Azam FC reveal why they sacked coach Cioaba

Azam FC have confirmed the reason why they sacked coach Aristica Cioaba after only 12 matches played in the Mainland Premier League.

The Romanian tactician was shown the exit door after the Chamazi-based giants suffered a 1-0 defeat against Young Africans (Yanga SC), a result that saw them relinquish the top spot in the 18-team league table.

Prior to losing to Yanga, Azam had also suffered a 1-0 defeat against KMC and according to club’s information officer Thabit Zakaria, the two parties agreed to part ways due to poor performance, and that assistant coach Bahati Vivier will be in charge until further notice.

“As you know, we began the season on the front pedal winning seven straight games but from the eighth game to the twelfth one, things made a U-turn to the extent that the fighting spirit from players was nowhere to be seen,” Zakaria is quoted by Daily News.

"The board saw this as a threat towards our mission of clinching the title this season hence decided to part ways with the coach and has since wished him all the best.”

Zakaria maintained that, despite their fans feeling the coach should have been given more time to handle the team, the board felt otherwise.

Meanwhile, Zakaria has also denied rumours linking former Simba coach Patrick Aussems and Yanga coach Mwinyi Zahera as possible candidates to seize control of the team while insisting coach Vivier will be in control of the situation for the time being.

On sacking Cioaba, Azam stated in a statement: “As Azam FC, we would like to notice our fans and football family at large that we have parted ways with head coach Aristica Cioaba on mutual consent.

“As it stands, assistant coach Bahati Vivier, from Burundi, will now be in charge of the team on an interim basis until we announce otherwise.

“We take this opportunity to thank Cioaba and Costel for their contribution to the team in the entire period they were with the team and we wish them the best in their future endeavours.”

Out of 50 matches that Cioaba handled after joining the team in 2019, he managed to get 28 wins, 11 defeats, and 11 draws.