Azam FC confront African champions in friendly tie

Azam FC players share a light moment after a training session at the Azam Complex on Monday. The Chamazi side will play Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa in a friendly match today. PHOTO | COURTESY

What you need to know:

  • The South African heavyweights jetted into the country on Monday and were scheduled to play Simba SC today before clashing with Young Africans on Friday.
  • However, the two country’s football giants turned down the friendly request from organiser Rahim Kangezi in the eleventh hour, citing fixture congestion as a major reason.

Dar es Salaam. Azam FC will have a perfect warm-up this evening when they lock horns against the African champions, Mamelodi Sundowns, at the 60,000-seater National Stadium.

The South African heavyweights jetted into the country on Monday and were scheduled to play Simba SC today before clashing with Young Africans on Friday.

However, the two country’s football giants turned down the friendly request from organiser Rahim Kangezi in the eleventh hour, citing fixture congestion as a major reason.

Azam, who are preparing for the Caf Confederation Cup, however, gave Kangezi the nod and will now be given a reality check before embarking on the Africa’s second-tier championship.

The match kicks off at 7pm.

According to Kangezi, Azam have agreed to field their first team regardless of their Vodacom Premier League assignment this weekend.

“We are delighted that Azam accepted to face Mamelodi Sundowns. We are aware of their tricky fixtures, but this match will also benefit them ahead of the Confederation Cup,” said Kangezi.

“Mamelodi are in the pre-season, but they will field their strongest team possible. Azam have also promised to start their first XI, so it is going to be exciting.”

Azam will swing into league action on Saturday when they host Ndanda FC while Simba will be playing away to Majimaji.

Yanga, who top the 16-team log with 46 points, one adrift of Simba, will take on Stand United on Sunday.

Minister for Information, Culture, Arts and Sports Nape Nnauye will be the guest of honour in today’s friendly. For his part, Azam Information Officer Jaffer Idd hailed the organiser of the match saying it has come at the right time and that they will seize the chance to assess the strength of their squad.

“Mamelodi Sundowns are the champions of Africa, so playing a build-up match against them is a big thing for us,” he said.

“We have a league match this weekend, but we can’t let this opportunity slip through our hands. We will use it to assess our team’s readiness for Caf events.”