Simba SC have announced plans to take their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after expressing dissatisfaction with the decision by the Tanzania Football Federation’s Players’ Status and Legal Committee to dismiss their complaint against Yanga player Mohamed Damaro.
The move was confirmed by Simba’s Board Chairman, Crescentius Magori, who stated that the club conducted a thorough review and found flaws in the decision made by the relevant authorities.
Magori added that, in addition to approaching CAS, Simba also plans to write to FIFA to challenge the decision to grant Tanzanian citizenship to the player, arguing that he does not qualify to represent the national team.
He explained that the issue raises concerns about fairness in the application of football regulations in the country, claiming it could give one club an unfair advantage by allowing them to field more foreign players than permitted.
“Regarding Mohamed Damaro, we carefully analyzed the matter and found that it is not right. It appears as if one club is using this opportunity to have more foreign players than allowed by the rules,” said Magori.
He also noted that last year Simba submitted applications to change the nationality of some of their players, but those requests have not been responded to, which he says indicates a lack of a level playing field for all clubs.
“Last year we also wrote letters requesting nationality changes for our players, but to this day we have received no response. A league without equal balance is not acceptable,” he emphasized.
Magori further argued that it is not appropriate for a player to be granted citizenship solely to play for a club without being eligible to represent the national team.
“If someone is granted citizenship just to play for a club and not the national team, that is not acceptable. Even after 100 years, Damaro will not be able to play for the national team,” he said.
