Young Africans coach Romain Folz responds to critics ahead of Mbeya City clash

Young Africans head coach Romain Folz has remained focused to deliver their second victory of the season when they take on Mbeya City in a Tanzanian Premier League fixture at Sokoine Stadium in Mbeya on Tuesday.

The reigning champions will go into the matchday two fixture seeking to make two wins out of two after starting their 2025-26 campaign with a 3-0 victory against Pamba Jiji.

“The game of tomorrow (Tuesday), just like any other game we approach, we are looking to give a good performance, and most importantly we are looking to get a positive result like we always intend to do,” Folz told Pan-Africa Football.

“It is an away game, it is never easy, there is no easy game, so we are going to try and approach the game the best way possible, we are going to give a good performance and we hope to win it for our fans, whether we are home or away, three points is very important and we can hopefully hope for that, and we are looking forward to it.”

He added; “The quality of any team that is prepared tactically, is to be able to adapt to any scenarios, we have different cards that we can bring on the table depending on the context, and the element that you find, the pitch being one of them, so we will do what we need to do to adapt to the conditions.”

‘Everyone is allowed to have his opinion’

Responding to criticism from a section of Yanga fans, who say he is not the right man to handle the team, Folz said: “Everyone is entitled, and allowed to have an opinion, I have zero problem with that.

“Everyone is allowed to have his opinion, and to express his opinion, my perspective is very simple, it is the second league game, we still have a long season, and I am preparing the team to go far in the competition they didn’t go far in the past, it is great to go all the way in national competitions, that is what we do, and aim to do.”

The former Mamelodi Sundowns coach, added: “But we have room for improvement in other competitions, and that is why I am preparing the team, you will see some changes here and there, I know why I am making those changes, I know where I want the team to go, and I will bring the team to that point.”

Folz concluded: “So, I think we can all talk in a few months and see where we are, and maybe a few people that are having negative comments, (but I don’t have any problem with that), can talk differently when we reach the point I am focusing to take the team.”

Yanga are currently sitting sixth on the 16-team table with three points.

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