The national team Taifa Stars’ Coach, Kim Poulsen has flagged off a special youth soccer league in Arusha, involving 20 teams of young players from the city.
Taifa Stars’ Coach, Kim Poulsen
The tournament goes under the name of ‘Moivaro Youth Football League’ and has been running for the three years since 2011. The youngsters’ league kicked off with a game between Future Stars and Olduvai Kids who fought to a 1-1 draw.
Whistling the league, at the International School of Moshi (ISM) Arusha Campus, the Dane tactician said Tanzania is highly lacking in football academies for young people, something which threatens the future of soccer in the country.
“All countries that perform well in international soccer events and games have been training their future players, right from grassroots levels,” pointed out Mr Poulsen and used the occasion to laud efforts by the ‘Future Stars Academy,’ to organize the youth soccer tournament.
The ‘Moivaro Youth Football League’ involves special soccer teams of more than 250 players aged between 10 (pre-teen) years and teenagers aged 16 years all organized in 20 different teams.
The leagues started at the ISM grounds in Kisongo area, along Dodoma Road this weekend and the first round expected to climax on the 3rd of November this year, the second round will again be flagged off in mid-January 2014 and this is to go on until March 2014 for the overall league climax.
Many of the participating teams are school-based clubs divided into under 16, under 14, under 12 and those aged 10 years. Paulsen is in Arusha to also grace the official closure of the two-weeks training course for football coaches from the Northern Zone today, the training was organized by the Tanzania Football Federation, Future Stars and the Arusha chapter for the Tanzania Football Coach Association.
Poulsen, together with his Taifa Stars deputy, Sylvester Marsh has been taking part in the training of the coaches in Arusha involving nearly 40 participants the number which has so far dropped to just 25. The Stars coach will present certificates to the best performers today.
By YASINTA AMOS, Tanzania Daily News
