By Sylivery Manyama – Art in Tanzania Internship Programs
Tanzania is one of the countries with the most talented young people, especially in the game of football. In East African countries, the most influential football league is the Tanzanian Premier League, also known as the Vodacom Premier League. The oldest clubs in Tanzania, and the ones that are doing well, are Simba and Yanga. Many players dream of playing for those clubs rather than overseas.
Tanzanian football philosophy aims to have players who are hungry for success, teachable and willing to learn. Most of our players are satisfied quickly with little success in our football. Many are satisfied when they are selected to play on a big team like Simba and Yanga and are not coached. Many players are not ready to learn and feel that they know the game, forgetting that football is a science that evolves every day.
The dream of many players in Tanzania is to play football abroad; for example, some players have successfully played football overseas, such as Mbwana Samata at Fenerbahçe, Himidi Mao, and Saimon Msuva at Wydad Casablanca, among many others. Playing football abroad requires patience and dedication from the players. Many of them have been failing due to various reasons. Examples of players who failed to succeed abroad are Mrisho Ngassa, Farid Mussa, Abdallah Shaibu, and many others who returned to play in the domestic league.
Mbwana Samatta
Mbwana Ally Samatta (born 23 December 1992) is a Tanzanian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Turkish club Fenerbahçe on loan from Premier League Aston Villa. He also played in the Belgian league for Genk. Before playing at Genk, he was a player of TP Mazembe from Congo. He started his career at Simba Sports Club.
Simon Msuva (born 3 December 1993) is a Tanzanian professional football player who plays for Wydad Casablanca and the Tanzanian national football Team. He also played as a winger in the Al Jadida team from Morocco before shifting to Whydad. Msuva was a top scorer of the Vodacom Tanzania Mainland Premier League for the 2014-2015 season at Yanga Football Club.
Himid Mao Mkami (born 5 November 1992) is a Tanzanian footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for ENPPI SC. He was a player of the Azam Sports Club
The challenges facing players to achieve their dreams of playing overseas
• Cultural diversity. Many players have found themselves unable to play outside due to the nature of the practice and the differing environments at home and abroad.
• Language problem. Many players have been challenged to learn the languages used overseas, which has led to unhappiness and misunderstanding by coaches, ultimately resulting in a return.
• The problem of football agents in Tanzania. Many players do not have official agents to manage them, which leads to many players managing themselves. Thus leading players to enter into bad contracts and fail to protect their interests.
• poor preparation of players from an early age. Many Tanzanian players lack the fundamentals of football, which makes it difficult for them to play football abroad due to the lack of proper football foundations from an early age.
Despite this, to have more players over the sea, we need to have more registered agents to help players go and play abroad through those agents, as well as believing in young blood and looking for teams to play abroad as most Tanzanian players go abroad at an older age lead to play for a short period.
