Dar es Salaam. Taifa Stars head coach Miguel Gamondi has Wednesday March 18, 2026 named a 25-man squad, including Azam goalkeeper Aishi Manula, as the team prepares for two FIFA Series 2026 matches to be played in Kigali, Rwanda.
The FIFA Series, held during the FIFA international calendar window, will this time take place between March and April, offering opportunities for international friendly matches between national teams from different continents.
On this occasion, Taifa Stars will join hosts Rwanda and regional neighbours Kenya from East Africa in welcoming teams from Estonia, Grenada, Aruba, Liechtenstein and Macau.
This differs from the previous edition, when Stars travelled to Azerbaijan to face Bulgaria and Mongolia.
After being out of the squad for over two years, Aishi Manula has finally returned to Taifa Stars.
He has been called up alongside fellow Azam goalkeeper Zuberi Foba, as well as Yona Amosi of Pamba Jiji.
Manula, widely regarded as Tanzania’s number one, has been absent from the national team since 2023, during his time at Simba, due to injury.
In addition to Manula and Foba, other Azam players named in the squad are Twalib Nuru, Elias Lameck, Feisal Salum and Idd Suleiman ‘Nado’.
From Simba, the selected players are Nickson Kibabage, Yusuf Ngoma and Suleiman Mwalimu, while Young Africans (Yanga) are represented by Bakari Mwamnyeto, Mohamed Hussein, Ibrahim Abdullah ‘Bacca’ and Mudathir Yahya. Pamba Jiji contributes Yona Amosi and Kelvin Nashon.
Other players included in the squad are Mohamed Mussa (Mashujaa FC), Bakari Msimu (Coastal Union) and Paul Peter (JKT Tanzania).
The squad also features Tanzanian players based abroad, including Haji Mnoga (Salford City, England), Novatus Dismas (Goztepe FC, Turkey), Alphonce Mabula (Shamakhi, Azerbaijan), Simon Msuva (Al-Talaba, Iraq), Kelvin John (Aalborg BK, Denmark) and Charles M’Mombwa (Floriana FC, Malta).
Samatta rested
Taifa Stars captain Mbwana Samatta, who plays professionally in France for Le Havre, has reportedly requested to be rested during this FIFA international window, expressing a desire to allow younger players more opportunities.
A few weeks ago in Morocco during the AFCON tournament, Samatta openly stated that he does not see himself having the same level of energy required for upcoming Africa Cup of Nations finals, which will, for the first time, be hosted in the East African region.
However, he indicated that he remains willing to contribute through his experience if needed.
At present, Gamondi appears keen to build on the progress made during the Morocco finals as part of preparations for 2027.
