Serengeti Boys set Congo in sights

THE national U-17 football team (Serengeti Boys) is ready for the first leg battle for a place in next year’s African Youth Championship finals to be staged in Madagascar against Congo Brazaville on Sunday.

 Serengeti Boys, who had pitched a training camp in Seychelles, are back in the country ready to take on their opponents who are expected to jet in today with a contingent of 40 people, which includes 22 players.

The first leg match is scheduled to take place at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam, where the home boys are determined to win with a big margin and set the tone ahead of the return leg tie in Brazzaville a fortnight later.

 In fine tuning for the Sunday’s battle Bakari Shime’s squad had one trial match against Seychelles Northern Dynamo, which they emerged with a 1-0 victory with the lone goal scored by Muhsin Makame in the 75th minute.

 Shime alias the ‘Black Wizard’ has urged Tanzanians football supporters to flock the National Stadium to give support to their team, which is optimistic to get positive result in final qualifying round.

 “Our target is nothing but clear victory at home and put our selves into a comfort zone ahead of the return leg clash,” he said, insisting that a win was important to ensure they grab the ticket for the finals which will be staged in Antananarivo next April.

To reach this stage, Serengeti Boys eliminated South Africa’s Amajimbos 3-1 on aggregate in a two legged encounter. After a 1-1 draw in the first leg held in South Africa.

 Serengeti Boys recorded a 2-0 victory in second leg held in Dar es Salaam to set date with Congo-Brazzaville. On their side, Congo-Brazzaville reached this level after seeing off Namibia on a 5-1 goal aggregate.

 Serengeti Boys which is the only team from the East African Community remaining in contention for a place in next year’s AYC finals is eager to set a record after the national senior team, Taifa Stars failed to make into the next year’s AFCON finals.

 Serengeti Boys vs Congo-Brazzaville return leg will be held in Brazzaville between September 30 and October 2 this year. Meanwhile, the national beach soccer team will jet off today to Ivory Coast for their return leg match against their Ivorian counterparts.

 The team is optimistic of seeking revenge after losing 7-3 in the first leg match which was held in Dar es Salaam. According to the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF), Information and Communications Officer, Alfred Lucas, the team will leave today for Abidjan via Addis Ababa with ten players including the two veteran stars -- Juma Kaseja and Mohamed Banka.

 Kaseja and Banka were added in the squad by the technical bench under Head Coach John Mwansansu, as part of strengthening the squad ahead of the vital match to be played on Saturday in Abidjan.

 Lucas said that the technical bench is hopeful that the team is able to overturn the deficit and clinch ticket for this December Africa Beach Soccer Cup of Nations to be staged in Nigeria.

 The winners between Tanzania and Ivory Coast will join Egypt, Libya and Morocco, who qualified after opponents Uganda, Liberia and Sudan withdrew.

Eight nations will battle in the 2nd edition of the 2016 Africa Beach Soccer Cup of Nations scheduled to take place from December 13 to 18 in Lagos