Taifa Stars depart to Cairo minus Samatta

        Dar es Salaam. Team captain Mbwana Samatta will be a notable absentee when the national soccer team, Taifa Stars, leave for Cairo, Egypt for a week-long training camp.

Taifa Stars, who have been camping in the city since last week, are expected to head to Cairo today for further training ahead of their 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier against Lesotho on June 10 at the National Stadium.

Samatta plays for Belgium’s KRC Genk, who take on KV Oostende in the Europa League qualifier tomorrow.

The Belgian giants have promised to release him after the match, according to Taifa Stars manager, Danny Msangi.

“KRC Genk are facing a crucial Europa League qualifier against KV Oostende, and Samatta is among players they bank on for goals,” Msangi.

“They have assured us that they will release him before our Afcon match against Lesotho,” he said.

According to the team manager, Farid Mussa who plays for CD Tenerife in Spain, will join the team in Egypt while Thomas Ulimwengu, who features for Sweden’s AFC Eskilstuna, has reported at camp.

On Simba skipper Jonas Mkude, who is nursing injuries he sustained in a car accident on Sunday, Msangi said he not sure if he would make the trip.

He expressed optimism that the player would shrug off injuries before Taifa Stars launch their Cameroon 2019 qualifier. “We would like to have him on board in the Lesotho match because he is among players we need in competitions of such magnitude,” he said.

Taifa Stars, whose first ever appearance at the Afcon finals dates back to 1990 in Lagos, Nigeria, will also face Uganda Cranes on March 23, next year before taking on Cape Verde on September 5.

They will face Cape Verde again on September 9. On October 12, they swing back into action for a clash against Lesotho before winding up their group stage campaign against Uganda Cranes on November 9 at the National Stadium.

Success-starved Stars will also face Rwanda’s Amavubi in the CHAN Championship first leg qualifier on July 14. The return leg will take place in Kigali on July 18.

Should they eliminate the Amavubi, the Stars will sail though and face South Sudan or Uganda in the next stage. The CHAN finals will take place in Nairobi, Kenya next year.

Stars squad:

Goalkeepers: Aishi Manula (Azam), Beno Kakolanya (Young Africans), Said Mohamed (Mtibwa Sugar).

Defenders: Shomari Kapombe (Azam), Hassan Ramadhani, Mwinyi Haji (Yanga), Mohamed Hussein ‘Tshabalala’ (Simba), Salim Abdallah (Mtibwa Sugar), Agrey Morris (Azam), Abdi Banda (Simba) and Erasto Nyoni (Azam).

Midfielders: Himid Mao, Salum Abubakar (Azam), Jonas Mkude, Shiza Kichuya (Simba), Said Ndemla, Mzamiru Yassin (Simba), Simon Msuva (Yanga), Farid Mussa (CD Tenerife) and Thomas Ulimwengu (AFC Eskilstuna).

Strikers are Mbwana Samatta (KRC Genk), Mbaraka Yusuf (Kagera Sugar), Ibrahim Ajib (Simba) and Abadulrahman Mussa of Ruvu Shooting.