Date fixed for Serengeti Boys departure
Dar es Salaam. The national Under-17 team, Serengeti Boys, will now leave the country this Sunday for Doha, Qatar, where they will train and play friendlies.
The team, which participated in a special tournament in Turkey recently, is preparing for the African Youth Championship, which will kick off on April 14 and run to April 28 in Dar es Salaam.
Serengeti Boys, comprising 28 players, were earlier scheduled to fly to Doha on Wednesday, but failure by some players to secure visas forced the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) to push the departure date back.
Serengeti Boys head coach Oscar Mirambo told The Citizen yesterday that they had been assured of departing on Sunday, revealing that they would play three friendly matches in Doha.
“We should have been in Qatar already, but some of our players did not get their visas on time, but we’ve been assured that the team will travel on Sunday. We are ready for the trip. While in Doha, we will play at least three friendly matches,” said Mirambo.
Serengeti Boys are in Group A together with Nigeria, Guinea and Uganda. The youngsters, who are now training at the JMK Youth Park in Dar es Salaam, are reportedly responding positively to the coach’s instructions. Mirambo said his players were in high spirits, looking forward to performing well in the Nations Cup. He expressed optimism that camping in Doha would give the players the much needed exposure.
