Dar es Salaam — YOUNG Africans have been dealt with a major blow after the government refuted claims that it had allowed them to use the ultra-modern National Stadium in Dar es Salaam for their Premier League matches.

Yanga claimed last week that they have been cleared by the government to stage their ongoing League matches at the 60,000-seater arena, following the closure of Uhuru Stadium.

The club said it had met government's conditions to use the facility in their league matches, including paying 5.3m/- before a match and later pay 1.9m/- for Stadium's cleaning cost.

According to Yanga, they were also supposed to pay 10 per cent of the gate collection to the government. But in a dramatic move, the Ministry for Information, Culture, and Sports who run the Stadium informed the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) on Monday that there was no such agreement.

Speaking in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday, TFF Spokesperson Florian Kaijage said, "We received government's letter, informing us that they have not given Yanga the rights to use the National Stadium."

Kaijage confirmed to have received Yanga's letter informing TFF that the club had been permitted to use the state-of-the-art venue, following successful negotiation with the ministry of sports.

However, he said, after seeking government's confirmation, they learned that it had not passed the use of the venue and that Yanga's claim was nothing but a hoax. Kaijage said the federation has therefore given Yanga until Thursday evening to submit the name of the stadium which will host their matches.

"We don't want quarrels with clubs; it is our hope that this will be solved amicably." Fortunately for Yanga, their coming two fixtures are away. They will be visiting AFC of Arusha this Saturday and will be on road to face Mtibwa Sugar at the Jamhuri Stadium in Morogoro on September 18.

When reached for comments Yanga spokesperson Louis Sendeu expressed his shock and disappointment. "I don't know what happened but to be frank the ministry had given us a go ahead to use the stadium. We really don't know what happened. We decide where to go next," he said.

The government closed down the Uhuru Stadium about two weeks ago to pave way for renovation that includes upgrading the spectators' stands. The renovation will last for three months.

It meant that Dar es Salaam based teams - Young Africans, Simba, Azam FC, JKT Ruvu and African Lyon that use the venue for the top flight league matches had to find alternative venues.

Yanga, Simba and Azam FC then asked the government if they could use the National Stadium, and the response was that only five matches could be played during the first round of the premier league.

The negotiations broke up with Simba and Azam opting for Mwanza's CCM Kirumba and Mkwakwani in Tanga as their home grounds respectively. The duo's move prompted Yanga to lobby for the National Stadium hoping that they could seize the opportunity of Simba and Azam's decision to withdrawa.

Yanga are likely to shift their base either to Jamhuri Stadium in Morogoro or Sheik Amri Abeid Memorial Stadium in Arusha.