Chelsea FC to develop Tanzania’s youth football players

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania is planning to establish an exchange programme for youth players with England’s top tier club, Chelsea FC.

This has been disclosed by Culture, Arts, and Sports minister Damas Ndumbaro and Chelsea FC’s representatives during an interview held at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium VIP auditorium in Dar es Salaam.

The minister said Chelsea FC are among the football giants in the world, which had famous African players who gained reputation through the club.
"We can all remember the likes of Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, John Obi Mikel, and many others who gained popularity with the team, both locally and internationally," said Ndumbaro.

He expressed Tanzania's interest in leveraging opportunities from the club, aiming to see talented football players from Tanzania join the team's academy and gain international exposure.

According to Ndumbaro, Chelsea have extensive experience in scouting and developing youth players, from which Tanzania stands to benefit like  other African countries.

Further, Ndumbaro mentioned discussions about football-related business opportunities, especially in tourism.

"We discussed business development, and Tanzanian and Chelsea professionals will convene to deliberate on the matter and reach an agreement, which will be formally signed.

“However, we have not finalised any formal agreements with the club until we have thoroughly discussed and endorsed our plans," Ndumbaro insisted.

He explained that Tanzania's progress in football development saw both the men's national team, (Taifa Stars), and the women's team (Twiga Stars), qualify for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals in Ivory Coast and for the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (Cecafa) zone respectively.

Twiga Stars will also compete in the upcoming Afcon finals scheduled to be held in Morocco in June.

For his part, Chelsea coordinator Tajinder Sumal expressed his delight with Tanzania’s talents and the nation's peaceful and hospitable environment.

Sumal acknowledged Tanzania's abundance of talented youth football players, who, he said, need to be developed and become world-class stars.

He pledged that if a cooperation agreement was to be reached, the club would get prepared to nurture and develop Tanzania’s football talents and explore business opportunities in the sports industry.

"We aim to initiate this programme as soon as possible, which is why we are here for discussions," said Sumal.