Ngoma: Azam FC release Zimbabwean striker after contract ends

Azam FC have confirmed striker Donald Ngoma has left the club after his short-term contract ended on June 14.

The Zimbabwean player 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 the contract which has run down.

Azam have confirmed the exit of the player, who helped them to win two trophies – Mapinduzi Cup and Azam Sports (domestic Cup) – last season.

“We can officially confirm Donald [Ngoma] has left Azam after his contract came to an end on June 14,” the club confirmed in a statement seen by Goal.

“We want to thank him for his services and especially for helping the club to clinch two trophies last season and also want thank him for being a dedicated player, who led by a good example during his stay here.”

For the period he played for Azam, Ngoma was the club’s main striker and managed to score 14 goals in all competitions last season to become the club’s top scorer in that period.

Ngoma managed to play a total of 42 matches for Azam in all competitions, notching 20 goals in the process with four assists.

Goal understands the fate of the striker was sealed by head coach Aristica Cioaba, who gave the green light for the player to leave at the end of his contract.

Ngoma was among the seven foreign players in the Azam squad but was yet to report to Tanzania owing to the lockdown being experienced in Zimbabwe.

Last week, Azam managed to secure the services of their Uganda defender Nicolas Wadada ahead of the Mainland Premier League which resumed on Saturday.

Wadada had relocated to his native Uganda and with the country still serving the lockdown occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic, getting the player back to Dar es Saalam was not an easy task.

Azam’s other foreign players include the Ghanaian trio of Razak Abalora, Dan Amoa and Yakubu Mohamed, and two players in Zimbabwe - Never Tigere, and Bruce Kangwa.

In a recent interview, coach Cioba confessed the absence of the players from his squad will greatly affect the team’s performances when the league resumes.

Azam, who are second on the league table behind leaders Simba SC, are also in the quarter-finals of the domestic Cup.