It has been a long, exciting period. Exciting, and at times, exhausting! I’m talking about the soccer season that took off in September 2025 last year, coming to a close on June 30, this year.
In between PL matches we also had Mapinduzi Cup and CRDB Confederation Cup competitions.
The overall defending champs Young Africans SC aka Yanga aka Wana-Jangwani aka Wananchi aka Utopolo lost two but retained the most coveted NBC Premier League trophy…for the 5th time running.
Arch-rivals Simba Sports Club (SC) aka Simba aka Wana-Msimbazi aka Makolo legion of fans are dismissing Yanga’s retention of the PL trophy as nothing but an outcome daily-light robbery.
“We would have finished this season as NBC Premier League champions with at least six points ahead of Utopolo if it weren’t for useless refereeing that had been compromised to deny numerous incidents of victory—hawana kitu hawa Uto!” Balotelli, a handyman at Family Bar is heard as claiming.
Ustaaz, a diehard Yanga supporter dismisses Balotelli and his ilk’s sentiments as kilio cha mkosaji—a loser’s cry of woe.
“In any case, you people have clinched the Muungano Cup, right? You’ve also taken home the CRDB Confederation Cup, haven’t you? Now why are you lamenting like small children?” mocks Ustaaz who winds up his dismissal of Balotelli and his fellow Simbans’ lack of gratitude when they’ve a whole two trophies.
Ustaaz isn’t that serious in regard to his apparent congratulations to Simbans who have picked up two trophies because he, like everyone else in Bongo, knows that no victory in Bongo soccer compares with the sweet Premier League Cup win!
Uncle Kich, him of the big Safari Lager which he takes straight from the bottle (to the chagrin of Ndugu Esaya the most sophisticated amongst us) says he’s personally comfortable with his “two trophies.”
“Football is not food…life must go on despite the sad fact that Yanga has retained the championship, albeit controversially…we’ll beat these Utopolo, hands down, next season,” he says.
Uncle Kich is categorical that with “his” team’s latest inclusions, namely Chota Chama, Anicet Oura and Libasse Gueye; plus, dependable old hands Rushine De Reuck and Ellie Mpanzu, Simba will be virtually unbeatable next season. Ahem!
Another crazed Family Bar-based Yanga fan, an electrician we call Meku, is rubbishing Simba’s confidence that their “upgraded” squad will wipe off the smiles off Wananchi’s lips, as nothing but the proverbial ndoto za Alinacha…sheer daydreams!
All the mumbo jumbo notwithstanding, the 61st Football Season has been a time of refreshment, camaraderie and socialisation.
Ours is a football-crazy country, with virtually everyone branded as either a Mwana-Simba or Mwana-Yanga (in some cases), upende usipende i.e. whether you like it or not. Football unifies people, old and young, male and female.
There’s an old joke that if members and supporters of Simba SC and Yanga SC joined forces as a political party and everyone voted, they’d send CCM packing in any free and fair election. Ahem!
All in all, the just ended top tier football league season was a truly exciting period of time for most of us.
