Squad trimming fever grips clubs

AS teams are busy reinvigorating their squads ahead of the seemingly spectacular 2023/24 season, the word thank you has become a common theme to clubs in giving farewell to players or technical bench members who depart.

Offloading players or technical members at the end of the season is not new; it happens worldwide, bearing in mind that each club makes plans and goals season after season.

The offloading and loading of new players are necessary for the transformation of a club; it becomes a chance for fresh blood to be injected into the team and see how they can withstand the club’s needs.

Recruiting a player is similar to gambling, which is true because a player can perform well or endure a challenging period at the club.

So far, Azam FC are on top of the list to offload players. They axed five players.

They are Ismail Aziz, Cleophace Mkandala, Rodgers Kola, Kenneth Muguna, and Bruce Kangwa, eligible to join any team that demands their services.

For Simba, three players have departed. Those players include Mohamed Ouattara, Victor Akpan, and Augustine Okra.

The trio, however, could not enjoy much playing time in the ended season, which saw the Msimbazi Street Reds finishing runners and worse still, they could not succeed in winning any of the titles they competed for.

On the other hand, defending champions Young Africans have offloaded two players, Tuisila Kisinda and Dickson Ambundo, as they also restructure their squad before the commencement of the next season.

For Kisinda, he has made a record of playing in two consecutive CAF Confederation Cup finals with two different clubs after winning it with Berkane in the 2021/22 season before reaching in the finale last season with Yanga.

Similarly, the Tanga-based Coastal Union released three players: Mohamed Mrouille, Emery Nimubona, and Joseph Zziwa.