Opa Clement: “Tanzania will be back”

Tukumbuke. To remember in Kiswahili. Opa Clement Tukumbuke. Remember her name. 

The Tanzania captain, whose lone goal against the reigning African champions South Africa, ensured that the Twiga Stars registered their first ever point at the TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in two appearances – 2010 and 2025. 

Born in Mbeya, southwestern Tanzania, Opa as she is commonly known back home, is the current face of Women’s Football in the East African nation. The 24-year-old is living her wildest dreams having worn the armband in the two games that she played – against South Africa and Ghana in Morocco.

A childhood dream come true – playing at the biggest stage on the continent and representing over 67 million Tanzanians at home and across the world. She will remember the experience. 

“For all of us that played at this WAFCON, this was our first time to feature at the tournament. We came here with the sole goal of going to the final, but we fell short. We did not fail because we leave here with so many lessons learnt. We feel that we represented our nation with honour. We gave everything that we could and at least out of the three games, we scored two goals and gained a point against the defending champions South Africa. That is something. Our plan is to come back to the WAFCON,” Opa says with hope for the future on her face. 

A WAFCON to remember

From leaving Tanzania with the weight of a nation, to having their faces beamed to the world and the prestigious feeling of leading her teammates onto the fields in Berkane and Oujda in the Oriental Province of Morocco, Opa admits that this will always be an unforgettable feeling. 

The Twiga Stars like their nickname Twiga which means giraffe stood tall in their performances, displaying a never-give-up attitude and overall creating memories that they will hold onto as they return home after the group stages. 

“We leave here with the understanding of tournament football. How you start sets the pace for the rest of the tournament. Against Mali, we felt that we did everything that was possible to win but conceded a late goal. Against South Africa, we scored first and against Ghana, we came from behind to equalize but then conceded three more goals. We shall take the lessons. We are going back home to assess our performance and to plan for the future. 

Future success ‘guaranteed’

Tanzania have been building their grassroots structures in recent years focusing on scouting talent across the country and opening clear pathways for the juniors to progress to the senior national team – the Twiga Stars. 

In the last five years, Tanzania have amassed regional titles while accumulating experience from across the continent. The Twiga Stars won the CECAFA Women’s Championship last month at home in preparation for this WAFCON. They previously won the 2021 COSAFA Women’s Championship after beating Malawi in the final in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape in South Africa. 

Their junior team won the 2020 COSAFA U17 Women’s Championship in Port Elizabeth before they won the inaugural UNAF U17 Women’s Championship last year held in Tunisia where they drew with the hosts and defeated both Egypt and Morocco. 

Jamila Mnunduka, who captained the U17s last year, has since been elevated to the U20s and remained in her captain’s role while also featuring for the Twiga Stars at this WAFCON. 

“Honestly, it has been a great pleasure for me to play for Tanzania at this WAFCON. I feel so honoured and grateful for this very special opportunity. I still cannot believe that I am playing alongside my role model Opa [Clement]. I used to see her on television and now I am sitting with her. It feels unreal but I am grateful and trying to take in every moment,” Mnunduka says with a big smile on her face. 

She continues, “Every time that we play at the junior level, she texts and calls me to encourage me before and after the match. I know that I have a big sister who believes in me and that means a lot to me as a young player.” 

Mnunduka says that playing football has given her the opportunity to travel and see the world and that winning trophies is something that she wants to continue doing for Tanzania. “We want to be consistent at this level. We want to come back to the WAFCON.” 

“We leave Morocco having learnt so much. Seeing and being in games with all these great players in the opposing teams has taught me that I must continue working hard. The WAFCON is a whole different level. Against Ghana, when we conceded the four goals, it showed us that the weighing scale was not balanced. We must correct that.” 

Another teenager who impressed the head coach Bakari Shime despite losing to Zambia 0-4 over two legs in the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup 2025 Qualifiers is Lidya Maxmillian Kabambo. At 16, she started all three of Tanzania’s Group C matches at this WAFCON. 

Kabambo came off the bench in Tanzania’s opener against Mali before starting both games against South Africa and Ghana. According to Shime, Tanzania’s plan is to further expose the teenagers to prepare for a future transition when veterans like Anastazia Katunzi eventually decide to call it a day. The assistant captain Katunzi was voted as one of the top three players within the squad by the head coach, coaching staff and players in three separate voting opportunities to showcase her versatility, leadership and overall excellence. 

Tanzania will face Ethiopia this October in the last round of qualification for the TotalEnergies WAFCON 2026 edition that will also be held in Morocco in March next year.