Simba SC Board Chairman Crescentius Magori has revealed that the club is preparing to take their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after expressing dissatisfaction with the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) Players’ Status and Legal Committee’s decision to dismiss their complaint against Yanga player Mohamed Damaro.
Magori also stated that Simba will write to FIFA to challenge the decision to grant Tanzanian citizenship to the player, arguing that it was done solely to allow him to play as a local player despite not qualifying to represent the national team.
He pointed out that last year Simba applied for citizenship for some of their own players, but their requests were never responded to—something he says reflects a lack of fairness in the league.
“Regarding Mohamed Damaro, we sat down and analyzed the matter deeply. It is not right—it's as if one club is using this opportunity to have more foreign players than allowed by the rules.”
“Last year, we also submitted requests to change the nationality of our players, but to this day, we have received no response. If the Tanzanian Premier League is not operating on a level playing field, then it is not fair. That is why we are not only going to CAS but will also write to FIFA.”
“If someone is granted citizenship just to play for a club and not the national team, that is unacceptable. Even after 100 years, Damaro will not be able to play for the national team. Another issue is that if our regulations do not clearly address this, TFF should have applied higher-level rules in making their decision,” he said.
