At least 12 football referees have been dropped from the list of officials who will handle the Zanzibar Grand Malt Premier League matches after failing the referees test.
The Zanzibar league is set to kick off on September 1 and will be preceded by a Community Shield match to pit Isles Champions KMKM and second placed Chuoni. Referee Instructor Ali Juma David said that a total of 38 referees from both Zanzibar and Pemba were involved in the test held here on Tuesday and conducted by him and Leslie Liunda.
He said the referees will also not be listed in the First and Second Division national leagues. He challenged referees who have failed the test to prepare for next season’s test. Meanwhile, KMKM have signed former Mtibwa, Yanga and Azam FC midfielder Abdi Kassim ‘Babi’ on a free transfer.
‘Babi’ was dropped by ‘Ice Cream makers’ at the end of last season’s Mainland Premier League. This was confirmed here yesterday by KMKM Secretary General Sheha Mohammed Haji. He said Kassim, who also featured for Taifa Stars with distinctions, has signed a one-year deal and has joined the rest in the squad for the pre-season matches.
In another development, the Zanzibar Football Association (ZFA) Executive Committee is set to meet on Saturday to deliberate on objections submitted by Polisi and Chuoni, all claiming to have the rights of Juma Mohammed Juma ‘Filipo’ signature.
Juma featured for Chuoni last season, in which he emerged the league’s top scorer but it was reported that he has signed for Polisi ahead of next season’s league. Chuoni insist that Juma still has a valid contract with them.
By MWAJUMA JUMA, Tanzania Daily News
