National Under 23/20 Forward Juma Clarence has signed a two and half year contract with Turkish Second Division club Hacettepe SK. They campaign in the Bank Asya League 1.
Clarence, one of the standouts of the National Under 20 team which participated at the FIFA Under 20 World Cup in Egypt last year during which he netted in the 2-1 defeat to Italy, agreed to the contract after going on trial in early February.
Clarence, who turned 21 on Wednesday, returned to Turkey last month and has already made two appearances with his debut coming earlier this month in a 35-minute appearance. He then netted his first goal in the club’s next encounter. Wearing the number 13 shirt, he started and scored in the 12th minute to give his team a 2-1 lead in an eventual 5-2 defeat to Gazientep BZ this past Sunday.
The Fyzabad-born ex-Presentation College San Fernando forward said he was still getting accustomed to the new conditions and style of play at the club.
“It’s been a tough experience so far but a really good one,” Clarence told TTFF Media on Thursday.
“I signed with the club until 2012. It was hard in the beginning because when I came up here earlier this year the conditions were very cold and that took some getting used to but now I’ve settled in and getting my first goal was a big help. It’s been like a month since I signed and it’s just a lot of hard work everyday. It’s non-stop football,” added Clarence who is listed among the players being handled by Football Mix B.V, players agent licensed under the Netherlands Football Association.
Hacettepe is based in Ankara and was founded in 1923. They are the Reserve team and feeder team to Turkish Super League club Gençlerbirliği which is has always been one of the teams in Turkey most notable for its talented young footballers that it procures through scouting both in Turkey and throughout Europe and Africa.