Anxious wait for Yanga players on new deals

Dar es Salaam. As the 2016/17 Mainland Premier League draws to a close, the fate of Young Africans players, whose contracts expire this season, remains a puzzle.

They include Zimbabwean forward Donald Ngoma, midfield maestro Haruna Niyonzima, Togolese defender Vincent Bossou, Burundian striker Amisi Tambwe and midfielder Thabani Kamusoko.

Yanga have left them waiting over contract negotiations, saying they would clear the uncertainty surrounding their fate after consulting head coach, Geroge Lwandamina. “We know that we’ve got seven or so players whose contracts expire this season, they will have to wait until next month or June,” Yanga secretary general Charles Boniface Mkwasa said yesterday.

Also on the list are local players Nadir Haroub, who is the team skipper, and goalkeeper Ali Mustafa.

Mkwasa said the team’s technical bench would work on the matter later this year.

For his part, Tambwe, one of the players the Mainland champions bank on for goals in the Vodacom Premier League, confirmed yesterday that his contract with the club expires next month. The Burundian forward said he was yet to hold talks with Yanga leadership on a new deal.

He, however, remained optimistic that the matter would be sorted out amicably.

“I believe Yanga leadership and coach Lwandamina are working on the matter and will notify me about my fate before the league ends,” he said.