Govt salutes Yanga, Azam FC

Yanga, the regular campaigners in the CAF club competitions, also need just a draw in the return leg in Gaborone two weeks later to make it to the next stage of the Confederation Cup. 

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The national beach soccer team, on the other hand, seem to have a relatively easy task as they will go head-to-head with Kenya’s Sand Stars in the return leg at home.

Dar es Salaam. The government and Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) have commended Azam FC and Young Africans for giving their best in the preliminary round of the Africa club competitions last weekend.

Yanga beat Botswana’s BDF X1 2-0 in the first leg of the CAF Confederation Cup, while Azam celebrated their Champions League debut with a similar win against El Merreikh of Sudan on Sunday.

In an interview with The Citizen yesterday, deputy sports development director Juliana Yasoda, said she was very happy with the way they (teams) performed in their respective assignments.

“I congratulate Yanga and Azam for a very good outing in this year’s Africa club championships. I believe the entire country is proud of them. The best surely lies ahead,” she said.

Yasoda also heaped praise on the national beach soccer team following its 5-3 win over Kenya in the Africa championship qualifier in Mombasa on Saturday.

She challenged the three teams to train even harder ahead of the return leg matches, noting that the battle was not yet won. “I pray that they advance in the competitions. I urge sports fans to continue supporting the teams as they strive to sail through,” she added.

Mainland champions Azam, who are making their first appearance in the Champions League, are expected to leave for Khartoum, Sudan later this month needing at least a draw to confirm qualification for the first round.

Yanga, the regular campaigners in the CAF club competitions, also need just a draw in the return leg in Gaborone two weeks later to make it to the next stage of the Confederation Cup.

The national beach soccer team, on the other hand, seem to have a relatively easy task as they will go head-to-head with Kenya’s Sand Stars in the return leg at home.

The Kenyans are expected in the country on Thursday for the return leg set for Saturday. The winner will face Egypt in the second round.

For his part, TFF secretary general, Mwesigwa Celestine had similar views and cautioned the three teams against complacency. Mwesigwa said they should expect stiffer challenges in the return leg matches because their opponents are now trying to rectify the weaknesses they noted during last weekend’s matches.