By Our
Correspondent, MBEYA Tanzania
Tanzania mainland Premier League giants Simba Sports Club have retained the title despite a 0-0 draw against Tanzania Prisons.
Simba needed just a point to ensure they kept the league
title and their performance at Sokoine Stadium in Mbeya city gave them just
that even though the hosts gave an equally brave fight to keep the champions at
bay.
An additional eight minutes did not frustrate Simba S.C
in ensuring they went back to Dar
es Salaam city as champions again.
The draw means Simba collected four points at Sokoine Stadium
after their previous encounter against Mbeya City which they won to close in on
their 21st league title.
It is the first league title for Coach Sven Vandenbroeck who
arrived in December 2019 to take charge of the second most successful Tanzanian
club.
The 2019/20 successful league outing will also mean Simba have maintained
their slot in the CAF Champions league competition.
Vandenbroeck will be expected to perform better than his
predecessor Patrick Aussems who got knocked out from the preliminary stage by
UD Songo of Mozambique in Dar es Salaam.
The league victory underlines Simba and Yanga's dominance in the
Tanzanian competition in the last decade. The two arch-rivals and Azam FC in
one attempt, have bagged the title alone.
Yanga have won the league five times while Simba
S. C had clinched it four times in the last
10 seasons.
Simba's three successful consecutive campaigns, in the 2017/18,
2018/19 and in the 2019/20 seasons has matched Yanga's record achieved in the
2014/15, 2015/16 and 2016/17 seasons.
The Mbeya record, however, is not the best that the club has
achieved as it managed to defend the title in five consecutive seasons from
1976 to 1980.
In 2001 to 2004, the Simba S. C bagged the title in four
uninterrupted campaigns as the Msimbazi street-side started what became another
successful decade in their history.
It is the second time Simba have been champions in three
straight campaigns as the same fete was achieved from 1993 to 1995.
They won the inaugural Premier League title, then known as Sunderland, in 1965 and 1966. - Africa
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