July 9, 2022, was a historic day for Yanga fans and members after electing Engineer Hersi Said as the club’s president, as he ran unopposed in the election held in Dar es Salaam.
The election committee chairman, lawyer Ally Mchungahela, said at the meeting, “According to our election regulations of the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF), if there’s only one candidate, the general meeting passes a resolution confirming that candidate as president.”
“Members, do you approve Hersi Said as the president of Yanga Club?” Mchungahela was quoted as saying, with members responding in unison with a “yes,” which he repeated three times to confirm unanimous support, and then Hersi was declared the club’s president.
From July 9, 2022, Hersi has now completed three years of leadership at Yanga. This article, sourced from Mwanaspoti, reviews the six promises he made during the general meeting and what has been achieved so far.
CLUB INFRASTRUCTURE
The biggest promise he made was about infrastructure development, including building a stadium, renovating the team building, and developing the existing training centers in Kigamboni, Dar es Salaam.
Of these three areas, Hersi has successfully completed two: renovation of the team building and development of training centers at Kigamboni. However, the stadium project with a 20,000-seat capacity remains pending.
Speaking to fans during the 2024-2025 title parade at the club’s headquarters, Hersi admitted that the Kaunda Stadium project is among his unfulfilled promises.
“We needed to acquire a large enough area suitable for building a modern stadium and other projects. We thank the sixth-phase Government for granting us approval for construction after initial delays,” Hersi was quoted saying.
CLUB STRUCTURE REFORMS
Hersi, who seeks nomination from the ruling party CCM to contest for the Kigamboni parliamentary seat in the October 2025 general elections, has remained close to Yanga members.
Under his leadership, the club members approved governance reforms, which Hersi has committed to implementing according to the constitution, a promise largely fulfilled over his three years in office.
STRENGTHENING THE CLUB’S ECONOMY
Hersi pledged to strengthen Yanga’s economy through four areas: member registration, fan registration, attracting sponsors, and bringing in investors.
He has succeeded in increasing member and fan registrations, as well as attracting various sponsors and investors. However, significantly strengthening the club's finances remains a challenge, although progress is visible.
Improving a club’s finances is not easy. For example, in the June 9, 2024, general meeting, the club reported a loss of over Tsh 1 billion in its 2023-2024 financial report, earning Tsh 21.19 billion against expenditures of Tsh 22.29 billion.
Despite the loss, Hersi’s transparency in reporting it reflects professionalism and accountability.
BUILDING A STRONG SQUAD
Hersi focused on four areas here: building a competitive team to win trophies in the Premier League, FA Cup, Community Shield, and continental competitions.
Under his leadership, Yanga has won the Community Shield twice (2022 and 2024), and claimed the Premier League title three times consecutively (2022-23, 2023-24, and 2024-25), as well as the FA Cup for three consecutive seasons.
Domestically, Hersi has succeeded, although continental competition remains a challenge. In the 2024-25 CAF Champions League, Yanga finished third in Group A with eight points, failing to advance.
However, under Hersi, Yanga reached the CAF Champions League group stage in 2023-24 for the first time since 1998, and were CAF Confederation Cup finalists in 2022-23, narrowly losing to USM Alger.
YOUTH AND WOMEN’S TEAMS
Hersi also promised to strengthen the U-17, U-20, and women’s team Yanga Princess, although challenges persist in this area. These teams have been competitive in local tournaments, but fans expect them to match the senior team’s standards.
INCREASING COLLABORATION
Hersi aimed to enhance collaboration between the club, its members, fans, various stakeholders including government departments, private sector, journalists, and Tanzanians at large — a goal largely achieved.
Although some of his promises remain unfulfilled, it’s clear progress has been made, and Hersi stands out as a leader with significant football vision both nationally and internationally.
Highlighting this, on December 1, 2023, CAF launched the African Clubs Association (ACA), appointing Hersi Said as the chairman of its board, headquartered in Rabat, Morocco.
The launch in Egypt was overseen by CAF President Patrice Motsepe. Jessica Motaung of Kaizer Chiefs was appointed as Hersi’s deputy chairperson, while Paul Basset of Akwa United in Nigeria was named second vice-chairperson.
