BREAKING: Steve Barker takes over the reins at Tanzanian giants | OneFootball

Tanzanian giants appoint Barker

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Tanzanian giants Simba SC have announced the appointment of long-serving Stellenbosch FC boss Steve Barker as the club's new head coach.

This comes after The Reds of Msimbazi parted ways with Bulgarian tactician Dimitar Pantev, less than two months into the job due to a string of poor results following his appointment in October.

Pantev had replaced Barker's compatriot Fadlu Davids, who left Simba in favor of a project at Moroccan heavyweights Raja Club Athletic, whom he had previously served as Josef Zinnbauer's assistant coach during the 2023/24 campaign.

Now, the Tanzanian Premier League outfit is set to usher into a new era with Barker at the helm. Notably, Barker's Stellies fell to Simba in the CAF Confederation Cup semi-final last season.

Having tasted continental football for the first time in the previous campaign, the South African tactician has been entrusted with turning the club's continental fortunes around.

Simba sit at the bottom of Group D in the CAF Champions League after losing their opening two matches to Petro de Luanda of Angola and Mali's Stade Malien. Barker's first continental match in charge of his new side will be against Tunisian juggernauts Esperance de Tunis.

Meanwhile, Barker leaves the Cape Winelands outfit in a precarious 14th place in the Betway Premiership - a point clear of the playoff spot and three points of the relegation zone.

The 57-year-old mentor joined Stellenbosch at the beginning of the 2017/18 season and guided the club to their first-ever domestic major title in the form of the Carling Knockout Cup during the 2023/24 term. His contract was set to expire at the end of this ongoing campaign.