Reigning Tanzanian champions Young Africans SC are set to welcome three-time CAF Champions League winner Pitso Mosimane to Dar es Salaam with a groundbreaking announcement set for Saturday.
The Jangwani giants look poised to make a major statement, welcoming the renowned African coaching legend for a significant event this weekend.
Timu ya Wananchi will launch the Young Africans Soccer Schools [YASS], an initiative expected to draw inspiration from successful models, such as the former Al Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane’s Soccer Schools.
Yanga SC’s CEO, Andre Mtine, explained the idea behind the youth program, citing Tanzania’s massive youth population as the driving force behind the initiative.
“According to the 2022 population census, we have about 26 million Tanzanians aged 0-14. Given that statistic, what does it say we could do for youth development, football… even if you take just 1%, even 0.5% of that 26 million for the upper age group, you have a lot of kids that you could… groom to play football going forward,” explained Mtine.
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The programme will initially focus on the Under-11s, Under-13s, and Under-15s in Dar es Salaam, aiming to identify and develop young talent for the club and the nation. Mtine stressed the long-term strategic goal of mirroring European clubs by developing players who can enter the first team as young as 16 or 17.
“This is the vision of Young Africans. Develop talents from within. Capture them at a young age so that you can nurture them. They can learn the ball skills very early… We have the population and the means. Most importantly, we have the talent,” he added.
The highlight of the announcement was the confirmation of Mosimane’s visit, whose commitment to grassroots football development aligns perfectly with Yanga’s new project.
“I also wish to inform you that we have a pleasant surprise for you. Because of the vision we have for the Young Africans Soccer Schools, we have a special guest who will be in attendance on Saturday, and that is Mr Pitso Mosimane.”
Mtine praised Mosimane, recognising him as a “renowned coach all over Africa” and noted his experience in building similar structures in South Africa.
“Pitso, by the way, has developed this concept. He has been doing this with the schools in South Africa for some time now. He will be coming, he will be our special guest, and we will see how we can collaborate with him going forward and other such like, um, institutions and persons.”
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