The Pitching In Southern League will be represented at the forthcoming African Cup of Nations following the call-up of AFC Telford United’s Twariq Yusuf to Tanzania’s 27-man squad.
The attacking midfielder was initially part of a provisional 53-man squad and did enough to secure his place in Head Coach, Adel Amrouche’s final selection for the tournament which takes place in the Ivory Coast between January 13th and February 11th.
We spoke to the 23 year-old at Tanzania’s Preparation Camp in Egypt.
“I am honoured to be able to receive my call up for the national team,” he said proudly. “It’s every boy’s dream, I thank God and my family and friends for allowing me to get my first international call-up.
“We have been working incredibly hard in preparation and I just can’t wait for the tournament to get underway now.
“Adapting to the change in weather conditions has been one of the biggest challenges so far, but I am pleased with the way things are going.”
Yusuf joined AFC Telford United during the summer to link up once more with manager, Kevin Wilkin, following his departure from Brackley Town.
“It’s been a bit of a rocky start to my time at AFC Telford,” he admitted. “I barely played last season at Brackley; I had a few loan spells here and there and also picked up an injury in the October which kept me out for six or seven weeks.
“AFC Telford have done their best to help me reach my full potential, but I haven’t been up to scratch with it at my end, so hopefully I can use this tournament to kick-start my season and reap the benefits in the weeks and months ahead.
“The Premier Central is a strong League, the standard is very high and there are a lot of players who should be playing at a higher level, but the club has aspirations for promotion and I want to be able to contribute goals and assists when it matters.
“The team has proved what it is capable of and been on a long unbeaten run. Things are building and getting stronger each day, both mentally and physically.
“My aim is to do well when called upon in the African Cup of Nations and bring the confidence and belief back to help AFC Telford achieve their objectives this season.”
This will be only the third time that Tanzania have qualified for the tournament. Yufuf is one of five players in the squad who are plying their trade in the UK, the others being Haji Mnoga of Aldershot Town, Tarryn Allarakhia of Wealdstone, Boreham Wood’s Mohammed Omar and Ben Starkie of Ilkeston Town.
The Taifa Stars have been placed in Group F where they will take on World Cup semi-finalists, Morocco, DR Congo and Zambia. We wish Twariq and his team-mates well.
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