Nine teams face relegation as Yanga dominate top seat

Dar es Salaam. All eyes and ears are likely directed at the Mainland Tanzania NBC Premier League encounter of traditional rivals Simba and Young Africans (Yanga) on Sunday while nine teams are in danger of being demoted to the Championship League.

The teams to face demotion are Polisi Tanzania, who are at the bottom of the league standings with 19 points from 26 matches, Ruvu Shooting, who are placed second from the bottom with 20 points and the same number of matches, 14th placed Kinondoni Municipal Council (KMC) with 26 points from 26 matches and 13th placed Mbeya City with 27 points from 26 matches,

Also, on the list are Coastal Union (12th, 27 points), Dodoma Jiji (11th, 28 points), Tanzania Prisons (10th, 28 points), Mtibwa Sugar (9th, 29 points), and Kagera Sugar, who are placed eighth with 32 points from 26 matches.

As per the league rules and regulations, the two bottom-placed teams (16th and 15th) will directly be demoted to the Championship League, formerly the First Division.

If Polisi Tanzania win all of their four remaining matches, they will collect a total of 31 points, while Ruvu Shooting will garner 32 points.

Teams to feature in playoffs against third and fourth placed teams from the Championship League are KMC and Mbeya City.

However, the four bottom-placed teams will have to stretch their muscles and win all of their remaining matches while ‘praying’ for poor results by other six teams in order to avoid demotion as well as featuring in the playoffs.

Apart from the relegation battle, the league’s title race is now between two teams: the defending champions, Yanga, and their rivals, Simba.

Yanga have so far collected 68 points from 25 matches and need at least three victories (nine points) in order to retain the title for the second time in a row.

Simba, who are second with 60 points from 25 matches, also will have to ‘pray’ for bad performance by Yanga in at least three matches in order to revive their hopes of winning the title. This means that Yanga have to lose three of their five remaining matches.

Statistics show that Singida Big Stars and Azam FC can also finish in the second position if they win all of their remaining matches and Simba flop.

Singida Big Stars are placed in the third position with 51 points, and Azam FC are fourth with 50 points. Singida can bag 63 points if they win all of their four remaining matches, and Azam FC can replace Simba if they win all of their four remaining matches to collect 62 points.

Arithmetically, Simba need at least one victory in order to get the assurancesof finishing the league in the second position while leaving Singida Big Stars and Azam FC to fight for the top four positions.