ADI YUSSUF is a man with a plan when it comes to helping put Tanzania on the map.

And that extends far beyond representing them in the English football pyramid with either Wrexham or parent club Blackpool.

For almost three years the hotshot striker has been running the Adi Yussuf Foundation, created to help provide children with "accommodation, food, love and education".

The likes of current Wrexham striker Kwame Thomas, ex-Red Kyle Storer and Middlesbrough midfielder Sam Moorsy have contributed to the cause as Yussuf helps bring a smile to the face of children in the East African country.

"I see kids in Tanzania and I always think 'that could have been me'," said Yussuf, currently on a season-long loan at The Racecourse.

"It doesn't take much to go and do something like this, it's been over two years now off my own back.

"It's great to be helping kids with clothes and equipment they need to have a better life.

"I collect loads of stuff in a container and every two or three months I will send them all over."

When Yussuf thinks 'it could have been me', he's not being humble, but deadly serious. Without the actions of parents, father Shamuni and mother Zenna, he and brother 'Biggy' may well have been living the exact lives of those children he's trying so hard to help.

The 28-year-old lifted the lid on the journey from Tanzania to England.

He said: "My uncle came to England to play football and we followed him. There were not a lot of opportunities in Tanzania.

"It was a struggle in Tanzania, my mum and dad struggled a lot and I thank them every day for deciding to head to England.

"My dad sold his motorbike to be able to buy tickets for the family to get to England.

"We came over when I was one. We were in a hostel at first and then a studio flat and then we were put in a council estate in London.

"It was just me and my brother some nights because mum and dad would be working all the hours they needed to."

That selfless nature has certainly rubbed off on Yussuf, who started his football journey in England with Leicester City.

He continued: "We go back and see my auntie and cousins and I think when I see what's going on that it could have been me. We try to go over at least once a year.

"I get paid and I send money back to help my grandma, I have people who depend on us as a family.

"People don't understand what things are like, and although I'm not on Premier League wages and I can't send £100,000, I'm glad I'm in a position to be able to help."

Yussuf was a trailblazer for Tanzanian football as he became the first man from his country to play in the EFL, before Mbwana Ally Samatta signed for Aston Villa.

"It's a lot better now," said Yussuf of chances for promising footballers in Tanzania. "Before Samatta I didn't know of anyone else. He was the first Tanzanian to play in the Premier League.

"I was the only player to have played in the EFL before he came over and it's great that there are two of us trying to put Tanzania on the map."

Tanzania is perhaps most famous for being the home of Mount Kilimanjaro, although Yussuf knows there are two contrasting sides to the story of those living in the place of his birth.

He said: "It's beautiful. But it's a place where the rich are rich and the poor are poor, though.

"As a tourist it's unbelievable with Zanzibar beach, but what you don't see are the poorer parts and I see that when mum and dad take me back to where I was born."

The decision made by his parents was, perhaps, best rewarded when Yussuf earned a call-up to Tanzania's 2019 African Cup of Nations squad.

At the time, Yussuf, who was starring for Solihull Moors, said: “This is a dream come true for me. I was born in Tanzania so for me to play where most of my family are from is amazing.

“Sometimes I pinch myself. The season has gone so well – all the hard work and sacrifices I have made have paid off.

“I just want to say a big thank you to all the people who believed in me."

Yussuf played the second-half of Tanzania's 3-0 Group C defeat to Algeria, Napoli's Adam Ounas scoring twice with Islam Slimani of Leicester City adding the other.

"It was a surreal year, probably my best year," said Yussuf. "I top scored for Solihull, who reached the National League play-off semi-finals, played for Tanzania in the African Cup of Nations and then earned a move to Blackpool."

If Yussuf has anything to do with it then he and Samatta won't be the last Tanzanian's to make their mark on the English game.

"I want to help wherever I can," he added. "It would be great to see more players from Tanzania follow our path and hopefully I can play a part, however small."