FROM THE ‘MADMAN’S HEAD’ TO ASTON VILLA, TANZANIAN FOOTBALL HAS ARRIVED AT GLOBAL SCENE

Muhidin Shangwe

@ShangweliBeria

For years, Tanzanian football was so bad that the country’s former President Ali Hassan Mwinyi likened the national team to a madman’s head. The legend has it that before they became proven professionals, amateur barbers would take their turns on a ‘madman’s head’ to learn the trade! National and club teams across the continent would use Tanzania, for instance, to practice their new formations, perfect their passing skills and still hammer the football-loving nation by ridiculous margins.

But things are changing. Fast.

Last year, Tanzania qualified for the African Cup of Nations in Egypt for the first time since 1980. They were thrown out of the competition in the group stage but for many fans a mere appearance in the competition was enough. In the same year, Tanzania’s Simba Sports Club reached the quarter finals of the CAF Champions League. It was a year of football ecstasy for the country.

As 2019 came to an end, 2020 looked promising and it has already delivered. Mbwana Samatta, the national team’s skipper, became the first Tanzanian player ever to join the lucrative English Premier League when he signed for Aston Villaon 20 January 2020. The announcement was done in style too. A photo of Samatta beaming with a smile, holding an Aston Villa shirt was accompanied with a hashtag#KaribuSamatta.

The Aston Villa hierarchy and club fans will probably never understand what this move means to Tanzania, a country known for its natural beauty. Indeed it will be difficult to make them understand, at least for now.

Before penning down a four-and-a-half-year deal with the English side, the 27-year old had spent three years with the Belgian side KRC Genk. He helped them win the league in the 2018-2019 season where he was the league’s top scorer.

His arrival in the world’s best league marks a new era of Tanzanian football. Gone are the days of Tanzanian pessimism. The kids playing football in the streets of Dar es Salaam or Sumbawanga can dream of making it to elite football. Samatta had already inspired lots of young talents in his country when he won the CAF Champions League in 2015 with TP Mazembe, the first to do so in his country. In the same year, he won Africa’s Best Player Award for players plying their trade in the continent.

When he signed for Genk in 2016, it seemed to some that was the final twist in the Mbagala-born striker’s beautiful career. But nothing would stand in his way. He had much bigger dreams. He kept his head down, did not get carried away, and gave everything to the game. That professionalism and dedication is now coming to fruition.

The English Premier League is revered for its unpredictability, fierce competition, and, of course, money. Its worldwide attraction is unmatched. Samatta left the Belgian champions who played in this season’s prestigious UEFA Champions League for a club in a relegation battle fighting to stay in the Premier League. He knows very well he will never feature in the competition with Villa. His only chance of returning to Europe’s elite competition is if a big club comes knocking and buy him. Despite all this, his move to the English side has been celebrated and is widely seen as a feat in itself. Such is the charm of the Premier League. Infectious.

Many Tanzania would have liked to see Samatta play for the league’s big clubs such as Arsenal and Manchester United, the two with most followers in the country. But they have enthusiastically embraced Aston Villa for signing their captain. I have not been keeping tabs on social media but the Birmingham club must have seen growing numbers of new followers in its social media accounts this week. There is no award in guessing where they come from.

The English Premier League is also famous for its cosmopolitanism and Samatta’s arrival is the latest addition to that. Take an example of Arsenal. The London club played city rivals Chelsea on Tuesday night this week and fielded only one English player in their starting XI. Ivory Coast, Brazil, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and Uruguay were all represented. Needless to say the North London club’s majority shareholder is an American, whereas Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote has expressed intention to buy the club. Such is the allure of modern football.

Tanzanians are now waiting to see their very own Samatta feature for the Villa side sooner than later. It will be a momentous appearance that will put Villa in a special place in the hearts of the football-mad land of Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar and Serengeti.