President Samia lauds Yanga

President Samia Suluhu Hassan has hailed Young Africans for qualifying for the group stage of the CAF Confederation Cup  after eliminating Club Africain at Stade Olympique de Rades in Tunis, Tunisia on Wednesday

President Samia said in her tweeter on Thursday saying the 1-0 Yanga stamped in Tunisia has earned them a ticket to play in the group stage.

“I wish you success in the next stage of CAF Confederation Cup and that is a group stage,” President Samia in her twitter account.

Also hailed Yanga’s Confederation Cup’s group stage entry was Simba’s investor Mohamed Dewji.

Mohamed Dewji ‘Mo’, through his twitter account wrote: “Congratulations our traditional rivals! you have made Tanzania proud. Welcome to the big league.”

But to Stephanie  Aziz Ki who netted  Yanga priceless goal that sent his team to CAF Confederation Cup group stage, it is only love and solidarity  that matter most.

The playmaker called on members and fans to enhance their passionate love towards the team.

The country’s envoys cleared their path to the Promised Land courtesy of a 1-0 away win over Club Africain at Stade Olympique de Rades in Tunis, Tunisia on Wednesday evening as the Tanzanian flag was hoisted above the rest at the venue.

However, the Burkinabe who was introduced in the second half replacing Khalid Aucho, made a big impact in the 79th minute as his powerful left-foot strike was enough to grab an important away victory which opened them a door to the last 16 of the contest.

After a lucklustre performance in the first leg duel at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam, most people gave Yanga a slim chance to make it further as they believed that it would be an impossible mission in the foreign territory.

“I am very happy for this achievement and we all worked together as a team… thanks to our fans and members out there, they should continue to support us and we are here to fight for them,” he briefly said after the game.

On his part, Assistant Coach Cedric Kaze disclosed that players were encouraged to approach the game with full confidence as they have tactical abilities to stamp good results from anywhere they play.

“In the first leg match, they came to defend that is why it was not easy for us to make a breakthrough but we told the players to have composure when in possession of the ball…we knew that in the reverse leg, they will open up the match.

“As such; we just simply played our game and in the end, we are all excited with the positive results we have produced. This is just the beginning of the bigger achievements ahead,” he said.

To members and fans of the club, he urged them to keep believing in their team at all times regardless whether they win or lose saying football is dynamic hence you cannot expect good results in each game.

In a related development, Acting Sports Director Ally Mayay has congratulated Yanga for cruising to the group stage of the Confederation Cup saying to have two teams in the last 16 of CAF Interclub games is a remarkable achievement.

“We all need to be proud with this outcome because it is health for the development of football in the country. It means our status of deploying four teams at CAF managed contest for the next season is going to be upheld and this is exactly what we deserve as a country,” he said.

The other Tanzania envoys are Simba who have qualified to play in the CAF Champions League group stage and are just waiting for the draw to be conducted to know their opponents.