Mayele stretches lead in the race for golden boot

When the NBC Premier League resumes on Friday with three games on the schedule, two foreign players will be trying to increase their goal totals.

With 14 goals, Fiston Mayele (DRC) of Yanga is leading the race for the golden boot followed by Moses Phiri (Zambia) of Simba with 10 while Idris Mbombo of Azam FC sits third with seven and Sixtus Sabilo of Mbeya City with six.

The schedule shows that Singida Big Stars will play host to Geita Gold FC at the Liti Stadium in Singida at 4 pm while Simba will take on Tanzania Prisons at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium at 6:15 pm and Dodoma Jiji FC will clash with Kagera Sugar at the Jamhuri Stadium at 8:15 pm.

For all four teams, the games are crucial, and winning will increase their prospects of placing well in the league rankings.

The league table places Polisi Tanzania in last place with 10 points from 18 games, followed by Ruvu Shooting in 15th place with 12 points from the same number of games and Coastal Union in third place from the bottom with 16 points.  Ihefu FC and Dodoma Jiji FC, both with 17 points each, are other sides in the relegation zone.

According to TFF rules, the teams that finish 15th and 16th are relegated directly to the Championship division (formerly the First Division), while the teams that finish 13th and 14th must compete in the playoffs against the teams that finished second in the Championships.

In essence, the league has been split into three groups, with Young Africans (Yanga), Simba, and Azam FC in the group fighting for the championship, teams vying for the top 10 finishes in the second group and teams battling to escape relegation in the third group.

With 47 points, Yanga are in first place in the league, six points clear of Simba and 10 points ahead of Azam FC.

Singida Big Stars, with 30 points from 16 games, and Mtibwa Sugar, with 24 points from 17 games, are both in the top five of the league log.

In the battle for the golden boot, Mayele is leading with 14 goals, followed by Phiri with 10, Mbombo with seven, and Sabilo of Mbeya City with six.

Reliants Lusajo, John Bocco (Simba), and Feisal Salum, three forwards of Namungo FC, have each scored six goals thus far. According to statistics, the league has seen 326 goals scored in total. The only squad with numerous goals so far is Simba.

The club has scored 40 goals while conceding nine, whereas Yanga, their main adversary, has scored 36 while conceding 10 goals.

Teams that have conceded a lot of goals include Coastal Union and Mtibwa Sugar. Mtibwa Sugar have conceded 29 and Coastal Union 26 goals as well.