Turning football into the lifeblood of society 

Influential Young Africans president Hersi Said Ally is turning football into the lifeblood of society in Tanzania.

The youthful Yanga boss doesn’t just want to be known for shepherding his team to trophies only. 

Engineer Hersi, whose team reached the 2023 CAF Confederation Cup final, is a man on a mission and that mission is simple: for Young Africans to become the lifeline of Tanzania’s blood banks.

A few months ago, Eng. Hersi started an initiative to drive the clubs fans to donate blood. The initiative is in partnership with the East African country’s Ministry of Health.

HERSI ALLY SAID EXPLAINS INITIATIVE

“As a club, we’re aware that thousands of patients would die daily if there is insufficient quality blood in stock,” he explained to FARPost.

“We started this initiative where we invite our fans to come and donate blood in exchange for a jersey and a ticket for a game. That’s quite an irresistible package for many fans.

“So we would have companies buy as many tickets and then we would bring jerseys. Each time someone donates, we would then give them a jersey and a ticket.”

He believes by donating blood, Yanga fans give patients the gift money cannot buy or science cannot create. 

According to experts, a unit of blood can save up to three lives as blood is separated into red blood cells, plasma and platelets.

Thanks to the package offered by Yanga, in March they collected over 500 pints of blood. The same has been done in several other cities.

On Wednesday, the Tanzania champions were honoured for the initiative as the world celebrated World Blood Donor Day. 

The Jangwani giants received recognition for being one of the recognised institutions that have contributed immensely to the country’s blood banks.

POSITIVELY INFLUENCE PEOPLE

“It’s encouraging because we want to make a difference through football. We have that responsibility as a club to positively influence our people. I’m quite excited about the initiative and what the future holds.”

Every year countries around the world commemorate World Blood Donor Day on June 14. In Tanzania, this year’s event was hosted in the capital Dodoma and served to raise awareness of the need for the life-saving gifts of blood.

Blood is essential to help patients survive surgeries, cancer treatment, chronic illnesses, and traumatic injuries.

Engineer Hersi was elected president of Yanga in 2022 and continues to oversee a purple patch for Timu ya Wananchi.

Recently, Yanga were crowned Azam Cup winners after winning the NBC Premier League title and the Community Shield. 

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