Tanzanians snatch Chirwa, angle for Callisto Pasuwa

By Robson Sharuko

A RECORD-BREAKING $120 000 deal, which took highly-rated Zambian international forward Obrey Chirwa from FC Platinum to Young Africans, has shaken domestic football and ignited fears Callisto Pasuwa could be tempted to dump the Warriors and move to Tanzania to join giants Simba Sports Club.

The 22-year-old Chirwa signed a two-year deal with Young Africans with reports in the Tanzanian media this week revealing that the Dar-es-Salaam giants, record 24-time winners of their domestic league championship, paid a staggering $120 000 to secure his signature from FC Platinum.

Reports in the Zambian media, though, suggest the transfer fee was $100 000 with $70 000 going into the coffers of the Zvishavane side while Chirwa received $30 000 for this year and is set to receive a further $50 000 in his second year at Young Africans.

His salary is reported to be around $7 000 a month while he also got a two bedroom apartment in an upmarket suburb of Dar-es-Salaam.

FC Platinum spokesperson, Chido Chizondo, though could only confirm that Chirwa had moved to Young Africans saying she wasn’t privy to the financial details of the transfer.

“Those figures you are talking about are coming from Tanzania and not us and I’m not in a position right now to advise you on how much was involved in the transfer save just to confirm that it’s true that Obrey has left us and is now a player for Young Africans,” said Chizondo.

The club’s official Facebook page also confirmed that Chirwa, whose image completing his deal was splashed in the Zambian media this week, had moved on “a permanent basis.”

The Tanzania Daily News said Young Africans paid $120 000 for Chirwa’s signature.

“Yanga (Young Africans) are said to have paid 120 000 US dollars to sign the striker Chirwa who joins Hassan Ramadhan Kessy, Vincent Andrew, Juma Mahadzi and Beno Kakokuya in the list of players that the club has signed to strengthen its squad,” the newspaper said.

Chirwa is the third player to join Young Africans from FC Platinum after the Tanzanian giants signed rangy forward Donald “Dombo” Ngoma, who has made a huge impression at the club with his flurry of goals, and combative midfielder Thabani Kamusoko.

Another FC Platinum forward, Walter Musona, is also expected to leave for Tanzania next week to seal a deal to join Young Africans who have been flexing their financial muscle.

The club have a Dutch coach, Hans van der Pluijm, and six foreign players drawn from Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Togo and Niger in a league where seven non-Tanzanian players can be registered by a team.

Chirwa has already been registered by Young Africans for their CAF Confederation Cup campaign where the Tanzanians are in the group stages and started their campaign, in the last eight, with a 0-1 loss to Algerian side MO Bejaia last weekend.

Young Africans have been camped in Turkey for the past two weeks with Chirwa joining them at their training camp in Europe and they are expected to fly home ahead of next week’s CAF Confederation Cup tie against Congolese giants TP Mazembe in Dar-es-Salaam.

That Young Africans can afford a two-week camp in Europe shows the club’s financial muscle and how football is changing in Tanzania with the country’s leading teams now having the power to bring in foreign players and coaches from all over the continent.

Their bitter rivals, Simba SC, have also been making moves and a delegation from the club is expected next week, for a second attempt to try and lure Warriors coach Pasuwa to leave his post with the senior national team and become their substantive coach. The Tanzanian representatives held preliminary talks with Pasuwa’s management team recently and a second round of talks are expected to take place next week.

“They are coming for Pasuwa again because they believe he is the best man for the job and they are even coming with an improved offer to try and tempt him to join them,” sources told The Herald yesterday.

“The improved offer will see them dangling a salary of between $15 000 and $20 000 per month for Pasuwa, a fully paid for four-bedroom apartment, brand new car and his children can also expect to have all their education, at private schools, paid for by the club.

“It’s a tempting offer and they believe that this time the package will be too much for Pasuwa to resist.”

Should Simba SC fail to land Pasuwa, they have lined up Ghanaian coach Sellas Tetteh, who won the FIFA Under-20 World Cup with his country’s youth side, and is currently the caretaker coach of the Sierra Leone national football team.

“You can see the quality of the coaches that these guys are interested in that this is not Mickey Mouse stuff, that they mean serious business, and that is why there are real fears that Pasuwa could be tempted by what they are offering,” said the sources.

Currently, Simba SC are under the guidance of Ugandan coach Jackson Manyanja. They have invested heavily in foreigners, who include Zimbabwean midfielder Justice Majabvi, and players from Cote d’Ivoire, Burundi and Uganda.

Simba are reported to be targeting six Tanzanian players, with four having already confirmed their move, while the foreign cast could include TP Mazembe defender Janvier Besala Bokungu of the DRC and Cote d’Ivoire forward, Blagnon Frederick, of Africa Sports. The Herald