Supporters of one of Tanzania’s top football clubs, Yanga, winners of the Tanzania Premier League for four consecutive seasons, have taken to social media to criticize the club’s leadership for its decision to donate 100 million Tanzania Shillings(Tshs.)to the ruling party, CCM, during a fundraiser ahead of the polls.
The club’s president, Hersi Said, who also works for the club’s main sponsor, GSM Group, presented Tsh. 10 billion from GSM during the gala dinner, which was also attended by GSM president Ghalib Said Mohamed. On top of that contribution, Hersi Said announced that Yanga would also donate Tsh. 100 million to the party.
Since the announcement, Yanga’s leadership has faced backlash over the perceived lack of neutrality, with critics pointing out that the club’s supporters come from various political affiliations.
“You encourage fans to pay fees and register for membership, others to renew their membership, and then the leader of the institution takes the money and gives it to his party. How can such basic wisdom be beyond such a large group of people when making decisions?” asked Malafyale, one of Yanga’s volunteers.
“Are the leaders of this team self-aware? The members and fans of Yanga are not all CCM supporters; don’t you see that taking their money and directing it into politics is a huge sign of disrespect to them?” said Hancy Machemba on X.
“Then give 100 million to all parties to balance it out. It is very wrong to mix football with politics just to curry favor,” he continued.
A debate has also emerged over whether Yanga has violated FIFA’s regulations, prompting some individuals to write to the FIFA Ethics Committee to raise concerns about a possible breach of regulation.
“A football club donating to a political party looks bad (divisive optics), but I don’t think it’s a clear violation of FIFA statutes. It’s more of a grey area,” said Michael Mwebe, a renowned Tanzanian sports pundit.
Opposition politicians have also weighed in on the matter, largely expressing their disappointment.
“As a Yanga fan who is not a CCM supporter, I am deeply saddened that our team is being associated with politics—especially one-sided politics.
We know our president, Hersi, is a CCM member, but he should contribute as himself, not in our name,” said Joseph Mbilinyi, former member of parliament and a top figure in Tanzania’s main opposition party, CHADEMA.
In what appeared to be an explanation, Yanga spokesperson Ally Kamwe shared an old picture of Yanga presenting a contribution to TANU, the country’s sole political party during the one-party era.
“The history of Yanga Club in its participation in bringing development to the nation of Tanzania—economically, politically, and in sports—did not start today or yesterday. It is this people’s club that carried part of the liberation of this nation. We have carried the emblem of unity, peace, love, solidarity, and the generosity of the citizens of Tanzania,” wrote Ally Kamwe on his instagram page.
