SIMBA are still hopeful to defend Mapinduzi Cup despite missing the services of Henock Inonga and Moses Phiri who are still nursing injuries.
The two players were not included in the 30-member squad that left on Monday ahead of their Mapinduzi Cup opener against Malindi. The team faces Mlandege at Amaan Stadium in Zanzibar today from 8:15 pm.
The club’s officials assured fans that they will shine again this year after a sparkling performance in their recent Premier League games.
Speaking on Monday in the city, Simba’s team manager Patrick Rweyemamu (pictured) insisted that all players who have been deployed for the tournament are fit to fight for the team’s success.
“We are heading to Zanzibar with a winning mentality bearing the fact that we are defending champions of the contest hence people will be eager to see how we are going to perform. “So far, our preparations have been good though we have left behind some of the regular players like Henock Inonga and Moses Phiri who are nursing injuries as the rest are available for the games,” he said.
He added that they have also included some players from the junior side in order to give them exposure and help their brothers to do well in their lined-up fixtures.
“It is normal to add junior players in these competitions because they provide exposure to them and that is what we usually work on at Simba since we understand that they are future players of this great club,” he said.
Moreover, Rweyemamu highlighted that having a mixture squad will help the coach to have a wide selection option by rotating some of the players ahead of other incoming competitive matches.
Among those who have made the trip is the newly-signed Saidi Ntibazonkiza who netted a hattrick on his debut match for the Reds against Tanzania Prisons at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium on Friday.
He is featuring at the tournament for the second time with different teams after doing so in 2021 when he helped Young Africans to clinch the title after scoring the winning spot-kick versus Simba.
In one of his recent interviews, the Burundian player revealed that it was his dream to play alongside Simba’s creative midfielder Clatous Chama and that he is happy to live it.