From Africa to Antigonish - X-Men soccer looks for new recruits

Meet Himid Mkami and Kelvin Friday. Mkami is a 19 year old midfielder from Tanzania, Africa, who is the team captain of the Tanzanian U20 national soccer team, while Friday is a 17 year old centre forward who plays for the Tanzanian U17 national team. What do these two kids have in common? They could very well be the next two members of the StFX X-Men soccer team.

X-Men soccer head coach Graham Kennedy recently travelled to Dar Es Salaam, the largest city in the East-African nation of Tanzania. For almost two weeks Kennedy studied under master coach Stewart Hall, current head coach of the Azam Football Club of the Vodacom Tanzanian Premier League. In addition to the professional development opportunity, Kennedy was hoping for a chance to scout players that he could bring over to Antigonish, NS.

Kennedy, who recently completed his third year as X-Men head coach, job shadowed alongside veteran international coach Stewart Hall who is also a tutor assessor for the Football Association of England and a soccer vagabond who has worked for national associations from Korea to Trinidad, and India to South Africa. He has also worked in the English Premier League as a coach at Birmingham City. Hall has been with Azam for the past two years helping to develop top East-African teenage soccer players in a residential youth academy. Hall also coaches the Azam first team, a professional senior side that plays in the Tanzanian Premier League.

Kennedy describes the opportunity to be immersed in African soccer culture as, “Maybe the best personal and professional growth experience of my life.” The experiences were wide and varied. Near the end of the trip, Azam FC played rivals Young Africans Sports Club, or ‘Yanga’ as they are locally known at the National Stadium in Dar Es Salaam. The game was most memorable to say the least.

“It was insane,” Kennedy states. “There were over 25,000 people and it was just like something out of a movie.”  The game turned for the worse when Yanga had its second player of the chaotic match expelled in the 10th minute after several Yanga players attacked the referee, one of them striking the official in the face. “Apparently, the players assumed that the official had been paid off after the first red card, and they went crazy,” recalled Kennedy. “Fans threw stadium seats and debris onto the field and they had to call in the army to help restore order. The atmosphere and experience was something I’ll never forget. It’s a different world over there.”

Coach Kennedy is hoping he can bring two talented young men to this side of the world to play soccer for the X-Men. “Stewart identified Himid and Kelvin as players who need some further opportunities to play before they get to the professional level, and that is not a testament to their game, it’s just the professional level is a very hard step to make when you are 17 or 19 years of age,” Graham says. “These are two kids that would like to pursue an education while also continuing to play soccer and we think we can provide that for them.”

There is opportunity for Mkami and Friday to travel to North America to showcase their talents in Antigonish, but the process is far from complete. “We should find out some time in July if Himid and Calvin can play here next fall, assuming their grades are up to par and everything else falls into place,” says Kennedy.

Usually crossing the border and playing in a different country brings a long and slow adjustment period, but Kennedy says if he is able to land Mkami and Friday, X-Men soccer fans should not have to wait long for these kids to produce. “Himid and Kelvin could easily step into our line-up and play right away in this league. They are very skillful players who have grown up in a good soccer structure due to their talent, so their game is top notch. They would be huge additions to our squad and we are hopeful they can come over.”

This would be one of the first African connections on the X-Men soccer team, but that is not to say they are not already the most ethnically diverse team on campus at StFX. According to Kennedy, the 2012-13 roster will have athletes from all over the world.

“Obviously we take pride in recruiting and developing Canadian players but players born in Spain, Czech Republic, Togo, England, USA, along with players who have roots in China, India, Guyana and Jamaica, will also represent us,” explains Kennedy.  “We are very much an international team playing a true international sport; and for me personally, working with young men from all over the world is one of the great benefits in my job as a coach.”

The 2012-13 X-Men soccer team will be in a rebuilding stage as they graduate many of their top players. Kennedy believes the team will be one of the youngest in the AUS conference next season and his young players will be given many opportunities to compete against the top players in the conference - maybe a little extra incentive for the dynamic duo from Tanzania to come to Canada?

“Yes, we believe so, lots of our young players will be given a chance to develop and gain experience next season,” Kennedy says. “Experience is so important in any sport and our young players should have no shortage of it after next season.”

Kennedy believes that if he is able to land Mkami and Friday for this coming fall, the StFX X-Men soccer program will move forward in establishing a relationship with teams in Africa. “It is all about establishing a trusting relationship,” Kennedy explains. “I think we could create a long term connection with Azam FC that is mutually beneficial.”
And so as the decision to come to Canada hangs in the balance, X-Men soccer fans will no doubt anxiously anticipate Mkami and Friday’s answer come July.