The Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) has finally opened the door for those aspiring to succeed Brazilian Marcio Maximo as Taifa Stars coach by spelling out qualifications of the new national team boss.

One of the criteria for recruitment announced last week is that the interested tactician must be aged above 30 years and have completed at least Form Four with good written and spoken English.

The applicant must also have at least a diploma in coaching and above from a recognised institution, not less than five years experience of coaching high division teams, as well as an international coaching licence.

Other requirements include a good record in the countries he has worked for and commitment to developing youth football.

The new coach will also be required to draw up a short, medium and long term development programme for the national team, train local coaches, pick quality and disciplined players and ensure the discipline of both players and his assistants is maintained.

These requirements seem to favour mostly foreigners and hinder most indigenous coaches from taking over Maximo's mantle for lack of qualification.

No wonder most of those reported to have filed their applications are foreign coaches. The unofficial list includes current Zambia coach Herve Renard, Uganda Cranes' Bobby Williamson and Young Africans Serbian coach Kostadin Papic.

All of them boast impressive CVs that qualify them for the job and have the added advantage of being foreigners. But these two factors alone should not fool TFF who need to be extra careful when picking the suitable candidate because what Taifa Stars require is a world class coach and not merely a 'foreign coach'.

Experience has obviously taught us that not all foreign coaches are capable of moulding winning outfits. Maximo, who happens to come from the 'Land of Pele', has been with the national team for over three years now but what have we achieved in terms of silverware? Nothing! 

Yes, he once 'delivered us from an Intensive Care Unit', as he so often brags, but he has now taken us back to square one – we rank below the 100 mark.

Maximo also had ample time to monitor several players that could fit into his game plan and win tournaments for the country, but all he did was change his squad frequently, thus denying Taifa Stars the much needed cohesion and rhythm.

With this in mind, TFF should direct their search at hiring a coach whose style and brand of football is tandem with the available qualities of players in the team, and not someone who is arrogant, egoistic and eschews people's views.

TFF can simplify their job by being transparent. They should not hesitate to make the shortlist of applicants public as this will avoid rumours and will enable soccer stakeholders to air their views on the suitable candidate for the job.

Tanzanian soccer fans have starved a lot. It's time TFF gave them something to cheer about by hiring a world class coach for Taifa Stars.