Tanzanian clubs face Caf disqualification

What you need to know:

Most Tanzanian clubs that will represent the country in Caf competitions have not implemented fully the new criteria issued by Fifa

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania’s oldest clubs, Young Africans and Simba, may not be allowed to feature in the Caf-organised competitions after failing to adhere to regulations.

Yanga as they are popularly know are the Mainland’s flag-bearers in the Caf Champions League while their nemesis Simba qualified for the Confederation Cup.

However, their participation hangs in the balance because none of them has Under-17 teams as required by the world football governing body, Fifa .

Zanzibar teams; JKU and Zimamoto may also suffer a similar fate.

FIFA’s Club Licensing System is based on five key criteria: sporting, personnel and administrative, financial, infrastructure and legal.

These criteria aim to safeguard the credibility and integrity of club competitions while improving the level of professionalism within the football family and promoting transparency in the finances, ownership and control of clubs.

This means all clubs across the world are required to meet all principles under the five criteria, which include having youth development programmes, comfortable stadiums and training facilities.

Other principles include adherence to international statutes whereby clubs ownership should be transparent and fair plus hiring qualified coaches and medical staff as well as well-educated management.

Speaking with The Citizen yesterday, the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) president, Wallace Karia said Caf will soon send its team Tanzania to assess readiness of the clubs earmarked to feature in their competitions.

“They have notified us that a team of experts will come here to inspect whether our clubs have adhered to the new order and we have already informed our clubs of the inspection,” said the TFF President.

“All clubs should have acted on the new regulations a long time ago, but most of them are still moving at a snail’s pace to do so. We are worried over the fate of clubs that are preparing to compete in the Caf-organised events.”

Yanga have been scheduled to start their campaign with a date against St Louis of Seychelles while fixtures show that Simba will play Gendarmerie of Djibouti.

JKU, who will be competing in the Champions League have been pitted against Zesco of Zambia while Zimamoto will meet Welayta Dicha of Ethiopia.