DESPITE giving it their all, both Simba SC and Yanga have been painfully booted out of the coveted CAF Champions League following defeat in their respective quarterfinal second legs last weekend.

Indeed, after being pipped to a narrow 1-0 defeat by Egyptian giants Al Ahly in the first leg in Dar es Salaam a little over a week ago, Simba SC travelled to Cairo to slug it out with their Egyptian counterparts in the second leg last weekend.

Disappointingly though, despite pulling out all the stops, Simba SC were ultimately outclassed by Al Ahly who claimed a 2-0 win in the second leg and an unassailable 3-0 victory on aggregate.

Frustratingly, Simba SC’s ouster from the CAF Champions League this season is seemingly the umpteenth time they have been knocked out of continental football’s most prestigious championship at the quarterfinal stage.

It is hoped then that Simba SC’s coaches, whose Midas touch deserted them, will be able to draw vital lessons from the post-match analysis that should follow the Msimbazi Street outfit’s capitulation to Al Ahly in the second leg.

While Simba SC’s exit from the CAF Champions League is undeniably discouraging, it is unquestionable that the manner in which Yanga bowed out of the premier continental club tournament this season was incredibly agonizing.

Indeed, after the first leg between Yanga and South African heavyweights Mamelodi Sundowns in their quarterfinal tie ended in a goalless draw in Dar es Salaam, there was little to choose between the two dueling teams in a tense second leg in Pretoria last weekend, which also ended in a 0-0 sharing of the spoils.

With the two teams deadlocked at 0-0 on aggregate, this necessitated a penalty shootout to be played, which, as we all know, is the lottery of football.

And, in that nerve-shredding penalty shootout, lady luck sadly frowned on Yanga as the Jangwani Street side lost 3-2 to Sundowns whose composure rarely failed them.

However, what makes Yanga’s defeat all the more heartbreaking is the fact that the outfit was denied what seemed like a legitimate goal even after the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) consultation.

Then, the fact that Yanga scored a goal that was disallowed is what makes their cruel loss to Mamelodi Sundowns such a bitter pill to swallow.

Nevertheless, on the bright side, the fact that Yanga came to within a hair’s breadth of downing Mamelodi Sundowns should fill us all with the confidence that our teams can fearlessly go toe-to-toe with the continent’s leading sides and ultimately come out on top.

Needless to say, we are proud of Yanga’s overall displays in the CAF Champions League this season as they have displayed the abundant wealth of potential that exists in Tanzanian football.

Let us remain with the football theme and reflect on our national amputee football team’s participation in the African Amputee Football Cup of Nations, which is set to kick off on April 19 this year.

Indeed, the team fondly dubbed ‘Tembo Warriors’ by affectionate fans, has been engaging in intensive preparations at the training camp in Arusha.

Thus, with the date for the competition’s big kick-off being just around the corner, it is hoped that Tembo Warriors can give an extremely good account of themselves at this consequential football tournament.