The coach had to manoeuvre his way through Europe in order to join the players ahead of Tanzanian league resumption
Azam FC head coach Aristica Cioaba has explained how difficult it was for him to travel from Romania to Tanzania.
Cioaba had to beat various travel restrictions put in place by different countries to contain the spread of coronavirus. The coach says he had to travel inside a truck for over 23 hours from his home to Frankfurt, where he took a flight to Ethiopia.
Cioaba had been away and had to join his Azam players in order to prepare for the Mainland Premier League resumption as well as the defence of the FA Cup trophy.
He had to manoeuvre his way across Romania, Hungary, Austria, and finally Germany before catching his first flight.
“I am very happy to be back for the job I love and to see the players and staff members in good condition despite this very difficult situation,” Cioaba told Azam’s Youtube channel.
“It is very difficult to travel in my country because flights have not resumed but in the last week travelling by means of cars was allowed. I used 23 hours to travel from Romania to Hungary and another eight hours from Hungary to Austria.
“I used another eight hours from Hungary to Germany but I love the job and that is why I am ready to sacrifice in order to come and continue with our plans.
“I travelled inside a truck and were stopped at various immigration points in Austria and Hungary before I reached Frankfurt where I boarded an Ethiopian Airline.
“We were only 10 people inside the plane and five hundred seats were not occupied.
“I stayed for five hours before taking a connecting flight but I was lucky that I was among 12 people who were allowed to travel to Tanzania. Thanks to God.”
The coach also expressed his delight for President John Magufuli’s directive to allow the resumption of sports activities as well as Azam’s management for sticking with players during the Covid-19 outbreak.
“I am also thankful to the president [John Pombe Magufuli] for allowing people to travel to the country as well as giving football teams a chance to train again and play the remaining matches. This is life for us,” Cioaba added.
“The management of the club has also been good because it stood with everyone in the last months and I am happy about it.
“The two months have been very difficultly for us because football is our life where we live together with the players and enjoy seeing our fans but it has not been the case across that period.”
Azam will face Mbao FC in their first match back on July 14 when the league resumes.
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