Barbara aims to take Simba to next level

Dar es Salaam. Simba Sports Club’s new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Barbara Gonzalez, has promised to take the club to the next level of development.

Barbara also revealed that she was the one who interviewed Senzo Mazingisa in South Africa to become the club CEO. Speaking with The Citizen in an exclusive interview, Barbara said Simba are the current most successful club in East Africa and her task is to promote the brand and become one of the biggest teams on the African continent. She said it is an open fact that Simba have done brilliantly in the past three seasons of the Mainland Tanzania Premier League and won its trophy consecutively.

“Last season, we won two trophies, Vodacom Premier League and Azam Federation Cup. We also won the community shield. This is the biggest success in the country. Our team is to see the club doing the best in the continental clubs championships. Our target is to make our mark just as we are celebrating now in the country,” said Barbara.

She explained that she wants to leave legacy to the club members and fans at the age of 30 years.

According to her, she has experience in management and football matters as she is behind the success of the club in all three years.

“Although I was not at the foreront of all the club activities, I was involved in them. This includes forming the club’s new leadership structure, employments, writing proposals, consultations and many others. I would say I was behind the scenes,” she said.

She revealed that when Simba were in need of a CEO, the board of directors of the club gave her the task of interviewing Senzo Mazingisa in South Africa. “So, I travelled to South Africa and interviewed Senzo who later became the club CEO. To me, actions speak louder than words as I want things to be done and happen. I am serious about the matter,” she said.

She said her dream while studying was to work with societies, believing that with cooperation with the club directors, members and stakeholders, they will attain their goal. “I worked with Deloitte and other international organisations. At the level of management, I have experiences. In the field of sports, I have learnt a lot with Simba, Basically, Simba’s members and fans have to know that I am not a coach. My task is to ensure the technical bench and players get their needs in time. I have to set programs that will enable the club to generate income and cutting operational costs “ she said.