The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
Majuto Omary
7 July 2009
Los Angeles Galaxy are set to tour Tanzania for several friendly matches against topflight teams in the country.
LA Galaxy would be the third North American team to visit the country after Seattle Sounders and Vancouver Whitecaps came in 2005 and early this year respectively. Both teams locked horns with Simba Sports Club, Young Africans and the national team in Dar es Salaam.
The trip is coordinated by LZ Enterprises whose deputy manager Rahim Kagenzi said the tour is part of the firm's endeavours to promote tourism and the new 60,000-seater National Stadium.
However, Kangezi did not mention date and the local teams the North Americans would meet. "We are still finding sponsors who will facilitate the trip we want our players to learn from them besides marketing our stadium," he said.
He added: "We are finalising talks with all teams, therefore we will announce the exact date of their arrival as soon as possible."
The official said LA Gallaxy is one of the giant clubs in the US and has several outstanding players.
The notable players who may tour the country include the newly recruited goal-scoring dynamo Alecko Eskandarian and David Beckham who was on loan at AC Milan.
He said apart from LA Galaxy, plans are underway to invite Boca Juniors from Argentina and South Africa's Super Sports United for the same mission. Diego Maradona, one of the greatest players on earth, rose through the ranks at Boca Juniors.
Kangezi said their efforts were in line with the government's initiative to revive sports and advertise the 60,000-seater National Stadium.
"Our government is trying to revive sports, so we decided to give our full support we believe it will pay off," he said.
According to him, Tanzania has embarked on a strategy to market the facility so that it becomes one of the training centres for the teams, which would qualify for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 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.
