By Sikhumbuzo Moyo
While the Tanzanian Vodacom Premier League resumed this past weekend, second-placed Azam left-back Bruce Kangwa remains locked down in Zimbabwe as there are no flights from the country due to the Covid-19 lockdown.
The former Highlanders defender arrived in the country soon after announcement of the cancellation of games in Tanzania in March and has been at his home in Cowdray Park suburb in Bulawayo ever since.
He has been vital in the Azam dressing room playing all games until the suspension of the games.
“I am still locked up here at home because I couldn’t get any flights to Tanzania and I have no option. I am however keeping fit by doing training on my own,” said the soft spoken Kangwa.
He said his team’s prospects in the league are now in the hands of God.
“Only God knows what will happen,” he said.
Azam last won the league title in 2014.
They are 15 points behind leaders and defending champions Simba Stars with nine games left.
They registered a 2-0 win over struggling Mbao last weekend while Simba were held to a one-all draw by Ruvu Shooting who are 11th on the league table.
To avoid any further spike of the virus, the TFF and government undertook stringent precautions and health protocols for all the matches.
Fans were asked to sit at least one metre apart and everyone had their body temperature taken before entering the stadium.
At the same time sanitizers and running water was availed at all entry points to ensure high levels of hygiene.
The players also had their temperatures taken before entering the match venue while substitutes had to observe strict social distancing guidelines on the bench and wore their face masks.
Several African countries cancelled their domestic football leagues due to the pandemic while others like Zimbabwe, whose season was set to begin in March, were forced to postpone the start, with games tentatively set to get underway in late August or early September.
Burundi was the only African country to continue with its football season despite the threat of the pandemic.Meanwhile, another Zimbabwean player in the Azam books, Donald Ngoma is reported to have left the club following the expiry of his contract last Sunday.
Ngoma signed for the “Ice Cream Makers” from Young Africans (Yanga SC) two season ago but the two parties have now reached an agreement not to renew his contract. The Chronicle
