Karonga United star joins Yanga, risks ban
with Yanga
Attacking midfielder Crispin Mhangama risks a Fifa ban after joining Tanzanian giants Young Africans (Yanga) despite having a running contract with TNM Super League side Karonga United.
Mhangama went missing at Karonga towards the end of last season’s second round, only to resurface at Tanzania Premier League side Mbeya Kwanza.
He has now moved to Yanga at an undisclosed fee and was unveiled recently as Crispin Ngushi.
On Tuesday at 10:29pm, Yanga posted pictures of Mhangama signing his contract on their Facebook page with a text reading: “Chrispin Ngushi is now green and yellow.”
Karonga have since reported the matter to Football Association of Malawi (Fam) for further action.
The lakeshore club’s general secretary Ramsey Simwaka said they have every reason to complain as Mhangama was still in their books.
“We have indeed taken the matter to Fam. The player has a running contract with us and we were surprised to hear that he had joined Mbeya Kwanza. We are now even further surprised with reports that he has moved to another club,” Simwaka said.
Mhangama is reported to have one-and-a-half years remaining on his contract with Karonga.
Fam Compliance Manager Casper Jangale, who is also responsible for transfers, was yet to respond to our questionnaire on the matter yesterday.
Jangale is in Cameroon with the Malawi National Football Team for the Africa Cup of Nations finals, which kick off on Sunday.
Football consultant Kelvin Moyo described the situation as tricky for both Karonga and the player.
“It is an issue to do with paperwork. Let Karonga produce evidence that the player signed a contract. Again, I think Yanga signed him as a Tanzanian because reports suggest that one of his parents is from there,” Moyo said.
This is the second time in recent times for a player from Malawi to join a Tanzanian club without the blessings of his parent club.
Midfielder Aziz Mwakifuna was the first to make such a move by signing for Mbeya City despite having a three-year contract with Nyasa Big Bullets.
However, Mwakifuna is still playing for the Tanzanian club without any sanctions.
The two players could be slapped with punishment similar to Malawian player Chawanangwa Kaonga’s six-month ban after it was established that he had joined South African National First Division side TS Sporting despite having a running contract with Mozambique’s Costa do Sol.
Yanga are based in Jangwani, Dar es Salaam, and their page claims that they are arguably the oldest and greatest soccer team in East Africa.
