Nooij unveils young Taifa Stars
Young Taifa Stars players Elias Maguri (right) and Haroun Chanongo (left) mark Taifa Stars midfielder Athumani Iddi ‘Chuji’ during a recent friendly match at the Karume Memorial Stadium. Photo | courtesy of bin zubeiry.
What you need to know:
- This is the second phase of the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) efforts to pick and nurture young players who would later make Taifa Stars competitive
Dar es Salaam. A 29-player national team’s second string side has been unveiled by head coach Mart Nooij. All of them are aged below 23.
This is the second phase of the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) efforts to pick and nurture young players who would later make Taifa Stars competitive.
Unlike the first phase, when the TFF assigned a panel of local coaches to work on selection, this time around, Nooij has done the entire exercise, adding and chopping some faces.
TFF competitions director Boniface Wambura said in a communiqué to the media that the team, dubbed Future Young Taifa Stars, will be training once a month. The first training will be held on December 9.
“The team will be summoned for training once every month; we hope that this programme will help make Taifa Stars a formidable team in the near future,” said Wambura.
Youth football is the way to go, but it remains to be seen if the manner of the programme’s implementation will bear fruit.
Wambura added: “They will be serving their clubs throughout the month with the exception of one Sunday every month.
“It is our hope that through joint monthly training, they will develop cohesion besides improving some aspects of their game.”
According to him, the team will also be playing international friendlies against different African countries.
The players with their respective clubs in brackets are; Aishi Manula (Azam), Benedict Tinoco (Kagera Sugar), Aboubakar Ally (Coastal Union), Miraji Adam (Simba), Andrew Vicent (Mtibwa Sugar) and Gadiel Mbaga (Azam).
Others are Emmanuel Semwanda (African Lyon), Joram Mgeveke (Simba), Edward Charles (Yanga), Hassan Mwasapili (Mbeya City), Kassim Simbaulanga (African Lyon), Pato Ngonyani (Yanga), Adam Salamba (Kahama), Hassan Banda (Simba), Mohamed Hussein (Simba), Hashim Magoma (Stand United), Makarani Ally (Mtibwa Sugar), Said Juma (Yanga) and Said Hamis (Simba).
The list also includes Aboubakary Ally Mohamed (Zanzibar), Hassan Dilunga (Yanga), Hussein Malombe (Geita Gold), Muzamir Ally (Mtibwa Sugar), Shiza Ramadhan (Mtibwa Sugar), Omari Nyenje (Ndanda SC), Kelvin Friday (Azam), Salim Mbonde (Mtibwa Sugar), Alfred Masumbakenda (Kahama) and Simon Msuva (Yanga).
The first phase of the Taifa Stars development programme saw the team pitch camp in Tukuyu, but thereafter some have been idle to date.
