Simba ecstatically claims the bragging rights in entertaining Darderby

18Apr 2023
Lloyd Elipokea
Dar es Salaam
Sport
The Guardian
Simba ecstatically claims the bragging rights in entertaining Darderby

IT was an encounter that had been billed as a mouthwatering run-in between two veritable heavyweights of local football and it thrillingly lived up to expectations.

Simba SC supporters rally behind their side when it faced Yanga in a 2022/23 NBC Premier League tie that was held in Dar es Salaam last weekend. PHOTO: CORRESPONDENT JUMANNE JUMA

Of course, I am alluding to the fierce battle between Simba SC and Yanga that unfolded last Sunday at the state-of-the-art Benjamin Mkapa stadium. 

Sadly though, the epic contest would turn out to be a massive letdown for Yanga's legions of supporters as Simba SC would emerge as the deserving victors in a joyous 2-0 win.

Despite that frustrating setback, though, Yanga remains comfortably ensconced at the summit of the league table with a hefty 68 points although second-placed Simba SC is breathing down their necks with 63 points. 

Indeed, judging by the present picture at the top of the table with both Yanga and Simba SC engaged in an all-out, unrestrained battle for the coveted league trophy, one hopes that the hugely entertaining race for the title goes right down to the wire. 

Let us now put the Dar es Salaam football derby to bed and consider the plight of local women’s netball, which is presently mired in dire straits.

Disturbingly, there are precious few netball championships staged on home soil these days, and to make matters worse, the national women’s netball side, Taifa Queens, has not played an international match in years.

This frustratingly regrettable inactivity on the international netball landscape has disappointingly seen the Taifa Queens descend the World Netball rankings to 40th place.

Indeed, it is obvious that local netball is in sore need of a shot in the arm, which would improve the sport’s declining fortunes.

With cash-flow shortages being one of the chronic woes confronting the sport, the first order of business in the revival of local netball ought to be securing sponsors who would provide the sport with financial backing.

Admittedly, this is easier said than done. Nevertheless, with the present state of affairs in local netball being so saddening, rapid solutions are badly needed to defuse the difficult crisis facing the sport.

Let us switch our focus now back to the ‘People’s Game’ where Simba SC and Yanga are expected to go toe-to-toe with some of Africa’s most exemplary football clubs in the quarterfinals of 2022/23 CAF inter-club football competitions.

Off the back of their morale-boosting two-nil win over Yanga last Sunday, Simba SC will soon do battle with Moroccan titans Wydad Casablanca in the first leg of the CAF Champions League quarterfinals.

Indeed, the encounter is expected to be a genuine battle royal for Simba SC as Wydad Casablanca is the reigning champions of continental football’s top-tier competition.

While Simba SC will be trying to hold their own against the highly touted African champions, Yanga will be locking horns with Rivers United of Nigeria in the first leg of their CAF Confederation Cup quarterfinals, which is merely days away.

Unquestionably, both Simba SC and Yanga have a mountain to climb in the quarterfinals of their respective football tournaments.

One hopes then that both clubs can remember that football giants have been slain many a time in the past and that they are eminently capable of pulling off victories against their much-vaunted opponents.

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