Wayne Rooney
and some of his Everton team-mates used the club's pre-season tour of Tanzania
as an opportunity to immerse themselves in the culture of the East African
nation. Alongside
Morgan Schneiderlin, Kevin Mirallas and youngster Jonjoe Kenny, the ex-England
and Manchester United captain enjoyed a meeting with Maasai warriors.
Rooney
presented the warriors with an Everton shirt as the players chatted and posed
for photographs during their historic tour of the country.
Schneiderlin
and Mirallas even had the chance to wear the cultural robes of the Maasai
people ahead of their clash with Gor Mahia on Thursday, when they will become
the first Premier League team to play in the country.
There are
estimated to be around a million Maasai people living in southern Kenya and
northern Tanzania along the Great Rift Valley, though these numbers are
disputed.
Livestock
such as cattle and goats remain their primary source of income. But they have
become more integrated with the rest of society in recent decades and it is no
longer uncommon to see Maasai men and women selling more modern goods in the
region's major towns and cities.
It is not
the first time Ronald Koeman's squad have encountered the local community
during their tour. They were greeted by a Maasai tribe on their arrival in the
city of Dar es Salaam on Wednesday.
Some of
their squad, including Yannick Bolasie, also visited a primary school on
Wednesday ahead of their only match in the country.
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