Media are invited to watch players and coaches from Drake University and CONADEIP All-Stars practice and teach 1,000 local youth basics of the sport
Players and coaches taking part in the Global Kilimanjaro Bowl will hold their first practices, coaching clinics for youth and a press conference at the Tanzania Game Trackers (TGT) facility in the city of Arusha on Thursday, May 19.
The media availability comes two days before the first game of college American football to be played in Africa sees Drake University from Iowa take on the CONADEIP All Stars from Mexico at the 20,000-capacity Sheik Amri Abeid Memorial Stadium in Arusha at 1pm local time (US ET +7 hours) on Saturday, May 21.
Media availability for the Global Kilimanjaro Bowl on Thursday, May 29 at TGT facility:
9am – 11am Drake University team practice – all players and coaches
9am – 11am CONADEIP All Stars (Mexico) team practice – all players and coaches
11.30am – 1pm Coaching clinics for local youth conducted y both teams
1pm Team photos – all players, coaches and local youth
1.30pm Press Conference in the Restaurant at the Savannah Grill
Organizer Patrick Steenberge
Head Coaches, Players from both teams
Address: Dodoma Road, Mringa, Arusha
Contacts: Michael Preston, Global Football Public Relations
(011-25) (0) 757 894-392 (in Tanzania from May 17)
Patrick Steenberge, Global Football President / Event Organizer
(011-25) (0) 762 379-437 (in Tanzania from May 14)
The coaching clinics will be held following team practices at TGT and will introduce local youngsters to the basics of American football. Global Football will work in association with Tanzania Irie, which provides a free sport service to underprivileged youth by running camps, lessons and events with experienced coaches around Arusha.
“The practices and clinics will be the first time the media and youth of Arusha have been exposed to American football and that will create an exciting and unique story, said Global Football President and event organizer PATRICK STEENBERGE.
“I have seen the smile on a child’s face when he or she catches and passes a ball for the first time. That is something special that should be captured by TV and newspapers for all to see.
The press conference offers an opportunity to meet all the coaches and star players from both teams and a chance to talk to the organizers of the Global Kilimanjaro Bowl. We are thankful to TGT for the use of their facilities.”
The sport is a new concept to the people of Tanzania, so the Bulldogs and CONADEIP players and coaches will work on the simple fundamentals of passing, catching and running with a ball and will teach the key rules that are applied on the field of play.
Tanzania Irie, a not-for-profit company, began with rugby as its primary target providing kits, transportation and free training to several groups of youths in Arusha and Moshi. Acknowledging that many youth involved do not attend school and have negative influences in their lives, providing access to sports training gives the kids something to enjoy and aspire to.
“The youth clinics and interaction with the players will play a vital role in bringing this new sport to Africa and insuring the continuity of the game,” said ANDRE DE BEER from Tanzania Irie. “The youth attending the clinics will be drawn from a cross section of the Arusha society and will not only have a great opportunity to play sports but also a chance to break down cultural barriers and transcend social norms.”
The students involved in the clinics will also take part in the halftime celebrations giving them a chance to show off some of the American football skills they have practiced and will perform in cultural dancing and acrobatics.
“All of the youth are extremely excited and have already started practicing and identifying with their favorite teams,” added De Beer.
The spectacular Kili Bowl event also includes a three-day service project to benefit area orphanages, and features both teams also climbing the imposing 19,341 feet high Mount Kilimanjaro. The historic and unique game will be broadcast live across the African continent and beamed to countries around the world by ITV (Independent Television Ltd), the largest private TV network in Tanzania.
TAHA, the Tanzania Horticulture Association, which promotes and oversees the expansive flower and fruit production and export in Tanzania, is providing fruit for both teams during their stay in the country, as well as decorating the Arusha Stadium with flowers and providing flower necklaces for the arrival reception when players and coaches land at JRO Airport.
TAHA was established with the aim of promoting and developing horticulture and addressing the general and specific needs of its members. This involves among several things providing a collective voicing platform for issues affecting the sector, providing a common front for promoting the members businesses in and outside the country, advocacy for the improvement of the environment in which the sector operates.
