Simba gets the green light for Kagoma

Dar es Salaam. Simba fans can now breathe a sigh of relief following the report that Yusuf Kagoma is eligible to play for the club in the Mainland Tanzania Premier League and international competitions.

However, fans might also feel a bit disappointed with the news that centre-back Lameck Lawi, who was expected to strengthen their team's defence, has been cleared to play for Coastal Union.

For several weeks, there were rumors that Simba could face disciplinary action for fielding Kagoma in a Mainland Premier League match against Fountain Gate FC, which the Msimbazi Street side won 4-0 at the KMC Complex.

The move to field Kagoma was said to be illegal and could have resulted in a three-point deduction for Simba.

These rumors stemmed from a complaint by Yanga against Kagoma, which was pending before the Players' Status and Legal Committee at the time.

The situation intensified after claims that Simba had been warned after using Kagoma in the match against Fountain Gate FC and were instructed not to field him in subsequent matches until his case was resolved.

owever, reliable information obtained by The Citizen revealed that Kagoma has been cleared to play for Simba because the club had completed all the necessary registration procedures.

The source said that Simba entered into a valid contract with the player, which was approved by his former team, Fountain Gate FC, and later registered by the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF).

Yanga signed a pre-contract with Kagoma, but by the time the registration period expired, the club had not registered it with the TFF.

“There is no issue of double registration for Kagoma, as was claimed. The registration procedures required by the FIFA system do not recognize Yanga as owning the player, only Simba. It clearly shows which club he came from. If there were any objections, they should have been raised by Fountain Gate FC, which owned the player before,” said the source.

The source further clarified that Yanga could claim compensation from Kagoma or the club if their agreement stated so, but they could not prevent the player from playing.

Regarding Lameck Lawi

After breathing a sigh of relief over Kagoma’s case, Simba fans might feel uneasy following the news that Lameck Lawi has been cleared to play for Coastal Union.

Simba filed a case claiming to have signed Lawi, but Coastal Union later contested this, stating that Simba failed to meet the terms agreed upon by both teams and the player, leading to the deal's cancellation.

He added that just as Simba benefited in Kagoma's case, Coastal Union have similarly benefited in Lawi’s issue. He said Simba do not have a contract with Lawi that is registered with the TFF, as only Coastal Union has it.