FOOTBALL DEVELOPMENT OFFICER FROM WOLVES VISIT TANZANIA
The Year 2022 Saw A Wolves’ Visit to Tanzania Facilitated by Sportslink Academy:
The Wolves Academy sent coaches Ryan Griffiths and Sunny Dulai to Tanzania so as to deliver a series of soccer camps, sharing the practices, drills and ethos used from Compton Park with young footballers in Tanzania.
The trip was for the year 2022, where Wolves’ staff shared knowledge and experience with their counterparts at Sportslink.
The aim looked to accelerate development of elite coaches in Tanzania and provide platforms for young gifted players to showcase their talent. The right set of circumstances extended to the UK, where Wolves hosted coaches and young players from Sportslink during the year.
SPORTSLINK ACADEMY FOOTBALL TRIALS, HELD ON NOVEMBER 1ST, NOVEMBER 2022:
Sportslink Academy Organized A Free Football Trial To Help Young Athletes From various Communities & backgrounds Have Talent Evaluated:
The trial is scheduled for 5th of November 2022 from 9 am to 4pm at the academy’s training ground (White Sands Hotel). The age group eligible for this trial is U13 and U17 boys, U16 girls and goalkeepers. The aim of the trial is to recruit young talents to the academy sponsorship program.
Sportslink Football Academy is one of the few football academies in Tanzania which aims to grow football talents of the youth to international Standards. It is an academy of prestige, where operations and customer/player centricity is concerned. SportsLink has multiple international outlets for it’s players. And we believe via our stakeholders and international coaches both in-country and abroad, our outstanding football program and coaching will enable our youth to break through to the world class international Leagues.
SPORTSLINK ACADEMY TRAVELED TO ARUSHA, TANZANIA TO PARTICIPATE IN EAST AFRICAN CHIPKIZ CUP 2022 TO TEST THEIR ABILITY AGAINST COMPETITION FROM OTHER COUNTRIES ACROSS EAST AFRICA
On Friday, December 16, Sportslink Academy sent 19 players, six staff members, and 3 parents to Arusha, Tanzania to participate in our first ever international tournament. This was a momentous occasion. For the first time in the Academy’s history, our players were able to test their ability against competition beyond Tanzania.
The tournament was organized by Future Stars an academy in Arusha. It ran from Friday, December 16 to Sunday, December 18, and it included academies from Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Somalia, DR Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Cameroon. A total of 308 teams participated and 44 teams from our age category (U13).
Sportslink Academy participated in the U-13 age group. Our team included players ages 11-13 and representing grades four, five, and six.
We were the youngest team by a wide margin. Despite the age difference, our players were confident entering the tournament. Since opening for our first semester on the 1st of November, our teams have undergone a rigorous training regimen that has included friendly matches against six different academies. We held our final preparatory match on Sunday in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania before camping on Tuesday 13th and traveling on Wednesday 14th.
ON DECEMBER 21ST 2022, SPORTSLINK ACADEMY REACHED SEMI-FINALS IN THEIR VERY FIRST PRESTIGIOUS YOUTH INTERNATIONAL TUOURNAMENT
First up for the boys was the very organised Washington SA. Straight into the tournament Opener. The half time score was 2-0. Sportslink behind, It was a very unlucky half for us with missed penalty, crossbar effort and 5 very tight missed chances. The second half started with two quick bangers to equalize before Washington SA, got a winner with 2 minutes before the final whistle.
Next against Young life academy from Arusha, was the big one having lost our first match, we played superb and attracted a lot of supporters with our style of playing however the match ended in a goalless draw.
Perhaps this wasn’t the case. In the next game, Sportslink Academy achieved our very first win in the tournament, by smashing 7-0 Phoneix Academy from Kenya. The match saw the very first hat trick of the tournament from our captain Imani Njama. The goals kept coming and the never say die attitude of the side was great to watch. After the three matches we qualified to the knockout stage.
We played Ambassador in the round of 16 and won 2-1, before beating Express in a penalty shootout after a 2-2 draw in the quarter finals.
As is typical of a semi final, the game was niggly and hard fought, with risk taking at a premium. Sportslink Academy shaded possession but couldn’t break down a stubborn Ligi ndogo side until we picked an opener in the second half 1-0. Could Sportslink avoid penalties and go one step further? No. Not long before the end, Team Ligi ndogo equalised. Desperate to avoid the lottery of penalties, Sportslink Academy surged forward in search of what would have been a winning goal and rattled the cross bar with a late effort. As the ball bounced down it looked like it may have crossed the line but Future Stars Academy had understandably not invested in goal line technology and so any appeals would have been fruitless. Penalties it was. We lost the shootout and knocked out of the tournament.
The Academy’s participation in this tournament would not have been possible without the generous support of our Official Sponsor, Open Road Logistics, our partner Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C and the Future Stars Academy, tournament organizers.
