Mbwana Ally Samatta (born 23 December 1992) is a Tanzanian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a striker for

Belgian Pro League The Belgian Pro League,(officially the Jupiler Pro League due to sponsorship reasons with Jupiler), is the top league competition for association football clubs in Belgium. Contested by 18 clubs since the 2020–21 season and reduced to 16 team ...

club

Genk Genk () is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality located in the Belgian Provinces of Belgium, province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg near Hasselt. The municipality only comprises the town of Genk itself. I ...

, on loan from

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

club Fenerbahçe, and

captains Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

the Tanzania national team. Samatta began his career as a youth player for Tanzanian club African Lyon in 2008. He turned professional in 2010 with

Simba Sports Club Simba Sports Club is a football club based in Kariakoo, Dar es Salaam Tanzania, Founded in 1936, the club, which broke away from another Tanzania Giants, Dar Young Africans was named Queens, in honor of her Majesty, the Queen of England. The ...

, where he played for only half of the season before moving to

TP Mazembe Tout Puissant Mazembe, commonly referred to as TP Mazembe, is a Congolese professional football club based in Lubumbashi. History Tout Puissant Mazembe, the first sports club from the Democratic Republic of the Congo with a value of at least $10 ...

, spending a total of five years with them, initially becoming a first-team regular. He was named the 2015 African based Player of the Year and finished the season as the top goalscorer of the

CAF Champions League The CAF Champions League, known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and formerly the African Cup of Champions Clubs, is an annual football club competition organized by the Confederation of African Football and co ...

, as he helped TP Mazembe to win the title. In January 2016, Samatta signed for Belgian side

K.R.C. Genk Koninklijke Racing Club Genk (), commonly known as KRC Genk, Racing Genk or simply Genk, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Genk in Belgian Limburg. Racing Genk plays in the Belgian Pro League and have won four cham ...

, helping them to qualify for the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

and win the Belgian Jupiler League in 2019. Having finished the season as the top goalscorer of the Jupiler League, he also won the

Ebony Shoe award The Ebony Shoe award (Dutch: ''Ebbenhouten schoen'', French: ''Soulier d'ébène'') is a football award in Belgium given annually to the best African or African origin player in the Belgian Pro League. The jury is composed of the coaches of leag ...

in Belgium for his outstanding season with Genk. In January 2020, he moved to

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

, becoming the first Tanzania-born player to play and score in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

Club career

Samatta was a key figure during

's run to the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

of the

2015 CAF Champions League The 2015 CAF Champions League (officially the 2015 Orange CAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons) was the 51st edition of Africa's premier club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and the 19th editio ...

, scoring seven goals in the process and finishing as the competition's top scorer. In their group stage match against

Moghreb Tétouan Moghreb Atletico Tetouan ( ar, المغرب أتلتيكو تطوان; acronym MAT) is a Moroccan football league system, Moroccan football club based in Tetouan. MA Tétouan was founded in 1922 and used to compete in the Tétouan local compétit ...

, Samatta scored a memorable hat-trick to secure a place in the semi-finals where they were drawn against Sudanese side

Al-Merrikh SC Al-Merrikh Sporting Club ( ar, نادي المريخ الرياضي) is a Sudanese football club based in Omdurman. Their home stadium is Al-Merrikh Stadium, which is locally known as The Red Castle. Founded in 1908, Al-Merrikh is one of the ol ...

. Mazembe would go on to lift the cup after defeating Algerian side

USM Alger Union Sportive de la Médina d'Alger ( ar, الإتحاد الرياضي لمدينة الجزائر); known as USM Alger or simply USMA for short, is a football club based in the inner suburbs of Algiers. The club was founded in 1937 and its co ...

in the final 4–1 on aggregate, with Samatta scoring a goal in both legs. At the Glo-

CAF Awards The CAF Awards is an awards evening held to honour the best African association football players. It is conferred by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). Current awards The awards include: CAF Player of the Year CAF Most Promising Talen ...

on 7 January 2016 at the International Conference Centre in Abuja, Nigeria, he became the first player from East Africa to be crowned the CAF African Player of the Year. Mbwana garnered a total of 127 points, ahead of his

teammate and DR Congo goalkeeper

Robert Kidiaba Robert Kidiaba Muteba (born 1 February 1976) is a Congolese politician and former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He spent most of his club career with TP Mazembe, whilst at international level he collected 61 caps playing fo ...

, who amassed 88 points, and Algerian

Baghdad Bounedjah Baghdad Bounedjah ( ar, بغداد بونجاح, born 24 November 1991) is an Algerian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Qatar Stars League club Al Sadd and the Algeria national team. Throughout his club career, Bounedjah h ...

trailed in third place with 63 points.

Genk

In January 2016, after winning the prize for best African player on the continent, he signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with

KRC Genk Koninklijke Racing Club Genk (), commonly known as KRC Genk, Racing Genk or simply Genk, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Genk in Belgian Limburg. Racing Genk plays in the Belgian Pro League and have won four champ ...

. He was voted the 2017 Most Influential Young Tanzanian in a ranking poll by Avance Media On 23 August 2018, Samatta scored a hat-trick against

Brøndby IF Brøndbyernes Idrætsforening (, usually abbreviated to Brøndby IF (), is a professional association football club based in Brøndbyvester, Capital Region of Denmark. The club was founded in 1964 as a merger between two local clubs and was p ...

in the Europa League for a 5–2 win. During the 2018–19 season, he led the

Belgian First Division A The Belgian Pro League,(officially the Jupiler Pro League due to sponsorship reasons with Jupiler), is the top league competition for association football clubs in Belgium. Contested by 18 clubs since the 2020–21 season and reduced to 16 team ...

in scoring with 20 goals, as Genk finished the season as league winners. In May 2019 he was awarded with the

Ebony Shoe The Ebony Shoe award (Dutch: ''Ebbenhouten schoen'', French: ''Soulier d'ébène'') is a football award in Belgium given annually to the best African or African origin player in the Belgian Pro League. The jury is composed of the coaches of leagu ...

award for his exploits during the campaign.

Aston Villa

On 20 January 2020, Samatta signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with

club

. In doing so, he became the first

Tanzanian Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

to sign for a Premier League club, and is the 117th different nationality to play in the competition. The transfer fee paid to Genk was reported as £8.5 million. Samatta made his debut for the club 8 days later in Villa's 2–1

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

semi-final second-leg win over

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

, a result which sealed the club's place in the

of the competition. On 1 February 2020, Samatta scored on his league debut for Aston Villa, in a 2–1 defeat to

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

. This made him the first player from Tanzania to play, and subsequently score in the Premier League.

Fenerbahçe

On 25 September 2020, Samatta joined

club Fenerbahçe S.K. on an initial loan deal until the end of the season. As part of the deal, Samatta signed a four-year contract at the end of his loan spell in July 2021. On 1 September 2021, Samatta joined Belgian side

Royal Antwerp Royal Antwerp Football Club, often referred to as Royal Antwerp or simply Antwerp, is a Belgian football club based in the city of Antwerp. Founded around 1880 as ''Antwerp Cricket Club'' by English students residing in Antwerp, 15 years before ...

on a season-long loan. On 16 August 2022, Samatta returned to Genk on loan, with an option to buy.

Personal life

Samatta is a Muslim. He made the

umrah The ʿUmrah ( ar, عُمْرَة, lit=to visit a populated place) is an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca (the holiest city for Muslims, located in the Hejazi region of Saudi Arabia) that can be undertaken at any time of the year, in contrast to the ...

to Mecca in 2018 with his

teammate Omar Colley.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Tanzania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Samatta goal''.

Honours

TP Mazembe *

Linafoot The Vodacom Ligue 1 is the top division of the Congolese Association Football Federation, the governing body of football (soccer), football in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was created in 1958. In 2013, the highest attendance was set i ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, 2012,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, 2013–14 *

DR Congo Super Cup The DR Congo Super Cup is a Congolese association football competition, which takes place in an annual match between the Linafoot The Vodacom Ligue 1 is the top division of the Congolese Association Football Federation, the governing body of fo ...

: 2013, 2014 *

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

Genk *

: 2018–19 *

Belgian Super Cup The Belgian Super Cup ( nl, Belgische Supercup, ; french: Supercoupe de Belgique; german: Belgischer Fußball-Super Cup), ''Pro League Supercup'', is a Belgian club competition played as a single match between the Belgian First Division A champion ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Aston Villa *

runner-up: 2019–20 Individual * African Inter-Club Player of the Year: 2015 *

CAF Team of the Year The CAF Team of the Year is an annual football award given by the Confederation of African Football during the CAF Awards. In 2007, the CAF did not choose the team of the year, but rather the best ten players of the last fifty years. The ten pla ...

: 2015 *

top scorer:

: 2019 * Belgian First Division A Golden Shoe: 2018–19

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Samatta, Mbwana 1992 births Living people People from Dar es Salaam Tanzanian Muslims Tanzanian footballers Men's association football forwards African Lyon F.C. players Simba S.C. players TP Mazembe players K.R.C. Genk players Aston Villa F.C. players Fenerbahçe S.K. footballers Royal Antwerp F.C. players Tanzanian Premier League players Linafoot players Belgian Pro League players Premier League players Süper Lig players Tanzania men's international footballers 2019 Africa Cup of Nations players Tanzanian expatriate footballers Tanzanian expatriate sportspeople in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Tanzanian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Tanzanian expatriate sportspeople in England Tanzanian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate footballers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Expatriate footballers in Belgium Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Turkey