“From Bicycle to Luxury Car”: Mzize and the night a new Tanzanian icon was born
Striker Clement Francis Mzize stepped into Tanzania football folklore at a packed Benjamin Mkapa Stadium during their clash with Madagascar at the TotalEnergies CHAN 2024.
A star made in Dar es Salaam
On the kind of night when a stadium feels like a drumbeat, Clement Francis Mzize stepped into folklore.
At a packed Benjamin Mkapa Stadium, the 21-year-old forward became the face of Tanzania’s surge at the TotalEnergies CHAN 2024—scoring twice against Madagascar, collecting a TotalEnergies Man of the Match award, and propelling the Taifa Stars to a first-ever quarter-final.
It was more than a performance; it was a revelation.
Mzize didn’t just pad statistics. He changed the temperature of a tournament and handed Tanzanian football a living, breathing symbol of possibility.
The terraces responded in kind—chants, flags, a sea of green and gold—and a new bond was formed between a young striker and a country that now believes.
“I thank God for everything”
There is nothing brash in Mzize’s manner. Even at full voice, he speaks with a calm centre and a gratitude that feels old for 21.
"I thank God for everything. For me, what I have done in the TotalEnergies CHAN tournament is a big thing. All players wish to achieve the same career as a great player. I know that the Tanzanian fans expect a lot from me, and I am trying to fight to give my all for the national team ."
Those words have travelled far beyond Dar es Salaam. They match the way he plays—direct, decisive, but generous—and they mirror a broader Tanzanian story: hard work, patience, and an unshakable belief that the game can carry a nation forward.
The promise of “globality”
Ambition sits easily on his shoulders. Not as a boast, but as a map.
“My ambitions are great, and God willing, I will reach a better level and offer more than I am currently offering, and I will become a great player... a world-class player .”
For Young Africans’ forward, CHAN has been a gateway—minutes that matter, moments that harden talent into temperament.
He has turned a debut knockout run into a platform and set his sights higher, without losing sight of how he got here.
The father-figure behind the forward
Every breakout story has an unseen scaffold. For Mzize, that structure has a name: coach Hemed Suleiman. The relationship is the heartbeat of this rise—footballing instruction layered over care, accountability, and trust.
"Thanks to God first, and secondly, I know very well what the coach, Hemed Suleiman, gave me, and I will never forget his help. He is more than a coach to me, he is like a father. He gave me all the help. We started from the first step. It was difficult."
"He helped me and taught me to reach a high level. I thank the coach for everything ."
The bond has gone beyond whiteboards and training cones. It has shaped confidence and decision-making, translating talent into impact.
Beyond the touchline
What separates promise from progress is often pastoral care—the everyday conversations that steady a young player in the heat of a tournament.
“The truth is that the coach, Hemed Sulaiman, helped me, even with family matters. I always thank him for giving me the opportunity to be in the national team and for his contribution to my emergence.
"I remember his saying and his words regarding the fact that I would not drive a bike in the future, but a luxury car. I will always play when he gives me the opportunity with all my strength to repay him and the trust he has placed in me. There is mutual trust between us, and this is what makes us succeed .”
The metaphor has stuck—from bicycle to luxury car—because it captures a transformation both intimate and public. It’s a reminder that potential must first be believed before it is fulfilled.
The coach's testimony
Suleiman’s view completes the circle. He saw something early, invested in it, and built the conditions for it to thrive.
"I consider Mzize like my son. I was the one who gave him the opportunity with the U-20 national team. At first, when I called him up, no one believed in his abilities. After the training camps and preparations we went through together, you can see him. I brought in a psychologist to talk to him and help him."
"I told him, 'You have a future in football.' I remember very well the phrase I said to him: 'You won't be riding a bike in the future, but you will be driving a luxury car.' And now you can see that the player is performing well ."
There’s a sophistication in that process—youth integration, mental preparation, performance nurturing—that mirrors Tanzania’s broader evolution at this CHAN.
The crowd and the country
Mzize’s ascent has become a meeting point for players and people—a story the terraces can sing. His goals and assists have not simply nudged Tanzania forward; they have pulled the nation into the journey.
He is now the face of a team that topped Group B on home soil and did it with a fearless style. The trust is visible: in the ovations, in the shirts with his name, and in the belief that the Taifa Stars can live with anybody.
Morocco next—and a bigger stage
The knockout bracket is unforgiving. Tanzania meet two-time champions Morocco in Dar es Salaam—an opponent whose CHAN pedigree is matched by its composure. Yet all the signs suggest Tanzania won’t retreat from the moment. The playbook is clear: aggression with intelligence, transitions with bite, set pieces as opportunity.
Mzize’s form is central to that plan. His movement destabilises lines. His finishing demands attention. His self-belief, now rooted in experience, gives the Taifa Stars a cutting edge that can decide tight games.
The beginning of a new legend
This isn’t an overnight success story; it’s a carefully tended climb. From the U-20s to the senior stage, from scepticism to stardom, from an idea in a coach’s head to a reality under the lights—Clement Francis Mzize has announced himself.
The journey from “bicycle” to “luxury car” isn’t about wealth. It’s about acceleration, refinement, and destination. It’s about a player who now moves the ball—and a nation—faster and farther than before.
And as Tanzania strides into its first CHAN quarter-final, one truth feels certain: whatever happens from here, Mzize has already given the country a gift—a reason to believe bigger.