By The EastAfrican

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East African football fans were celebrating the recent signing of Tanzanian footballer Mbwana Samatta, 27, by English Premier League club Aston Villa from KRC Genk Club of Belgium. His 23 goals last season helped Genk claim the Belgian league.

It may have come as a surprise to many, but to those following the country’s football development, Satta’s achievement is well deserved.

This is illustrated by the achievements of Tanzanian football teams both nationally and internationally.

The Dar es Salaam derby between Simba SC and Young Africans (Yanga)—the country’s top clubs—has over the years become something of a marvel, attracting large crowds, with the last game played on January 4 attended by an estimated 60,000 fans at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam.

This is no coincidence.

Tanzania is passionate about the sport and its football development programmes are far ahead of those in the region.

The Tanzanian Under-16 national team, started 2020 off by representing the country in the U-16 Aegean Cup in Turkey this past week. They played four matches, won two, drew one and lost one. This is a great achievement for a team that is little known in the football world and playing against some countries that take youth football very seriously.

Ireland’s Under-16 head coach Paul Osam said, “Tanzanians have really impressed. Not much was known about them so it was down to us to figure out their style and play our game to get the win.”

The U-16 Aegean Cup attracted eight teams from Ireland, Kosovo, Tanzania, Ukraine, Albania, Macedonia, South Korea and host Turkey.

The eight youth teams were drawn into two groups with Tanzania in group A alongside the hosts Turkey, Ireland and Kosovo. In pool B, Ukraine was drawn alongside Albania, Macedonia and South Korea.

In the opening match, Tanzania lost to Ireland, while the second group match saw Tanzania beat Kosovo four goals to two.

In their final group match, Tanzania held the hosts to a two-all draw, a match they felt they could have won.

The team was boosted by the presence of three players who won the 2019 Under-16 Copa Coca-Cola tournament held in Nairobi, Kenya in December 2019.

Five players, still pumped from the win in Nairobi, were picked by the national team and underwent further training and three of them made it to the squad that travelled to Turkey for the one-week international tournament.

The players are Anyimike Shauri who is a full back, Kassim Yahaya a striker and Frank Zefania an offensive midfielder.

“We were delighted after three of our players from the Copa Africa Cup winning team were called up for an international assignment in Turkey. This was good news for the players who had never travelled out of Africa,” said coach Abel Mtweve.

The Tanzanian team lifted the continental cup after beating 10 countries including hosts Kenya in the semi-finals. The team proved to be the most consistent in the tournament, approaching the tournament with purpose and commitment.

Tanzania and Zimbabwe met in the finals, with the former winning decisively after beating Zimbabwe 6-2 in the finals.

What really lifted this Tanzanian team to take on other African countries and become the Copa Africa Cup champions?

Coach Mtweve only had a few days to prepare the team, but despite this, he and his team of 16 players, were supported by the government and the sponsors who had already made arrangements for the team to camp and train at the national stadium in Dar es Salaam. This was the kind of support the team had from the beginning.

The government was a big help, and provided the needed preparation and support even after winning the Cup. This has proved to be of utmost help and a major morale booster for the country’s football.

To build on the team’s success in Kenya, the government announced plans to have all the players who participated in the Copa Africa Cup tournament integrated into the national academy where they will hone their skills with a view to playing for the national team in the future and even clubs abroad.

“Many African youth tournaments have been plagued by the issue of age cheating, but more students aspiring to be footballers are working hard to take part in tournaments such as the Copa Cup as a way to get noticed,” said coach Mtweve, who is CAF certified.

With inspiration coming from professionals like Samatta, coach Mtweve says Tanzania is ready to defend the Copa Cup this year.

• The U-16 Aegean Cup attracted eight teams from Ireland, Kosovo, Tanzania, Ukraine, Albania, Macedonia, South Korea and host Turkey.
• The eight youth teams were drawn into two groups with Tanzania in group A alongside the hosts Turkey, Ireland and Kosovo. In pool B, Ukraine was drawn alongside Albania, Macedonia and South Korea.
• In the opening match, Tanzania lost to Ireland, while the second group match saw Tanzania beat Kosovo four goals to two.