Manara: Chama is Simba SC property and teams should stay away

Simba SC have maintained their stance that midfielder Clatous Chama is their player and will not leave the club anytime soon.

Reports in Tanzania have indicated that the Zambian midfielder has already agreed on terms to sign for Simba rivals Young Africans (Yanga SC) and will join them when his contract ends next June.

Simba media officer Haji Manara has once again come out to state that Chama is still contracted to the team and that those saying they have signed him or want to sign are day-dreaming.

“All those are rumours, we call them rumours which don’t have any basis or facts,” Manara is quoted by Sokaletu. “Chama is our property and will not move anywhere, not now and not in the future.

“Those saying he has left to I don’t where, are just day-dreaming, they don’t have anything to say, they don’t have something to write about, the truth is Chama is still our player and he will remain here for as long as he wants.

“For now our focus is to do well in the Caf Champions League and also make sure that we win the league title again, those other stories are not, for now, we don’t have any transfer window open, so I don’t have time to discuss such.”

Simba have been drawn to face Nigerian opponents Plateau United and will host them before travelling west for the second tie. This will be the third time in a row the Tanzania Mainland League giants will be representing the country in Africa's club elite competition.

“I believe the players we have and the technical bench we have has what it takes to help us perform well in the Champions League. Their dedication and zeal will help us achieve our objectives,” Manara continued.

“All we want is support from the fans because as a team, we cannot achieve this by ourselves. We have to act together, work together in harmony and our supporters can help us achieve our goals in the international assignments.”

The Wekundu wa Msimbazi struggled to perform in the competition in the 2019/20 season and stumbled in the preliminary round, which contributed to the exit of coach Patrick Aussems, with Sven Vandenbroeck taking his position.