PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan saluted Tanzania Women’s Premier League champions Simba Queens for sealing the CECAFA zone slot at the CAF Women’s Champions League whose finals will be staged in Morocco later this year.
“I congratulate Simba Queens for winning the CECAFA 2022 East African Championship for Women (SAMIA CUP). You have built respect for Tanzanian football and the country in general. I wish you the best in the 2022 CAF Women’s Champions League.”
Since last year, President Samia has supported the tournament with a 100,000 US dollars’ package.
Thus, apart from the trophy and slot that Simba Queens also pocketed 30,000 US dollars; She Corporate bagged 20,000 US dollars and the third-placed CBE took home 10,000 US dollars
Other awards included the tournament’s best player which was won by Simba Queens striker Vivian Corazone while Abera Loza of CBE won the top scorer’s award after netting 11 goals.
In addition, Simba Queens goalkeeper Gelwa Yona was voted the Best goalkeeper, while Kigali WFC won the Fair Play Award.
Simba Queens booked the slot after a hard-fought 1-0 win over She Corporates of Uganda in the CECAFA Zone’s final game at the Azam Complex in Dar es Salaam over the weekend.
The highly contested final saw both clubs failing to break the deadlock in the first 45-minutes.
In the second half, Simba Queens returned strongly and saw the advantage of their efforts after the referee pointed to the spot kick after Asha Djafari was fouled in the box in the 47th minute.
Vivian Corazone converted a spot kick in the 48th minute of the game, and the goal lasted until the end of the 90 minutes.
After the encounter, Simba Queens Head Coach Sebastian Nkoma said he is proud of their achievement in the competition.
Simba Queens have completed the competition with an unbeaten record while conceding only a goal throughout the tournament.
“Last year, we lost in the semi-final; the failure gave us the spirit to work hard to win the trophy this year. I am glad we have achieved this.
We shall work hard for the Women’s Champions League tournament in Morocco,” added Nkoma.
On his side, the She Corporate coach Charles Ayiekoh applauded the Tanzanian side: “They deserved; they have a better team. It was a mistake we made, and they punished us.”
Apart from the defeat, he hailed his player for their outstanding performance, “I salute my players; they worked hard. This is the learning lesson.”
Before the final encounter on Saturday, Ethiopia’s Commercial Bank (CBE) team beat AS Kigali WFC 3-1 to finish third.
To reach the final, Simba Queens overpowered AS Kigali WFC (Rwanda) by 5-1, while She Corporate eliminated Commercial Bank (CBE) of Ethiopia with a 2-1 victory.
