The national under u 17 soccer team players celebrate a goal during a past match. They are now camping in Dar es salaam ahead of a special youth tournament scheduled for early next month in turkey.PHOTO|FILE.
What you need to know:
For Serengeti Boys, the Turkey tournament will be part of their preparation ahead of the 2019 Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations finals
Dar es Salaam. The national U-17 soccer team, Serengeti Boys, have been handed a tricky draw in a special tournament, which roars into life on March 3 in Antalya, Turkey.
The two-week tournament has been orgnised by the Union of European Football Associations (Uefa) in collaboration with the Confederation of African Football (Cfa).
Serengeti Boys, now fine-tuning at the Karume Memorial Stadium in Dar es Salaam under the tutelage of coach Oscar Mirambo, will launch their campaign in the Turkey tournament on March 3 against Guinea.
Serengeti Boys and Guinea are in Group A together with Australia and the hosts Turkey, according to the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) technical director, Ammy Ninje.
The tournament was to kick off on February 22 to March 2, but the organisers rescheduled it reportedly at the request of the request of the hosts.
Group B consists of Cameroon, Nigeria, Uganda and Morocco.
Ninje confirmed yesterday that Serengeti Boys would leave for Antalya towards the end of this month. According to Ninje, the provisional squad of the national youth team comprises 30 players. They are now camping at the TFF Hostel.
For Serengeti Boys, the Turkey tournament will be part of their preparations ahead of the 2019 Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations finals, which kick off on April 14 at the National Stadium.
“The boys are in high spirits, raring to steal the show at the Uefa-Caf tournament in Turkey,” Ninje said.
He said players making up the provisional squad will undergo Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) tests ahead of the Turkey championship.
“Our national youth team players will undergo MRI tests before heading to Turkey for the championship,’ he said.
Last year, Serengeti Boys competed in the African Union Sports Council (AUSC) Region Five Games in Gaborone, Botswana, where they claimed the title after beating Angola 6-5 on post-match penalties.
The Uefa-Caf tournament will feature 17 national youth teams from Africa and Europe.
Serengeti Boys are in Group A in the U-17 Afcon alongside Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets, Angola and Uganda.
The Tanzanian boys will launch their Afcon campaign against Golden Eaglets on April 14 at the National Stadium.
They will also face Angola on April 17 before taking on Uganda in what will be their final group stage match.
Group B comprises Guinea, Cameroon, Morocco and Senegal.
The top four teams in the tournament will qualify for the 2019 Fifa U-17 World Cup in Peru as the Caf representatives.
