Samata, Ulimwengu to boost Stars camp
Taifa Stars head coach must be rubbing his hands with glee after TP Mazembe of DR Congo allowed forwards Thomas Ulimwengu and Mbwana Samata to join the national team. Photo|File
What you need to know:
- After nearly two months of inactivity, Taifa Stars host Namibia in an international friendly at Arusha’s Sheikh Amri Abeid Stadium on Tuesday and the striking duo will jet into the country this weekend ready for the encounter.
Dar es Salaam. Taifa Stars head coach must be rubbing his hands with glee after TP Mazembe of DR Congo allowed forwards Thomas Ulimwengu and Mbwana Samata to join the national team.
After nearly two months of inactivity, Taifa Stars host Namibia in an international friendly at Arusha’s Sheikh Amri Abeid Stadium on Tuesday and the striking duo will jet into the country this weekend ready for the encounter.
Defender Shomari Kapombe, who plies his trade at France’s AS Cannes, will join Stars teammates later today, according to the Tanzania Football Federation acting secretary general, Boniface Wambura.
“All the foreign-based players will have reported to the camp by this weekend,” said the TFF official,
“Ulimwengu and Samata have already been given the green light to join Stars, so we are looking forward to having them in the fold on Sunday.
“But for Kapombe, I think he will be at the camp a bit earlier because we expect him in Dar on Thursday (today) and will go to the camp straightaway.”
The arrival of the trio will provide a massive relief for Poulsen who will also use them for the Mainland team, Kilimanjaro Stars, that will take part at the forthcoming Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup scheduled for Kenya.
The Cecafa Challenge Cup whose defending champions are Uganda Cranes will kick off on November 27 and climax on December 12.
Wambura also disclosed that veteran goalkeeper Ivo Mapunda, who has not featured for Stars in as many years, arrived from Nairobi on Tuesday and joined the team yesterday. Mapunda plays for Kenyan champions Gor Mahia.
Meanwhile, the Kili Stars and their Zanzibar Heroes brothers will learn their Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup groups tomorrow after the council’s secretary general Nicholas Musonye announced that the draw for this year’s edition will be held on the day in Nairobi.
Furthermore, the official launch of the competition will also be staged tomorrow morning after a breakfast meeting with all the ambassadors of the Cecafa member states and announcement of the title and supporting sponsors following the expiry of East Africa’s Breweries sponsorship contract under its Tusker brand.
