TANGA's Coastal Union management has been advised to sign players who will efficiently help the team perform well in the 2024/25 CAF Confederation Cup.

The CAF Confederation Cup is an annual association football club competition established in 2004 from a merger of the CAF Cup and the African Cup Winners showdown organized by the Confederation of African Football.

Clubs qualify for the competition based on their performance in their respective countries' premier leagues and cup competitions.

CAF Confederation Cup is the second-tier competition of African football, ranking below the CAF Champions League. 

Coastal Union, nicknamed 'Wagosi wa Kaya' or 'Mangushi', qualified for the 2024/25 CAF Confederation Cup after taking fourth place in the just-ended Premier League.

Young Africans won the Premier League silverware, followed by runners-up Azam FC and Simba SC which took third place. Young Africans and Azam FC, therefore, would represent the country in the CAF Champions League.

Coastal Union would battle it out in the CAF Confederation Cup for the first time, whereas Tanzania's other envoys in the showdown, Simba SC, are experienced contenders in the tournament.

In an exclusive interview, some Coastal Union SC fans, who also double as the club's permanent members, said good signings will help to bolster the squad.

They said the first objective Coastal Union had in the just-ended Premier League was to make sure that the team finished in the top four and it was fulfilled.

"Our first objective was well-achieved and the outfit succeeded in stepping into one of Africa's biggest tournaments under the Confederation of African Football umbrella after impressive performance and more efforts," one of the members Ali Shabani noted.

The other member Nassoro Mohamed stated efforts should also be put into preparations, including having stability in the squad.

According to Mohamed, Coastal Union's registration committee should conduct better scouting of players who will have great contributions given the coming competition is extremely challenging.

The members noted the team still needs good players, particularly midfielders and strikers who are energetic and pacy.

Coastal Union Chairman Steven Mguto further refuted the information alleging that the side's defender Lameck Lawi has been signed by Simba SC.

Mguto, who is also the Tanzania Premier League Board (TPLB) chairman, revealed in an interview with a radio station in Tanga, saying that Simba SC could not meet some requirements presented by Coastal Union leadership to finalize the player's transfer.

"Lawi is still a Coastal Union player, Simba SC leaders showed interest in seeking his service for next season but we issued our conditions, maintaining they ought to be patient because there was a foreign team that had also presented a good offer for Lawi. The club had scheduled trials for the defender," Mguto disclosed.

The official added: "Later, we got back to Simba SC and told them to deposit the agreed amount for transfer on the agreed time, they were late in depositing.

"I heard they have announced to have secured his signature, the fact is that we didn't issue a release letter to Simba SC to sign him because we are in high need of his services," Mguto remarked.