Meet 61-year old Tanzanian Queen of football

Dar es Salaam. It’s around 5pm on a Wednesday in the sprawling, high-density suburb of Mbagala Kizuiani in Dar es Salaam.

Ms Diana Moshi, 61, sounds a whistle at an informal football pitch in the neighbourhood.

Children, mostly aged below 15, gather around her. She organises a line-up of players, ready for a friendly match on the sandy pitch, with makeshift goal posts.

So ecstatic and absorbed are the children that they seem to care less about their modest surroundings as they toss an improvised ball to each other.

Along the touchline, some parents from the neighbourhood look on.

They have come to bear witness to the thriving initiative by one of the most unlikely member of their community.

At 61, Ms Moshi has defied the odds to get the children together, everyday, for a social football match.

Besides being a woman, many in this neighbourhood would think that she perhaps is too old for this kind of thing.

It’s not an everyday thing to see a woman -- let alone the advanced age -- getting involved in the matters of football.

But, Ms Moshi’s story is different.

On a mission to make a difference among children, she is fast becoming a household name in her world -- albeit in a small way.

It all started a little over a year ago when “granny”, as she is affectionately called by her team, decided to address a community problem -- of children loitering the streets, doing nothing productive.

She settled for football. Forget about the funded community soccer training. This is an elderly woman’s passion, combined with the desire to make a legacy.

“When I was in the National Service for military training many years ago, I learned football,” she says in an interview with The Citizen on Sunday.

“This has remained my passion since then. My female colleagues chose netball. I chose football.’’

From as early as 10:30am to midday, the youth gather for football by granny.

In a neighbourhood mostly known for misbehaviour among the youth, this has become a positive distraction.

“Most of these boys are school pupils from Mbagala Central,” says Ms Moshi.

“The ultimate goal of volunteering is to develop children’s talents, discipline and get them involved in sports to keep them away from bad practices.”

“I love sports because sports is healthy,’’ she says.

Ms Moshi, who fends for her own family through rice farming in Mzinga Valley, wants to make her contribution in building a better society through games by helping change the boys’ behaviour.

“My husband is a cook. Whatever he gets, we use it for my family. I wish I had income to save for this team,’’ she says.

The team she is coaching, dubbed Dizonga, consists of fifteen year olds from her neighbourhood, mostly primary school pupils.

Ms Moshi has found her niche in coaching young boys on soccer, despite her advanced age.

In the past, she earned fame, as “Bibi Bomba” meaning super granny when she participated in a competition of the elderly women who are making a difference in Tanzanian society, but she didn’t make it to the finals.

“I have lost interest in those competitions,’’ she says, recounting her past. She speaks further on her current focus on shaping young people on morals.

In the Kizuiani streets, most parents have taken interest in their children participating in sports after school.

A sister to one of the children, Ms Ashura Kashushu, who resides in the neighbourhood, says she believes the children will transform into good footballers if there is further investment.

“I believe in these boys. The woman who is training them is a parent and I think the children won’t misbehave as they play,’’ says Ashura.

Hassan Salehe, one of the players, a pupil, says he has decided to join the team because he has nothing to do on the streets every after school hours.

“In the evening after school, we decide to get involved in football so that we could build ourselves up mentally and develop our talents for serving our nation in the future,’’ says Salehe.

Enrik David, the chairman of Kizuiani Street, says the children could have played better but the challenge lies in the shortage of play grounds in the area.

“I know the woman is volunteering to teach soccer in this street,” he says.“I am hopeful that the government and various sports stakeholders may devote resources into developing the talents of these children for the promotion of the sport,’’ says Mr David.“I know this can be done because the minister for Culture Arts and Sports has been emphasizing on the development of children’s talents,’’ he says.