This development has forced the club management, led by Dan Shikanda, to step up the search for a coach with Zahera coming up as the candidate. There has been contact between representatives of the coach and the club,” a source close to Leopards told
Goal on Sunday.
“But no agreement as yet. Mwinyi will be interested in listening to what they have to offer. Leopards are a sleeping giant who needs an African coach with continental experience that can steer them to glory,” he concluded.
Based in Paris, Zahera boasts the experience of East African football. He has handled Tanzania s Yanga SC in the past. He led the team to two consecutive second-placed finishes in the Tanzania Mainland League and a place in the group stage of the Caf Confederation Cup.
Their opponents were in Group C, and after a 1-0 loss to Yanga, they defeated Jamhuri 2-0 to qualify as the best losers since the Jangwani Street-based charges finished top of the group.
In Monday s semi-final, Namungo were aiming at avenging the 2-1 loss suffered against Simba in the 2019/20 FA Cup final.
Things did not go as planned for Namungo as Wekundu wa Msimbazi scored their first goal after just seven minutes. A long ball was played and the goalkeeper came a long way to try and play it out to safety.
However, the custodian failed to communicate the same to his defender Abdul Humud. The latter headed to his goalkeeper who was already out of position and Kagere capitalised on it to direct the ball into an empty net.
The Sugar Millers came into the match hoping to get a win over the Tanzanian heavyweights after a slim 1-0 win over Chipukizi of Zanzibar.
The Msimbazi-based charges had also defeated the same opponent 3-1, meaning Saturday s winner was to qualify for the semi-final of the annual competition.
With last season s shock loss in mind, Simba ensured they started the game on a high and limited their opponents from getting in the danger zones or creating meaningful chances.
At the same time, the 21-time Tanzania Mainland League champions used every opportunity to try and get in scoring positions. It paid dividends after just six minutes.
The game will be played at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Sumbawanga.
Prisons finished the first round of matches with 21 points which came from the 17 games played. As a result, they are placed in the 11th position with five wins, six draws and as many losses. They managed to score 10 goals and conceded 11 to finish with a goal difference of negative one.
They will be up against the 27-time league champions who are the most in-form team in the Tanzania Mainland League.
Timu ya Wananchi managed to collect 43 points from the 17 games played in the first round.
They are the only unbeaten team in the Tanzanian top tier after collecting 13 wins and four draws.