Sport
Landmark
Mbwana Samatta
born 1992
The first Tanzanian to play in the Premier League and to score in the Champions League
Landmark is level 2 of 4 in the Tanzania Hall of Fame: a first that opened a door, or the pre-eminent figure of their generation in this country. See how the levels work.
Why they are here
Captain of the Taifa Stars, African-based Player of the Year in 2015, the first Tanzanian to score in the UEFA Champions League and the first to play in the English Premier League.
Mbwana Ally Samatta grew up in Dar es Salaam and played for Simba before moving to TP Mazembe in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where he won the CAF Champions League and was named CAF African Player of the Year (Based in Africa) in 2015.
At Genk in Belgium he won the league title and was voted the division's player of the year, and in 2019 became the first Tanzanian to score in the UEFA Champions League. His move to Aston Villa in January 2020 made him the first Tanzanian to play in the Premier League, and he scored in the League Cup final at Wembley. He captains the national team, which he helped to its first Africa Cup of Nations appearance in twenty-nine years.
At Genk in Belgium he won the league title and was voted the division's player of the year, and in 2019 became the first Tanzanian to score in the UEFA Champions League. His move to Aston Villa in January 2020 made him the first Tanzanian to play in the Premier League, and he scored in the League Cup final at Wembley. He captains the national team, which he helped to its first Africa Cup of Nations appearance in twenty-nine years.
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