Thousands gather to watch Samatta make Aston Villa debut

Thousands of Tanzanian football fans gathered at the coastal city of Dar es Salaam to watch local hero Mbwana Samatta make his debut for Premier League side Aston Villa.

Aston Villa won the match against Leicester City at Villa Park to proceed to the Carabao Cup final.

Villa signed the 27-year-old Tanzanian striker last week on a four-and-half-year deal and he will be the first Tanzanian to play in the Premier League

Samatta was named in the starting team at Villa Park on Tuesday night before being substituted in the 67th minute by Keinan Davis.

The match was watched by thousands of his home supporters at the Mbagala grounds on giant screens mounted by regional broadcaster DStv.

The striker's father, Ally Samatta, was part of the crowd. He is quoted as saying he shed tears when he saw his son included in the starting team.

Villa will face either Manchester City or Manchester United in the final.

67' | Samatta has put in a great shift on his debut, and he's replaced by Keinan Davis for the final 23 minutes. ????

???? 1-0 ? #AVFC #CarabaoCup pic.twitter.com/bI6ZwCbLg1

— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) January 28, 2020

#MbagalaKamaVillaPark @dstvtz @AVFCOfficial pic.twitter.com/eoRWMy0Wbt

— Clouds Media (@CloudsMediaLive) January 28, 2020

"Machozi yananibubujika baada ya kuona mwanangu amepangwa kwenye kikosi cha kwanza leo! Tena kucheza namba 10" -: Mzee Ally Samatta (Baba Mzazi wa @Samagoal77_

Leo #MbagalaKamaVillaPark pic.twitter.com/4rSku7OEsr

— Clouds Media (@CloudsMediaLive) January 28, 2020