The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
Majuto Omary
22 May 2008
Mobile phone service providers Vodacom are expecting to launch a soccer talent scouting exercise mid next month, the firm's head of marketing, sponsorship and communications Ephrahim Mafuru confirmed yesterday.
The talent search project wil be known as Global Soccer Stars (GSS) and would be coordinated by Tanzania Football Federation (TFF).
Mafuru said the project would simultaneously start in four Mainland regions of Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Mwanza, Mbeya and also in Zanzibar.
Soccer players with an age range between 16 and 22 who are interested in participating should contact Vodacom offices or agents, he said.
Vodacom was expecting to get a response of thousands of youth players who will later be trimmed to 40.
The screened players would assemble in Dar es Salaam for five weeks under professional coaches from United Kingdom, John Brookes inclusive.
The players would then be chopped to eleven and the final screening will be conducted to pick up one player who would thereafter given an opportunity to pursue a soccer career in Europe.
The selected player would then join the fray with others from Holland, Spain and United Kingdom who are expected to feature in a special event that would lead to a single player to play in the English Premier League.
Mafuru said the selected player(s) will be given access to education such that one should not worry about missing academic achievement.
Present during yesterday's press conference was Tanzania Football Federation's vice-president Crescentius Magori and acting Director of Sports Laurence Mpwaji.
They both expressed appreciation to Vodacom for the talent scouting initiative.
Magori said the strategy would be helpful in identifying talents for future use by club level soccer and the national team.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 The Citizen. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
