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Chama: Boost for Simba SC as midfielder arrives ahead of Ruvu Shooting tie
The Zambian international is among foreign players who had left in April when the TFF suspended the league
Midfielder Clatous Chama has returned to Tanzania ready for the resumption of the Mainland Premier League.
Chama is among the players Simba SC were waiting for as they had left the country when football activities were suspended in April.
Meddie Kagere and Francis Kahata are the other players who have already touched base in Dra es Salaam.
Kagere, the Golden Boot race leader with 19 goals, was the first one to join his teammates in Tanzania after the government had allowed the resumption of joint training sessions ahead of June 13's league resumption.
The Kenya attacking midfielder was the second to arrive and now the Wekundu wa Msimbazi are waiting to see whether South Sudanese midfielder Sharaf Shiboub will arrive before they restart their title defence.
Initially, Simba were expecting Chama to join the rest on June 8 but his timely arrival, a day earlier, should be a boost for Sven Vandenbroeck who has been overseeing training sessions at the Mo Simba Arena at Bunju since May 26.
The struggle Simba are witnessing in helping their players return has also been faced by their rivals.
Azam's Ghanaian trio of Razak Abalora, Daniel Amoa, and Yakubu Mohamed, Ugandan Nicholas Wadada, and Never Tigere, Bruce Kangwa, and Donald Ngoma of Zimbabwe had left Tanzania in April.
Yanga SC are struggling to help head coach Luc Eymael arrive from Belgium as well as goalkeeper Farouk Shikalo, who is in Kenya.
Vandenbroeck had revealed that when Chama arrives, he will have to train alone to try and catch up with the other players.
“We are confident he [Chama] is keeping fit because we have been monitoring his progress and situation. Just like other players who rejoined us late, he has to undergo some sessions individually before he is integrated into the team fully,” the Belgian coach said.
Simba will face Ruvu Shooting in their first match on June 14 as they enjoy a healthy 17-point lead at the top of table.
Before the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) suspended the activities in April, the Wekundu wa Msimbazi had harvested 71 points from 28 matches. Second-placed Azam had 54 points from the same number of matches.
Chama's arrival will also be a big boost for the 20-time league champions when they take on Azam during the quarter-finals of the FA Cup tournament.
