DAR ES SALAAM: THE National Football Team, Taifa Stars Coach Adel Amrouche said they are going to do their utmost to do well at the forthcoming 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals slated to kick off on January 13th this year.
Amrouche made the remarks on Monday in Dar es Salaam before the team's jetting off to Cairo, Egypt where they intend to pitch a brief camp before heading to Abidjan, Ivory Coast where the finals will be staged.
"I think Cairo is not bad, it was not our choice in the beginning but it is good, the most important thing is that we have all our players in one place, one hotel which makes it easy to make plans and concentrate on our mission," he said.
He further thanked the Minister for Culture, Arts and Sports, Damas Ndumbaro and the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) president Wallace Karia for choosing an ideal camping place in Egypt.
Responding on a question as to why player Kelvin John was not included in the recent Taifa Stars squad, the coach replied that he is ready to give him a second chance if he changes his behaviour without going in details.
Also, he gave credit to Feisal Salum saying if he gets back to his prime time, then he can surely be voted as a player for this year's AFCON contest.
Meanwhile, Stars Assistant Coach Hemed Suleiman alias 'Morocco' disclosed a full list of 31 players who left the country yesterday for Cairo ahead of the prestigious finals.
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They are goalkeepers: Aishi Manula, Beno Kakolanya, Metacha Mnata and Kwesi Kawawa. Defenders: Bakari Mwamnyeto, Dickson Job, Ibrahim Bacca, Novatus Dismas, Abdi Banda, Haji Mnoga, Mohamed Hussein, Abdulmalik Zakaria, Miano Danito and Lusajo Mwaikenda.
Midfielders: Feisal Salum, Mudathir Yahya, Himid Mao, Tariq Yusuf, Mzamiru Yassin, Tarryn Allarakhia, Sospeter Bajana, Khleffin Hamdoun, Mohamed Omar and Kibu Denis.
Strikers: Mbwana Samatta, Simon Msuva, Charles M'mombwa, Ben Starkie, Cyprian Kachwele and Abdul Suleiman.
Tanzania is pooled in group F alongside Morocco, Congo DR and Zambia and will kick off its campaign against Morocco and their next fixture comes on January 21st at the same venue before interfacing DR Congo on January 24 in their last match of the campaign.
Cruising to the knockout out phase of the competition will be a big achievement for the team and this is what millions of Tanzanians are waiting to see happening.
