Aston Villa striker Mbwana Samatta building a legacy for others to follow

Samatta will become the first Tanzanian to ever play in the English top flight when he lines up for Dean Smith’s team against Bournemouth on Saturday.

For the 27-year-old, who joined Villa in an £8.5million move from Genk earlier this month, it will be the realisation of a career dream.

Yet it will arguably be an even more significant moment for his home country, of which he is perhaps now the biggest sporting export, surpassing NBA star Hasheem Thabeet.

Samatta’s debut in Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup semi-final with Leicester was broadcast live on national TV, with several thousand watching the action in public viewing areas set up in Dar Es Salaam, his home town and the country’s largest city.

During a journey which has taken him to the Congo, to Belgium and now to England, Samatta has never forgotten his roots, and sought ways to help those younger generations looking to replicate his success or simply improve their lives.

It is why he agreed, late last year, to become an ambassador for 7 Elite Academy, a US-based coaching organisation with bases in England who are looking to expand their work in East Africa.

Samatta’s first key project will be to help with the design and construction of a football complex in Dar Es Salaam, while he will also help run summer training camps.

“Samatta loves to inspire young people and is very aware of the role he can play in influencing young minds,” explains Reggie Wilson, president of 7 Elite East Africa.

“For someone who is still a young man himself, he has a great awareness of his responsibility.

“He wants the best for his career but knows the most important thing he is doing right now is for the future generations and the opportunities that is going to create.”

Teams of under-14 and under-18 players are scheduled to travel from Tanzania to the USA in the coming months, where they will be watched by both college and professional coaches.

Work on the training complex is expected to start in the summer, with several sites still being considered.

“We want to have a state-of-the-art facility, with several training pitches, the like of which doesn’t really exist in Tanzania right now,” explained Wilson.

“At the moment the responsibility for youth development lies with the clubs. We want to give these youngsters opportunities and exposure they otherwise might not have.

“Right now it is a fairly new project but we have received great support of the Tanzania government are very excited about it.”

Samatta, a father-of-two, is already known for his willingness to give back to the community, having paid for a mosque to be built in Mbgala, the suburb of Dar Es Salaam where he grew up.

He also runs the Sama-Kiba Foundation alongside popular music star Ali Kiba, with the pair organising a charity football match each year to help schools buy equipment.

Samatta’s decision to team up with 7 Elite was, meanwhile, also motivated by the presence of Amri Kiemba as the organisation’s head coach in Tanzania.

Kiema, a former international team-mate, is one of his oldest friends in the sport and acted as a mentor to Samatta, nine years his junior, when the pair were together at Simba FC a decade ago.

It was Kiemba who, when the teenage Samatta initially struggled to break into the team, would offer words of encouragement.

“Every day after training we discussed his career in positive ways,” says Kiemba. “I used to call him ‘Finisher’.

“Eventually he got his chance to play his first league game and he scored four goals. From that day everyone could see what I could see. I was so happy for him.”

With the help of Samatta, who he describes as his “little brother”, Kiemba wants to build the foundation for youth development in Tanzania and East Africa – and not only on the football field.

“We want to give chances to kids that otherwise may not have chances in their life,” he said.

“We have a responsibility to the the future generations to do whatever we can to increase these chances for kids.

“We want to develop the top football players in Tanzania but we are also trying to give kids hope and chances for a better life.

“That is why being together with Samatta is so important. His mission and ours are the same.”

Kiemba was among those watching on Tuesday when Samatta made his debut against the Foxes. He has every confidence his friend will be a success in the Premier League.

“Samatta is very tough, he always faces challenges in a positive way and that has helped him get to where he is now,” he said. “He’s been through a lot but has always emerged stronger. He knows his responsibility to Tanzanian football and as well as roll model to many young player in Tanzania and East Africa.

“The way I know him, he is just starting his journey. Playing in the Premier League was his dream but I think this is just the beginning.”