THE British High Commission to Tanzania has extended sports diplomacy to the latter, aiming at strengthening ties between the duo in the realm of sports, particularly football.
British High Commissioner to Tanzania, David Concar paid visits to the two top clubs in the country, Young Africans and Simba, meeting with notable figures at the clubs and holding talks with them.
Speaking to journalists at Simba Headquarters in Dar es Salaam, the High Commissioner emphasised the importance of sports diplomacy in strengthening international relations.
"I am happy to be here, I love football and am very impressed about the direction of Simba SC and their ambitions to be one of the strongest and top clubs in the continent," he said.
When he visited Yanga Headquarters, Concar got a chance to understand different progress and success attained by the club.
"I am happy to be here and to understand the progress that the club is doing, I also heard a great presentation from Yanga President (Hersi Said) about the progress of transformation that is continuing at the club," he said
Yanga's Hersi said the visit of the British High Commissioner is a blessing to them, and that they had a chance to present some of their work that the club have been doing and that the envoy liked what the club is doing.
"We presented our transformation progress and he seems happy on what we are doing so far," he said
Concar was gifted with jerseys at both clubs that were signed by clubs' executives and players.
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Simba's Chairman of the Board of Directors, Salim Abdallah alias Try Again expressed gratitude for the visit of the UK envoy and shared interest in sports.
"We talked a lot and we believe some doors are opened, we trust that the arrival of the High Commissioner is for the benefit and development of the country's football," he said.
During the visit, Try Again presented the British High Commissioner Concar with the club's jersey tagged with his name, while club's board member, Asha Baraka handed over Concar with a special appreciation honour award from the club.
Apart from visiting the Simba headquarters the High Commissioner accompanied by Simba's Chief Executive Officer, Iman Kajula and board members had the opportunity to visit the club's training ground (MO Simba Arena) located at Bunju on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam city.
He witnessed the team's morning training session in preparation for the eagerly awaited traditional Dar es Salaam derby with Yanga on Sunday, to be staged at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium.
He thereafter engaged in conversations with the players and the technical bench under the tutelage of Brazilian technician, Roberto Oliveira alias Robertihno, offering encouragement and expressing his interest in Tanzanian football talent.
