US players tout inclusion of girls in football

GIRLS in the country have been challenged to play football and aim high as far as excelling in the popular sport in the world is concerned.

This was said yesterday by the Olympic gold medalist and FIFA Women’s World Cup champion Alex Morgan, when conducting a sports clinic dubbed ‘Sports Diplomacy Soccer Camps’ at Jakaya M. Kikwete (JMK) Park in Dar es Salaam yesterday.

Morgan together with Orlando City SC midfielder Servando Carrasco of Major League Soccer are visiting the country as U.S. Department of State sports envoys. “I went through the same path as you have taken but now, I enjoy the fruits of my work. This should also be applied to you. Make sure that you train hard everyday and always aim high for you to succeed,” Morgan issued an advise to young girls.

Adding, the star lauded the management of JMK Park for having good sports facility, which she said will greatly help to improve youth talents in the country. In his words, Carrasco advised the promising future players to always respect their mentors and exercise a lot on the pitch since success in sports takes long time.

“Challenges are always there but if you know where you are going, definitely, you cannot get lost,” he said. Adding, the midfielder said their visit has in some way or the other inspired the young talented sports stars in such a way that they will also work hard to reach their intended dreams.

In her remarks, USA Ambassador to Tanzania Inmi Pettersen, urged the young players to put education first for them to reach far. “Sports is important but education is very important hence make sure that you study hard in class for your own benefit,” she said.

Also in attendance was the president of Tanzania Football Federation (TFF), Wallace Karia, who thanked the duo for spending time with the young players and instill to them important skills, which will highly help them to realise their football dreams.

“I believe that your visit today (yesterday) has big impact on these youths. We will continue as the federation to provide all necessary equipment for them to do better in sports,” Karia said. On Monday, Morgan and Carrasco had time helping to bolster the United States’ cultural and social ties with the youth of Tanzania, including the Maasai people in Monduli District, Arusha region.

From Dar es Salaam, the American stars will head to Zanzibar for their last clinic before flying back to USA. This sports envoy programme’s focus on girls and women in sports also builds on the “Equal Playing Field” initiative, which in June 2017 saw 30 women from six continents, including previous U.S. Sports Envoy Lori Lindsey, play the world’s highest soccer match at 18,747 feet (5,714 meters) on Mount Kilimanjaro.

Since 2003, the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs has sent more than 250 U.S. athletes to more than 85 countries on Sports Envoy programmes, which help reach overseas audiences that other forms of diplomatic engagement do not to promote collaboration on priority U.S. policy goals.