Dar es Salaam — LOCAL top seed Omary Abdallah makes his maiden debut in the prestigious Futures Tournament that kicks off on Monday at the Entente Sportive Club in the Burundian Capital, Bujumbura.

The annual all Men's International Tennis Federation (ITF) Circuit that proceeds to Rwanda and Uganda, attracts top tennis athletes from across the world to a competitive world ATP (Association of Tennis Players) ranking event.

And with the on- form but unranked Omary thirsty for success in the tennis sport, this year's edition of Futures tournaments will provide him the quality platform he needs to join professional tennis.

Speaking during the climax of the just ended Simba Cement Open International Tennis Tournament, where he emerged runners up, the 28 year old told the 'Daily News' that he will go through the Futures qualifying rounds gathering points for ATP ranking.

Omary said he was confident to compete in the highly funded career improving event noting that his major focus was to test his skills on a higher level.

Meanwhile, the government is currently reviewing the national sports policy in order to align it with recent sports development, and among other things, to formally introduce professional sports in the country.

Seth Kamuhanda, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Culture and Sports said the government fully recognized the importance of sports both in national development and in building a healthier nation.

In his statement read to tennis East African enthusiasts during the closing ceremony of the 2010 Simba Cement Open tennis event by the Director of Culture Development Professor Hermas Mwansoko, the permanent secretary hailed the tremendous efforts made by the national tennis body TTA, in promoting the tennis game across the country.

Kamuhanda said: "The government is particularly impressed with the development of tennis as a healthy sport. What we are witnessing today is the popularity of a sport that has grown from obscurity to a popular sport in a country rich with soccer fans.

We in the government will work closely with TTA to make the next edition of this event a resounding success." He appealed to national sports associations to come up with concrete ideas on how best to transform and hasten sports development in the country.

He promised that all development ideas will be incorporated noting that the aim was to have an inclusive and transparent review process that takes on board the views of all sports stakeholders.

He commented the generous sponsorship by Simba Cement brand to tennis development, saying the presence of sponsors in the tournament forms a cornerstone for players to ensure good sportsmanship during events.