Tanzania’s Nigerian coach Emmanuel Amuneke has surprisingly named 15-year-old Kelvin John Pius in his 39-man provisional squad for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.
The youngster, nicknamed Mbappe in the country, impressed at the Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations hosted in Tanzania last month.
John scored in Tanzania’s opening game 5-4 loss to Nigeria and also featured in subsequent losses to Uganda and Angola as the hosts did not qualify for the semi-finals of the tournament.
Coach Amuneke gave reasons for the inclusion when he said: “I believe it is time we start to build a team and think of the future. We need to start to think of the youth and see how we can start to integrate in the system.”
He also explained that Tanzania have an African Nations Championship (CHAN) qualifier against Sudan just a week after the Nations Cup and that the list is for both the Nations Cup and CHAN to enable better preparation.
“The squad is not just for the AFCON but also the CHAN after that.
“So as the technical team we are planning how we can switch straight to CHAN after the Afcon.”
The former Barcelona winger also included another youngster from the U20 side, Claryo Boniface.
