Why Yanga-Azam FC clash billed as revenge in CRDB Federation Cup
Combined photo of Yanga’s Stephane Aziz Ki and Azam FC’s attacking midfielder, Feisal “Fei Toto” Salum. PHOTO | COURTESY
What you need to know:
- This is the ninth Federation Cup final since its return in the 2015/2016 season.
Dar es Salaam. The CRDB Federation Cup defending champions, Young Africans (Yanga), are clashing with Azam FC Sunday at 8.14pm on June 2, 2024 in the final match of the competition at the New Amaan Complex Stadium in Zanzibar.
This is a grudge final for two main reasons. First, Yanga remember their 2-1 defeat on March 17, 2024, in the Tanzania Mainland Premier League match at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam.
The result of that match sparked a fierce controversy, when it was claimed that before Feisal “Fei Toto” scored the second goal, teammate Gibril Sillah had been offside before taking the cross that led to the goal.
The match had a lot of controversial incidents including when Yanga attacking midfielder Pacome Zouzoua was fouled to pick up an injury that kept him off the pitch.
Yanga will likely aim to win the title back-to-back after a 4-2 victory on penalties following a 3-3 draw against Coastal Union during the 2021/2022 season at the Sheikh Amri Abeid Stadium in Arusha and the 2022/2023 season’s victory over Azam FC at the Mkwakwani Stadium in Tanga.
Azam FC, on their part, will target to take revenge on Yanga in the tournament’s history. Yanga won 3-1 over Azam FC in the 2015/2016 edition at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium. The Ice-cream makers clinched the trophy only in the 2018/2019 edition.
This is the ninth Federation Cup final since its return in the 2015/2016 season.
The competition was last held in 2002 when JKT Tanzania won the title over Baker Rangers before it stopped from 2003 to 2014 as per current records.
The eagerly-awaited clash has been moved to Zanzibar because of various technical reasons after it was originally scheduled to take place at Manyara’s Tanzanite Stadium.
One of the reasons for the change include the incomplete Tanzanite Stadium infrastructure and security concerns. It was clear that some of the infrastructure at the stadium would not be ready by the scheduled match date.
However, the decision raised concerns among football stakeholders, especially when Simba’s request for moving their venue to the New Amaan Sports Complex for their Tanzania Mainland Premier League matches was turned down.
However, it came to be learned that Simba were not prevented from using the stadium, but the club failed to comply with directives given by the stadium owner.
