The Tanzania Football Federation[1][2] is the governing body mandated to run The sport of football in Tanzania. It oversees the national football team, Premier League,the Championship, First League,Regional Champions League,Youth U20 League and the Youth U15 League. It is also in charge of Serengeti Lite Women's Premier League.[3]
| Football in Tanzania | |
|---|---|
 A football match in Tanzania. | |
| Country | Tanzania |
| Governing body | Tanzania Football Federation |
| National teams | Taifa Stars Twiga Stars |
| Club competitions | |
| International competitions | |
Champions League CAF Confederation Cup Super Cup FIFA Club World Cup FIFA World Cup(National Team) African Cup of Nations(National Team) | |
Association football is the most popular sport in Tanzania. Approximately 25% of Tanzanians are considered football fans.[4]
League system
editThe Tanzanian league football pyramid uses a promotion and relegation system. The champions of the nation's top level of football, Tanzanian Premier League (Ligi Kuu Tanzania Bara) qualify to play in the following season's CAF Champions League. The bottom 3 teams are relegated to the Championship.
| Level | League | Clubs | Promotion | Relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tanzanian Premier League Ligi Kuu Tanzania |
16 | NA | relegates 2 teams automatically, 1 goes to relegation playoffs |
| 2 | Championship Ligi Daraja la Kwanza |
16 | promotes 2 teams automatically, 4 go to promotion playoffs | relegates 2 team automatically, 4 go to relegation playoffs |
| 3 | First League Ligi Daraja la Pili |
24 - 4 groups of 6 teams | promotes 3 teams automatically | relegates 3 teams automatically |
| 4 | Regional Champions League Ligi ya Mabingwa wa Mikoa |
28 - 4 groups of 7 teams | promotes 3 teams automatically | NA |
| 5 | Youth U20 League Ligi ya Vijana U20 |
|||
| 6 | Youth U15 League Ligi ya Vijana U15 |
Football stadiums in Tanzania
editStadiums with a capacity of 30,000 or higher are included.
| # | Stadium | Location | Capacity | Home team(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | National Stadium Tanzania[citation needed] | Dar es Salaam | 60,000 | National team, Simba SC, Young Africans FC | |
| 2 | CCM Kirumba Stadium | Mwanza | 35,000 | Mbao FC, Alliance Schools FC, Pamba F.C., Toto African | |
| 3 | Kambarage Stadium | Shinyanga | 30,000 | Kahama United | |
| 4 | Jamhuri Stadium Dodoma | Dodoma | 30,000 | JKT Ruvu Stars | |
| 5 | Gombani Stadium | Chake-Chake | 30,000 | ||
| 6 | Maji-Maji Stadium | Songea | 30,000 | ||
Support
editTwitter research from 2015 found that the most popular English Premier League club in Tanzania was Manchester United, with 25% of Tanzanian Premier League fans following the club, closely followed by Arsenal (22%) and Chelsea (17%).[5]
Attendances
editThe average attendance per top-flight football league season and the club with the highest average attendance:
| Season | League average | Best club | Best club average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 2,510 | Young Africans | 10,176 |
| 2023-24 | 2,408 | Young Africans | 9,460 |
Sources: League pages on Wikipedia
References
edit- ↑ "BBC SPORT | Football | African | Trautmann honour echoed in Tanzania". BBC News. 2004-11-02. Retrieved 2013-08-15.
- ↑ Muga, Emmanuel (2013-07-20). "BBC Sport - Trautmann mourned in Tanzania too". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-08-15.
- ↑ Muga, Emmanuel. "BBC Sport – Tanzanian FA to "focus on football development"". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2013-11-15.
- ↑ "(Soccer) Football Fans by Country 2025". 4 April 2024.
- ↑ "Which is Africa's favourite Premier League team?". BBC News. 2015-08-07. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
Further reading
edit- TSURUTA, Tadasu (18 November 2008). "POPULAR MUSIC, SPORTS, AND POLITICS: A DEVELOPMENT OF URBAN CULTURAL MOVEMENTS IN DAR ES SALAAM, 1930s-1960s" (PDF). African Study Monographs. 24 (3): 206. doi:10.14989/68221. Retrieved 18 November 2008.
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