African glory in sight for Samata
TP Mazembe’s Tanzanian striker Mbwana Samata (left) controls the ball during the CAF Champions League final against USM Alger on October 31, 2015 in Algiers.
PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
Samatta, who is among top 10 nominees for the 2015 prestigious CAF Player of the Year Award for players based in Africa, will be accompanied by the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) secretary general, Mwesigwa Celestine.
Dar es Salaam. TP Mazembe’s Tanzanian striker Mbwana Samata leaves for Abuja, Nigeria today for the Confederation of African Football (CAF) awards gala set for tomorrow.
Samatta, who is among top 10 nominees for the 2015 prestigious CAF Player of the Year Award for players based in Africa, will be accompanied by the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) secretary general, Mwesigwa Celestine.
Abuja is already agog with excitement as it prepares to host top stakeholders in the African football community at the CAF Awards, the biggest such gathering in the African football calendar.
The TFF information officer, Baraka Kizuguto, said yesterday that he was optimistic Saamata would snatch the honour.
During the eagerly awaited event, footballers, coaches, teams and officials who distinguished themselves during the year 2015 will be honoured.
The biggest accolade will be the African Player of the Year and African Player of the Year (Based in Africa).
The winner will be decided by votes of the coaches or technical directors of the national associations affiliated to CAF.
Samatta, one of the best forwards in Africa at the moment, scored eight goals for DR Congo’s TP Mazembe, two of them in the CAF Champions League final.
The other African-based players eyeing the honour are Etoile Du Sahel’s Algerian striker Baghdad Boundjah and his (Samata’s) teammate Congolese goalkeeper Robert Kidiaba.
In the CAF Footballer of the Year prize, Manchester City midfielder Toure is favoured to win a record-extending fifth consecutive honour tomorrow.
Other stars shortlisted for the award are Gabon and Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ghana and Swansea City midfielder Andre ‘Dede’ Ayew.
Toure, 32, was voted BBC African Footballer of the Year last month and made the Ballon d’Or World Footballer of the Year and FIFPro World Team of the Year lists.
Other categories to be awarded by CAF tomorrow are Women Player of the Year. Those contesting. Those contesting the award are Gabrielle Onguéné and Gaelle Enganamouit (Cameroon), Ngozi Ebere (Nigeria), N’rehy Tia Ines (Cote d’Ivoire) and Portia Boakye of Ghana.
Youth Player of the Year:- Adama Traore, Samuel Diarra ( Mali), Kelechi Nwakali, Victor Osimhen (Nigeria) and Yaw Yeboah (Ghana).
Most Promising Talent:- Azubuike Okechukwu, Etebo Oghenekaro (Nigeria), Djigui Diarra (Mali), Mahmoud “Kahraba” Abdelmonem (Egypt) and Zinedine Ferhat (Algeria).
PROFILES OF TOP THREE AFRICAN-BASED PLAYERS
1. Mbwana Ally Samatta
Birth date: 23.12.1992
Country: Tanzania
Club: TP Mazembe (DR Congo)
Samatta has had a season to remember with the DR Congo giants TP Mazembe. He guided his team the CAF Champions League trophy.
He has also been a regular for the national soccer team, Taifa Stars, in the Africa Cup of Nations and World Cup qualifiers.
2. Robert Kidiaba Muteba
Birth date: 01.02.1976
Country: DR Congo
Club: TP Mazembe
Kidiaba is a clear example of the adage ‘goalkeepers get better with age’. At 39, the TP Mazembe goalie has yet to show any sign of fading. He has been impregnable for both club and country this year, causing a nightmare for many strikers.
He started the year with a bronze medal with DR Congo at the Orange Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea, where he was named in the team of the tournament. At club level, he has played every minute of Mazembe’s games in their journey to the CAF Champions League final with some decisive saves in between.
3. Baghdâd Bounedjah
Birth date: 24.11.1991
Country: Algeria
Club: Etoile du Sahel (Tunisia)
Bounedjah has had a year to remember. His scintillating performances with Tunisian giants, Etoile du Sahel, in the continental club championship have not gone unnoticed, with a place in the Algeria national team the reward.
The livewire of the Sousse based club re-joined the club on a loan deal till the end of the year from Qatari side, Al Sadd, and has continued from where he left off. His six goals in as many matches were crucial in ‘Les Diables Rouges’ reaching the final of the second-tier continental club championship. Earlier, he won the Tunisian Cup with Etoile.
