Advertisement

Tanzania president hails Simba for reaching African final

football27 April 2025 19:59| © AFP
Share

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan hailed Simba on Sunday after they became the second club from the country in three seasons to reach the CAF Confederation Cup final.

Simba drew 0-0 with Stellenbosch in South African port city Durban and qualified 1-0 on aggregate.

They will tackle Moroccan giants Renaissance Berkane in a two-legged final in May.

Berkane surrendered an 11-match unbeaten record since the start of their African campaign by losing 1-0 at CS Constantine of Algeria, but progressed 4-1 on aggregate.

Two-time Confederation Cup winners Berkane will host the first leg on 17 May with the return match eight days later in Dar es Salaam.

"Heartiest congratulations to Simba for winning the CAF Confederation Cup semifinal, and making history by reaching the final of this competition," said President Hassan.

"You have brought great honour to our country. I wish you all the best. You have my support at all times," she added in a message to a team coached by South African Fadlu Davids.

Simba have reached one previous African final, losing to Stella Abidjan of the Ivory Coast in the 1993 final of the now defunct CAF Cup.

They are following in the footsteps of arch domestic rivals Young Africans, who lost the 2023 Confederation Cup final to USM Alger of Algeria on away goals.

This will be the fifth final appearance by Berkane in the African equivalent of the Uefa Europa League.

The Orange Boys beat Pyramids of Egypt and Orlando Pirates of South Africa in the 2020 and 2022 title deciders, and lost to Egyptian side Zamalek in 2019 and 2024.

Stellenbosch coach Steve Barker said: "I trust that we have made South Africa proud with our efforts to reach this far in our first season in the Confederation Cup.

"So, our journey ends, but I believe it is a start of many others. I cannot fault the commitment of my players. The semifinal could have gone either way."

Stellenbosch had the ball in the net midway through the second half of a cagey clash, but the effort from Genino Palace was disallowed for offside after a VAR review.

The South Africans had to play 1 235 kilometres from their base because Cape Town Stadium was unavailable due to a clash with a United Rugby Championship fixture.

In Constantine, a powerful Abdennour Belhocini header two minutes after halftime gave the home team victory on the night, but they never looked like overcoming the four-goal first-leg deficit.

Advertisement