Two weeks ago today, I was watching this game:
Masigira Ladies were playing Mpandangindo in finals of the Hoja League, down in the furthest south west corner of Tanzania. With evening looming, and of course no floodlights, Mpandangindo turned up an hour late with only seven players. Masigira were therefore awarded a 1-0 lead before the match even started.
Without the money to hire a bus, and only one public bus a day in the wrong direction, arriving at the pitch full strength was always going to be difficult for Mpandangindo. But transport problems would not be allowed to stop the match entirely.
By (a shortened) half-time, Masigira had added another two goals to their tally. They were awarded the win in the second half when Mpandangindo lost another player to injury.
At the Hoja Project we support education and community health in Tanga Ward near Songea town. Aside organising a local football league every year, we provide small loans to villagers to set up income generation projects, sponsor secondary school students, and this year have opened a vocational training centre for out-of-school youth.
Now that I'm back home in North London, and the football season has started, I thought I'd challenge you to make a bold prediction about the Premier League.
This is all you need to predict:
· The order in which the 20 Premier League teams will finish.
· The team with the best goal difference
· The team with the worst goal difference
· The team with the best disciplinary record
· The team with the worst disciplinary record
· The team with the most draws
· The top scoring player
The scoring system is detailed on my blog, to save me clogging up this article here.
Once you've made your prediction, comment here, or on my blog, or email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. To be eligible to win a yet-to-be-made trophy made out of genuine Tanzanian football merchandise®, you also need to make a minimum of a £2 donation at justgiving.com/hoja.
Just £2 could pay for:
· Two weeks' education for one of our sponsored students
· About one tenth of a small business loan
(...but you can donate more if you like.)
It's simple, cheap, and you don't have to remember to fiddle with it as the season progresses.
Deadline: End of August 2009.
Here's my prediction. Though obviously I'm not allowed to win. Think you can do better?
1. Manchester United
2. Liverpool
3. Arsenal
4. Manchester City
5. Chelsea
6. Tottenham Hotspur
7. Fulham
8. West Ham
9. Everton
10. Stoke City
11. Wigan Athletic
12. Sunderland
13. Aston Villa
14. Wolverhampton Wanderers
15. Blackburn Rovers
16. Bolton Wanderers
17. Hull City
18. Birmingham City
19. Burnley
20. Portsmouth
Best GD: Arsenal
Worst GD: Portsmouth
Most Draws: Aston Villa
Best Disciplinary: Stoke City
Worst Disciplinary: Bolton Wanderers
Top Scorer: Arshavin (Arsenal)