Clatous Chama’s acrobatic volley against Young Africans SC has gone viral on social media, with many calling for a FIFA Puskas Award nomination. The Zambian midfielder put on a clinic for Simba SC in their 2-2 draw with Young Africans, chalking up a goal and an assist during the NBC Premier League encounter on Sunday.
Going into the Kariakoo derby, Young Africans, alias Yanga, held a five-point lead over rivals Simba in Tanzania, with the latter needing a win to narrow the gap in the title race.
Simba’s afternoon got off to a perfect start when they nicked the ball from Yanga on the halfway line and countered with Chama leading the transition. The Chipolopolo playmaker then played a delightful defence-splitting pass to Libase Gueye, who fired past the goalkeeper with his left foot just three minutes in.
Chama’s moment of magic came in the 10th minute. He threaded a pass to Elie Mpanzu just outside the box before making a run into the penalty area. Mpanzu then lobbed the ball towards Chama. With the ball slightly behind him, the Zambian improvised, acrobatically volleying it into the back of the net with the outside of his right foot.
Yanga restored parity with two close-range finishes from Prince Dube and Bakari Mwamnyeto in the 17th and 50th minutes, respectively.
While Simba will be disappointed with missing out on what would have been a momentous win, Chama’s Man of the Match performance and FIFA Puskas Award-contending goal gave them a moment to savour.
The FIFA Puskas Award is an accolade given by the world’s governing body since 2009 to the player who scored the best goal of the calendar year in national team or club competitions worldwide. It is named after Hungary and Real Madrid legend Ferenc Puskás.
X users call FIFA to recognize Chama’s goal
Fans on X, formerly Twitter, have called for Chama’s goal to be nominated for the FIFA Puskas Award.
Nebulagoals asserted, “Puskas could go to Tanzania! Clatous Chama scored an incredible goal”, while DaimuManafi commented, “We should push this goal to Puskas Award!!”
“Imagine scoring a Puskás-worthy goal in the biggest game of the season against your biggest rivals in the derby. Clatous Chama…”, ahoworth97 wrote.
BracuszCadabra said, “Clatous Chota Chama for Puskas Award. Who says NO? As per various platforms in the world this goal should be nominated for Puskas this year. Tanzania football would be proud if it’ll happen. Personally I totally agree,How about you.”
“This time, the Puskas Award nominee is from the Tanzanian league,” Savheya_Happie posted.
PanAfricaFooty added, “After scoring this Puskas worthy goal for Simba SC against Yanga SC, Clatous Chama became the oldest ever player to score in the Kariakoo Derby at the age of 34 years.”
For the FIFA Puskas Award, FIFA selects eleven goals and the winner is decided through a combined voting from fans and a panel of experts.
Notable winners of the award include Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar Jr., Zlatan Ibrahimovic, James Rodriguez, and Heung Min Son. Mohamed Salah is the only African player to claim the prize with his curler vs. Everton in 2017-18.
The closest an African player plying their trade within the continent has come to winning the award is South African goalkeeper Oscarine Masuluke in 2017. He finished second to Arsenal FC striker Olivier Giroud after scoring a last-minute bicycle kick goal for Baroka FC against Orlando Pirates in the South African Premier Division in November 2016.
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