Mbwana Ally Samatta

Samatta's move to Le Havre in August 2025 made him the first Tanzanian player to sign for a Ligue 1 club, and by September 2026 he had made 31 appearances and scored 4 goals for the club in all competitions.

He started out at African Lyon before joining Simba SC, then made his name at TP Mazembe, where 133 appearances and 85 goals across his time there included the 2015 CAF Champions League title. He finished that tournament as top scorer with seven goals and was named African Player of the Year in 2015, becoming the first East African to win the award.

A move to KRC Genk followed in 2016, and there Samatta made 191 appearances and scored 76 goals for the Belgian club, including the 2018–19 Belgian Pro League title, in which he finished as top scorer with 20 goals and won the Ebony Shoe. Aston Villa signed him for around £8.5 million in 2020, and he became the first Tanzanian to play and score in the Premier League, scoring in the EFL Cup final against Manchester City. His time at Villa was brief, limited to 16 appearances, before a move to Fenerbahçe and loan spells at Royal Antwerp and back at Genk. At PAOK, he won the Super League Greece title in 2023–24.

For Tanzania, Samatta has earned 87 caps and scored 22 goals. He captained the side at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, where Tanzania reached the Round of 16 for the first time in the tournament's history, having also featured at the 2019 and 2023 editions.