Mbwana Ally Samatta (born 23 December 1992) is a Tanzanian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Turkish club Fenerbahçe on loan from Premier League club Aston Villa, and 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, where he played for only half of the season before moving to TP Mazembe, 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, as he helped TP Mazembe to win the title.
In January 2016, Samatta signed for Belgian side K.R.C. Genk, helping them to qualify for the UEFA Europa League 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 in Belgium for his outstanding season with Genk.
In January 2020, he moved to Aston Villa, becoming the first Tanzania-born player to play and score in the Premier League.
Club career
Samatta was a key figure during TP Mazembe’s run to the final of the 2015 CAF Champions League, scoring seven goals in the process and finishing as the competition’s top scorer. In their group stage match against Moghreb Tétouan, Samatta scored a memorable hat-trick to secure a place in the semi-finals where they were drawn against Sudanese side Al-Merrikh SC. Mazembe would go on to lift the cup after defeating Algerian side USM Alger in the final 4–1 on aggregate, with Samatta scoring a goal in both legs.
At the Glo-CAF Awards 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 TP Mazembeteammate and DR Congo goalkeeper Robert Kidiaba, who amassed 88 points, and Algerian Baghdad Bounedjah 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. 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 in the Europa League for a 5–2 win.
During the 2018–19 season, he led the Belgian First Division A in scoring with 20 goals, as Genk finished the season as league winners. In May 2019 he was awarded with the Ebony Shoe award for his exploits during the campaign.
Aston Villa
On 20 January 2020, Samatta signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with Premier League club Aston Villa. In doing so, he became the first Tanzanian 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 semi-final second-leg win over Leicester City, a result which sealed the club’s place in the final of the competition.
On 1 February 2020, Samatta scored on his league debut for Aston Villa, in a 2–1 defeat to Bournemouth. This made him the first player from Tanzania to play, and subsequently score in the Premier League.
Fenerbahçe
On 25 September 2020, Samatta joined Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe S.K. on an initial loan deal until the end of the season.
Personal life
Samatta is a Muslim. He made the umrah to Mecca in 2018 with his Genk teammate Omar Colley.
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played on 2 November 2020
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other | Total | Ref. | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Simba | 2010–11 | Tanzanian Premier League | 25 | 13 | — | 2 | — | 25 | 15 | ||||||
| TP Mazembe | 2011 | Linafoot | 8 | 2 | — | — | 8 | 2 | |||||||
| 2012 | Linafoot | 29 | 23 | — | 8 | 6 | — | 37 | 29 | ||||||
| 2013 | Linafoot | 37 | 20 | — | 5 | 5 | — | 42 | 25 | ||||||
| 2013–14 | Linafoot | 29 | 15 | — | 8 | 4 | — | 37 | 19 | ||||||
| 2014–15 | Linafoot | — | 6 | 4 | — | 6 | 4 | ||||||||
| 2015–16 | Linafoot | — | 6 | 4 | — | 6 | 4 | ||||||||
| Total | 103 | 60 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 136 | 83 | – | ||||
| Genk | 2015–16 | Belgian Pro League | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 3 | 18 | 5 | |||
| 2016–17 | Belgian First Division A | 27 | 10 | 4 | 2 | — | 18 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 59 | 20 | |||
| 2017–18 | Belgian First Division A | 20 | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 4 | 35 | 8 | ||||
| 2018–19 | Belgian First Division A | 28 | 20 | 1 | 0 | — | 12 | 9 | 10 | 3 | 51 | 32 | |||
| 2019–20 | Belgian First Division A | 20 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 10 | |||
| Total | 101 | 43 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 17 | 44 | 13 | 191 | 75 | – | ||
| Aston Villa | 2019–20 | Premier League | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 16 | 2 | |||
| Fenerbahçe (loan) | 2020–21 | Süper Lig | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 7 | 2 | ||||
| Career totals | 250 | 119 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 69 | 42 | 44 | 13 | 375 | 177 | – | ||
- ^ Jump up to:a b Soccerway lacks number of appearances
- ^ Jump up to:a b c d Includes Belgian First Division A playoffs
International
- As of matches played on 19 November 2019
| Tanzania national team | ||
| Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 9 | 2 |
| 2012 | 5 | 0 |
| 2013 | 10 | 6 |
| 2014 | 3 | 1 |
| 2015 | 7 | 2 |
| 2016 | 4 | 1 |
| 2017 | 4 | 3 |
| 2018 | 5 | 2 |
| 2019 | 9 | 3 |
| Total | 56 | 20 |
International goals
- Scores and results list Tanzania’s goal tally first.
| Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 26 March 2011 | National Stadium, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania |  Central African Republic |
2–1 | 2–1 | 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 2. | 3 September 2011 |  Algeria |
1–0 | 1–1 | ||
| 3. | 11 January 2013 | Addis Ababa Stadium, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |  Ethiopia |
1–1 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 4. | 6 February 2013 | National Stadium, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania |  Cameroon |
1–0 | 1–0 | |
| 5. | 24 March 2013 |  Morocco |
2–0 | 3–1 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
| 6. | 3–0 | |||||
| 7. | 4 December 2013 | Afraha Stadium, Nakuru, Kenya |  Burundi |
1–0 | 1–0 | 2013 CECAFA Cup |
| 8. | 12 December 2013 | Nyayo National Stadium, Nairobi, Kenya |  Zambia |
1–1 | 1–1 | 2013 CECAFA Cup |
| 9. | 3 August 2014 | Estádio do Zimpeto, Maputo, Mozambique |  Mozambique |
1–1 | 1–2 | 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 10. | 7 October 2015 | National Stadium, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania |  Malawi |
1–0 | 2–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 11. | 14 November 2015 | Algeria |
2–0 | 2–2 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
| 12. | 23 March 2016 | Stade Omnisports Idriss Mahamat Ouya, N’Djamena, Chad |  Chad |
1–0 | 1–0 | 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 13. | 25 March 2017 | National Stadium, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania |  Botswana |
1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 14. | 2–0 | |||||
| 15. | 10 June 2017 |  Lesotho |
1–0 | 1–1 | 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification | |
| 16. | 27 March 2018 |  DR Congo |
1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly | |
| 17. | 16 October 2018 |  Cape Verde |
2–0 | 2–0 | 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification | |
| 18. | 27 June 2019 | 30 June Stadium, Cairo, Egypt |  Kenya |
2–1 | 2–3 | 2019 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 19. | 8 September 2019 | National Stadium, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania | Burundi |
1–0 | 1–1 (3–0 pen.) | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 20. | 19 November 2019 | Stade Mustapha Ben Jannet, Monastir, Tunisia |  Libya |
1–0 | 1–2 | 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
Honours
TP Mazembe
- Linafoot: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2013–14
- DR Congo Super Cup: 2013, 2014
- CAF Champions League: 2015
Genk
- Belgian Pro League: 2018–19
- Belgian Super Cup: 2019
Aston Villa
- EFL Cup runner-up: 2019–20
Individual
- African Inter-Club Player of the Year: 2015
- CAF Team of the Year: 2015
- CAF Champions League top scorer: 2015
- Ebony Shoe: 2019
- Belgian First Division A Golden Shoe: 2018–19