DAR ES SALAAM: YOUNG Africans have affirmed its plan of constructing an ultra-modern stadium in the Jangwani area after the government included their proposal to the ongoing Dar es Salaam Metropolitan Development Project (DMDP) programme.
The club president Hersi Said unveiled on Sunday in Dar es Salaam during the club’s Annual General Meeting that plans were underway and some stakeholders have already affirmed their support for the project.
He further said that partners such as CRBD Bank, NMB, and NBC as well as their club’s main sponsor GSM have already confirmed their interest in supporting the club’s mission of building an ultra-modern arena near the club headquarters.
According to the Minister of State in the President’s Office for Regional Administration and Local Government, Mohamed Mchengerwa who was a special guest at the AGM, the government will accommodate Yanga’s project in the ongoing DMDP project.
The AGM had a special appearance from the Minister for Culture, Arts and Sports, Damas Ndumbaro congratulating the Jangwani streetbased club for their success this season and for becoming an exemplary club in the country’s football.
However, Ndumbaro cautioned Yanga to sustain their achievement and stand united and avoid conflicts like the ongoing misunderstanding inside their arch-rivals Simba who had an unsatisfactory campaign in the justended season.
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“The level of football in the country has risen and therefore you need to protect people such as Hersi a lot to get more development within the club and in the country in general,” he said.
Apart from the stadium construction Yanga management under Hersi Said which is currently undergoing structural transformation is also looking forward to strengthening the team and the technical bench to ensure they maintain the success they have achieved in the season 2023/24.
“We are going to strengthen our squad as well the technical by recruiting elite players and technical staff who are eager for great performance and we are looking forward to being at our best and doing more than what we did this season.”
In another development, the club’s president has also unveiled that the club has received several invitations from three countries for a preseason training programme including South Africa, Kenya and a European state to be named later.
Moreover, Yanga has also unveiled to their supporters its decision to extend the contract with their Argentine tactician, Miguel Gamondi for another season after its one-year contract expired recently.
Announcing the extension Said acknowledged the coach for the great performance that saw the club flying high in both local and international competitions and that they are looking forward to getting great things from the Argentine.
On his part, Gamondi nodded to the club’s leadership, players, and fans for the support that has led to the achievement they are celebrating presently which includes the 30th league title.
He said he aims to take the club to among the best clubs in the continent. In another development, Yanga management urged its supporters to continue registering for club membership to increase the club’s revenue through membership cards which has dropped from 1.3 bn/- to 613m/- this season.
Despite the fall in revenue, the club has awarded the branches that have done well in registering new members whereby five branches Viva Yanga International, Yanga Diaspora, Yanga Mbezi, GSM Family, and VIP Mecco won the award.
The AGM also presented the club’s Executive Council’s report which included a financial report which unveiled total revenue of 21.19bn/- and expenditure of 22.29 bn/- whereas the deficit of the budget was 1.09bn/- for 2023/24.
Meanwhile, the AGM has approved the club’s budget for the next financial year – 24.5bn/- shillings.