UEFA FOOTBALL COACH, STEWART HALL SIGNS TO MANAGE NEW DAR ES SALAAM FOOTBALL ACADEMY

Stewart Hall the British football coach, will be joining Symbion Power, the largest independent power producer in the country, Sunderland AFC from the UK, and the Ministry of Information, Youth, Culture and Sports, as Manager of the Kidongo Chekundu Sports Park as well as an Elite Football Academy in the City of Dar es Salaam, it was announced today by Peter Gathercole, Chief Executive Officer of Symbion Power Tanzania.

Hall, a UEFA Pro-license coach and UEFA instructor, was most recently part of the Premier League’s Azam FC. In Tanzania he has managed the Zanzibar national team, and is a former Director of the Birmingham City Football Academy. Prior to this, Mr. Hall held positions as coach for the national team of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, as well as Indian team, Pune FC.

Speaking yesterday in Dar es Salaam, Hall said, “This project will radically improve the quality of the young players at both the club level and in the national teams. Youngsters will be educated in the technical, tactical, physical and mental demands of the modern game. There will be a comprehensive coaching program. I am very excited about the opportunities this will bring to Tanzanians. Our best performers will be given the opportunity to train at the Sunderland Academy of Light in UK.”

Symbion’s Peter Gathercole pointed out that the Kidongo Chekundu Sports Park will be open to the public who will be able to play football on a full size ultra modern field of 3G artificial turf under floodlights as well as on five smaller size, age specific pitches. The facility will have changing rooms, an equipped medical room and a cafeteria. Gathercole said construction will start in November.

Sunderland AFC’s CEO, Margaret Byrne, said: “We are delighted to see the academy project moving at pace. The appointment of Stewart is an exciting development and we are looking forward to seeing the hard work of everyone involved coming to fruition in the near future.”

The Honorable Fenella Mukangara, Minister of Information, Youth, Culture and Sports visited the Sunderland Academy of Light with President Kikwete in June, 2013 where she commended Sunderland AFC and Symbion Power Tanzania for their unique effort to uplift the standard of football in Tanzania. The Minister asked all stakeholders including residents of Kidongo Chekundu Area, other Dar es Salaam City Residents as well as all sport lovers to accord Symbion Power Tanzania the maximum cooperation to guarantee the timely completion of the both the Sports Park and the Elite Academy.

“This is an opportunity that we have been waiting for - the chance to create a critical mass of football coaches and young players for all local clubs and for the overseas markets,” said the Hon. Mukangara. “We are investing in Tanzanian youth, both the girls and the boys,” she said.