WITH merely a few fixtures remaining in the scintillating 2023/24 NBC Premier League, the various competing clubs in local football’s top flight must be green with envy over Young Africans’ impressive title triumph this season.

 Indeed, Yanga’s sublime league trophy victory marks the third time in a row that they have clinched the greatly prized and highly coveted league crown.

Despite the monumental efforts of Azam FC and their age-old foes Simba SC, Yanga remained laser-focused on their ultimate objective, which was to regain their league silverware.

Following the bitter disappointment of being ousted from the CAF Champions League earlier this season, Yanga shifted their attention to the local football scene, where they have been the singular dominant force in the last three seasons.

And, the recently crowned league champions are not done yet as the Jangwani Street side are still in with a shout of claiming the Federations Cup this season, which would further solidify their position as the country’s lone pre-eminent football club.

As we tip our hats to Young Africans for their unmatched excellence this season, we should also spare a thought for erstwhile traditional title contenders, Mtibwa Sugar, who are presently involved in a do-or-die battle to avoid relegation.

Indeed, Mtibwa Sugar are precariously occupying last place on the league standings at the moment, which is admittedly a far cry from the days of yore when they perpetually challenged the big guns Yanga and Simba for the league crown.

It is hoped then that Mtibwa Sugar can muster the courage needed for the crucial task at hand as they stare down the barrel of relegation.

Let us stick with football and consider a recent media report which said that Tanzania is slated to host the CECAFA Kagame Cup this year following a two-year hiatus.

The hugely respected championship, which is revered by the great and the good of East and Central African football, was last staged in Dar es Salaam in 2021.

The Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) has also excitingly revealed that the premier league champions from the twelve-member associations and four guest teams will take part in the much-awaited and unfailingly riveting football spectacle.

Interestingly, local juggernauts Simba has claimed the CECAFA Kagame Cup a whopping six times while their fierce nemesis Yanga has lifted the coveted trophy five times.

Thus, with this year’s championship set to kick off on July 20th in our neck of the woods, one hopes that the football action thrillingly lives up to expectations.

Let us now dive into the English football season which came to a fantastic end last Sunday.

Indeed, the ceaselessly dramatic race for the English Premier League (EPL) trophy went right down to the wire with two teams in contention for the title, which were Arsenal and Manchester City.

Regarding the exploits of African football greats in the EPL this season, there was more than sufficient reason for good cheer.

For example, the Ghanaian right winger Mohamed Kudus, who moved from Dutch titans Ajax to the Londoners West Ham United at the outset of the just-ended league campaign, was the pick of his new English club in many EPL encounters.

In addition, Liverpool’s terrific Egyptian attacker, Mohamed Salah, may not have been as prolific as he was last season.

Nevertheless, the immensely skillful Egyptian still played a pivotal role in the Reds’ (Liverpool’s nickname) campaign, which saw the Merseyside-based English giants finish in a thoroughly respectable third place on the EPL standings.

In conclusion, the roll-call of African football icons plying their trade in the EPL all made invaluable contributions to the overall performance of their respective English clubs.

Therefore, as our African stars based in England prepare to go for some much-needed R and R, one can only hope that they can infinitely improve their displays come next season.