Tanzanian Masaka Joins Brighton and Hove Albion
What you need to know:
- During her time in the Tanzanian Premier League, she won ‘Best Goal Scorer’ in the 2020/21 campaign after netting 35 goals in 20 matches for Young Africans.
Dar es Salaam. Former Young Africans (Yanga) striker Aisha Masaka has joined English side Brighton and Hove Albion, which competes in the English Premier League.
Masaka becomes the second player to play in an English Premier League side after Mbwana Samatta, who played for Aston Villa.
“We are delighted to announce the signing of striker Aisha Masaka from BK Häcken on undisclosed terms, subject to the usual regulatory processes,” said Zoe Johnson, who is managing director of women’s and girls’ football.
“We are really excited to welcome Aisha to Brighton. She has competed at a high and testing level in Sweden and represented Häcken in the Champions League. She’s a physical striker who is dominant on the ball and a natural goalscorer. We’re looking forward to welcoming her to Albion ahead of the new season,” added Zoe.
The 20-year-old joined Häcken in 2022 from Yanga in Tanzania, having previously played for Alliance FC Mwanza.
In her two seasons at Häcken, the forward helped them finish second in the Swedish League, and they reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League last season before losing to PSG.
During her time in the Tanzanian Premier League, she won ‘Best Goal Scorer’ in the 2020/21 campaign after netting 35 goals in 20 matches for Young Africans.
At the international level, she has won 15 caps for Tanzania, scoring nine goals since making her debut in 2021.
Masaka also represented her country at the under-17 COSAFA Cup when Tanzania won the tournament, and she finished as the top goalscorer.
She was also part of the Tanzania squad that qualified for AFCON 2024 and will head to Morocco next summer.
Aisha started playing football in the 2017-2018 season with the Majengo Queen's team, being discovered by coach Ezekieli Chombanka. While with Majengo, she managed to score five goals in the five games she played in that first season when she began playing football.
After serving Majengo Queen's for that one season, she left and joined the Alliance Girls squad in the 2018/2019 season, where she says the challenge she encountered was starting in the first team due to competitiveness in her position.
