AfricaPress-Tanzania: AFTER 94 days hiatus, the Mainland Premier League finally returns today amid much cautious approach as Covid-19 fears still lingers.
Hype is reaching ceiling high before the resumption of the league and teams are eager to return to action after almost three months of inactivity, with title race and relegation battles expected to steal the show.
Coaches and players have all spoken out regarding their trainings and preparations ahead of the restart and the day had finally come.
Two matches will be on the card today but much focus will be in Shinyanga, where 27 times champions Young Africans will face hosts Mwadui FC at the CCM Kambarage Stadium, while Coastal Union welcomes Namungo FC at the Mkwakwani Stadium in Tanga.
Ahead of the restart, the government has cautioned and demanded strictly adherence to safety measures.
Unlike the normal leagues which fans brightly colour the game, this time they will enjoy the good game in accordance to safety directives, all meant to keep them safe from the Coronavirus threat.
In this respect, the government has stressed that all venues which will not meet the set up guidelines to curb further spread of Covid-19 will be suspended from hosting matches.
Some measures include committing stadium managements, sports associations and federations to install facilities that will allow put in place running water and soap as well as sanitizers, while insuring everyone who is involved use them before entering the venues.
Opening entry gates early will also be mandatory, so as to avoid overcrowding and allow fans maintain a one metre distance, while entering the venue, seating arrangement should also adhere to one metre distance.
Everyone not on the pitch — fans, team officials, journalists and all other stakeholders involved would be required to wear face masks throughout when at the venue.
In case of big matches where there is a possibility of fans to flock in big numbers and affect the one metre distance, only half of the carrying capacity of the stadium will be allowed to enter.
And, ahead of their clash today, Yanga Head Coach Luc Eymael and striker David Molinga jetted off yesterday to link up with the team.
Molinga grabbed the headlined after he failed to depart with his colleagues on Wednesday, claiming that he was deliberately dropped from the list of selected players, who made the trip.
He is so far the top goal scorer for the Jangwani Street side with eight goals; hence pundits wondered how come he was left.
However, it is reported that skipper Papy Tshishimbi will miss the encounter due to one game suspension after picking three consecutive yellow cards in past league duels.
Speaking via a telephone conversation, the team’s Assistant Coach Charles Boniface Mkwasa confirmed that Tshishimbi will not be part of the team to battle it up for three points.
“He picked three yellow cards from the three league matches we played before the league was suspended,” he said.
Mkwasa said his team is ready to stamp the victory from the difficult venue but conceded that it will not be an easy ride.
Yanga are third on the log after accumulating 51 points from 27 matches and they are 20 point off the pace as leaders Simba are on 71 points from 28 matches and Azam are second 17 points behind from the same number of matches.
Mwadui sit 12th on the log with 34 points from 28 games and are among the sides which desperately need to win most of their remaining matches to stand a good chance of avoiding possible league relegation.
After Mwadui mission, Yanga will travel to Dodoma to face JKT Tanzania at Jamhuri Stadium on Wednesday in another hot match of the week.
