32 Serengeti Girls players start preps for World Cup

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania’s under-17 women’s national team Serengeti Girls go into residential training in Zanzibar today ahead of the 2022 Fifa Uder-17 Women’s World Cup scheduled for October 11 to 30 in India.

The camp will be held at the Paradise Hotel whereby 32 provisional players will start training, according to head coach Bakari Shime.

Players who have been selected to form the provisional squad are Husna Mtunda, Zulfa Makau, Noel Makau all from Young Africans (Yanga Princesses), Anaotolia Audax (Mwenge Academy), Neema Majimoto (New Generation), Christer Bahera (Fountain Gate Princess), Sabituna Salim (JKY Queens), Violeth Nicholaus (Simba Queens), Veronica Gabriel (Mlazndizi Queens) and Florentina Novatus of Baobab Queens. Others are Mwamvua Seif (JKT Queens), Dotto Tossy, Koku Ally (Simba Queens),Joyce Lema (Fountain Gate Princess), Fatuma Iddy (Amani Queens), Hawa Ally (New Generation), Shehati Juma (Mlandizi Queens), Mwantumu Ramadhan (Baobab Queens), Zawadi Hamis (Fountain Gate Princess) and Alia Fikiri of the Alliance Girls.

There are also Josephine Julius, Zainab Mohamed (Baobab Queens), Hasnath Linus, Neema Paul, Diana Mnaly (Fountain Gate Princess), Husna Ayoub (The Tiger Queens), Rahma Salim (Oysterbay Queens), Janeth Cletus (Amani Queens), Clara Cleatus (Yanga Princess), Asha Juma (Simba Queens), Rehema Mohamed (Mlandizi Queens) and Saida Ayoub who is from Ruvuma Queens. He said that all 32 players were in the team during the tart of their qualification campaign.

Shime said that players will be trimmed to 21 who will feature in the finals. Serengeti Girls have been drawn in Group D of the event.

Other teams in the group are Japan, Canada and France. The group’s first match will be played on October 12, according to the fixtures.

“We have started preparations early because our target is to perform well despite the fact that we are competing in the biggest competition for the first time. Our task is to prove that we have secured the chance after eliminating the so called football giants like Cameroon,” said Shime.

He explained that they have prepared intensive training programmes that by the time the team travels to India, all aspects of the game would be covered. “We have included all aspect of the game in our training programmes, that also include abroad camp as well as international friendly matches,” he said. According to Shime, they have already studied their opponents in the group and what remains is to work on various tactics in the forthcoming international friendly matches.