Tanzania’s star finally meets his South African idol

The most prestigious sporting event on the continent, the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations, is also an exciting opportunity for currently active players to finally cross paths with African football legends who inspired their careers.

Tanzania’s Mohamed Hussein had such an experience in Korhogo, where they played their final Group F fixture against DR Congo.

Despite being unable to advance further in the competition, Hussein’s stay in Korhogo was further highlighted by meeting his idol, South Africa’s Siphiwe Tshabalala, who was present in Korhogo as one of the invited CAF Legends.

Tshabalala, who hailed CAF’s exceptional organization of this year’s TotalEnergies CAF AFCON, was the first player to score in Africa’s first-ever FIFA World Cup in 2010 after getting the only goal for South Africa in their draw against Mexico.

The Tanzanian star, whose appreciation for Tshabalala is well known back home and has even been nicknamed after the star, shared on his social platform the fantastic experience of meeting the World Cup star, who also played at three TotalEnergies CAF AFCON competitions in 2006, 2008 and 2013.

“Finally, I met my role model, who made me love football more. He made me write his name on my jersey. A magical left-foot, the author of the first goal of the South Africa 2010 World Cup,” he wrote.

The young Hussein was over 13 when the former Kaizer Chiefs player made history on African soil.

Since then, Hussein adopted “Tshabalala” as his nickname and has always expressed his desire to one day meet his hero. Thanks to the TotalEnergies CAF AFCON, his dream came true.

“In South Africa, I was often told about him. I was thrilled to meet Mohamed finally,” Tshabalala told CAFOnline.