politically neutral in dealings “with national or international public institutions” and shall refrain from any activity that could be perceived as supporting political interests, save for limited exceptions not relevant here. Club leaders acting in an official capacity to pledge funds to a political party would prima facie contravene this duty.
2. FIFA Statutes: While Article 4(2) confirms FIFA’s political neutrality, the Statutes and the Disciplinary/Ethics framework collectively oblige member associations, clubs, and their officials to uphold principles that keep football free from political interference or support. Clubs and their officials are subject to FIFA’s regulatory ecosystem through their member associations.
3. FIFA Disciplinary Code (2023): FIFA’s disciplinary regime restricts political messages in football contexts and provides tools to sanction clubs and natural persons for conduct that brings the game into disrepute or uses football platforms for political ends. While the Code most explicitly addresses political messages at matches and events, the same integrity rationale applies when club officials, acting in their official roles, publicly commit club funds to a political party.
Requested actions:
Open an integrity review into Yanga SC officials involved in the pledge and determine whether the conduct violates Article 15 of the FIFA Code of Ethics and related FIFA provisions.
Issue guidance to the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) and its affiliated clubs clarifying prohibitions on political donations, endorsements, and fundraising by clubs and officials acting in an official capacity.
If violations are established, impose appropriate measures under the FIFA Code of Ethics and/or FIFA Disciplinary Code, and require remedial steps to safeguard political neutrality in Tanzanian football.
Football must remain politically neutral to protect the integrity of the game and the rights of diverse supporters. I respectfully ask FIFA to treat this matter with urgency and inform the public of the progress of the investigation.
Yours faithfully,
Ngurumbizi Dudumizi
Signed
CC:
President, Tanzania Football Federation (TFF)
President, Young Africans SC
P.O. Box 1920
Iringa, Tanzania
13 August 2025
Head of Integrity & Compliance
Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)
FIFA-Strasse 20
8044 Zürich, Switzerland
Subject: Grievance regarding Young Africans SC pledge of TZS 100 million to a political party (CCM) — request for investigation and guidance
Dear Sir/Madam,
I write to lodge a formal grievance and to request FIFA’s immediate review of conduct by Young Africans Sports Club (Yanga SC), a Tanzanian club affiliated to the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF). Multiple reputable outlets reported on 12 August 2025 that Yanga SC publicly pledged TZS 100 million to the ruling political party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), to support its 2025 election campaign.
This conduct appears inconsistent with FIFA’s framework on political neutrality and integrity:
1. Duty of political neutrality (FIFA Code of Ethics, 2023, art. 15): Persons bound by the Code — expressly including “officials and players” — must remain politically neutral in dealings “with national or international public institutions” and shall refrain from any activity that could be perceived as supporting political interests, save for limited exceptions not relevant here. Club leaders acting in an official capacity to pledge funds to a political party would prima facie contravene this duty.
2. FIFA Statutes: While Article 4(2) confirms FIFA’s political neutrality, the Statutes and the Disciplinary/Ethics framework collectively oblige member associations, clubs, and their officials to uphold principles that keep football free from political interference or support. Clubs and their officials are subject to FIFA’s regulatory ecosystem through their member associations.
3. FIFA Disciplinary Code (2023): FIFA’s disciplinary regime restricts political messages in football contexts and provides tools to sanction clubs and natural persons for conduct that brings the game into disrepute or uses football platforms for political ends. While the Code most explicitly addresses political messages at matches and events, the same integrity rationale applies when club officials, acting in their official roles, publicly commit club funds to a political party.
Requested actions:
Open an integrity review into Yanga SC officials involved in the pledge and determine whether the conduct violates Article 15 of the FIFA Code of Ethics and related FIFA provisions.
Issue guidance to the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) and its affiliated clubs clarifying prohibitions on political donations, endorsements, and fundraising by clubs and officials acting in an official capacity.
If violations are established, impose appropriate measures under the FIFA Code of Ethics and/or FIFA Disciplinary Code, and require remedial steps to safeguard political neutrality in Tanzanian football.
Football must remain politically neutral to protect the integrity of the game and the rights of diverse supporters. I respectfully ask FIFA to treat this matter with urgency and inform the public of the progress of the investigation.
Yours faithfully,
Ngurumbizi Dudumizi
Signed
CC:
President, Tanzania Football Federation (TFF)
President, Young Africans SC
