When it was announced that Azam Football Club was investing in a new ‘Coach,’ some people thought it was a ‘Soccer Instructor.’ Except it turned out to be actually a Bus. A very expensive one at that.
The team has just ordered a giant luxury bus. This new ‘coach’ was already burning keyboards on social media, weeks before event arriving in Tanzania.
It seems Azam Football Club, also known as ‘Chamazi Millionaires’ has decided to live up to this title by ordering what is now described to be the ‘Most expensive bus;’ in East Africa.
The team’s new ride comes in the form of a ten-wheeler, state-of-the art, ‘Iriza i6s Plus’ full-range Coach. The type of carriages used by wealthy football teams in England.
The Irizar machine Essentially a luxury bus, it is equipped with all creature comforts. The vehicle was outfitted in Pretoria, South Africa. It is the second bus to be owned by Azam FC.
Fully branded with team’s colors and logos, the Azam FC coach is built onto a rear-engine mounted, Mercedes Benz chassis.
It is also the longest, according to Reinold Dames of Irizar, in Pretoria. Apparently the Blue coach stretches at 14.5 meters from front to rear bumpers.
Ordinary buses in Tanzania measure a maximum of 12.5 meters, sometimes slightly longer at 13 meters.
Dames says the bus is fully equipped with toilet facilities, refrigerators, personal TV screens, reclining seats as well as being road-noise proof.
But Luxury buses come at a price; not just the bank shaking bills that exchange hands when purchasing the mashines, but also from less stellar practicality couped with limited aerodynamics.
In order to counterbalance the rear-mounted engine bay, the bus’ elongated approach angle, common among coaches in developed countries, isn’t going to serve the vehicle any justice when it comes to tackling bumpy roads or steeper hills.
Azam Football Club is a professional soccer team camping at Chamazi, in the Temeke District of Dar Es Salaam City.
The team competes in the Tanzanian Premier League, which is the country’s top football flight.
Owned by Tanzanian tycoon Salim Bakhresa, Azam was founded as Mzizima Football Club back in 2004.
Mzizima changed its name to Azam Sports Club in 2005, then Azam Football Club in 2006 and moved to its current stadium, the Azam Complex of Chamazi, in 2010.
The team boasts 9 trophies; one Premier League, a record 5 Mapinduzi Cup, two Kagame Cup, one Azam Sports Federation Cup and one Community Shield.
During the 2013–14 season, Azam FC won the league unbeaten, and by doing so, the club became only the second (after Simba SC 2009/10) to win the league without losing a single game.
Azam FC is among the widely supported football clubs in Tanzania, ranking alongside Yanga, Simba, Mtibwa Sugar and African Lyon football clubs.
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