Tanzanian Premier League

The Tanzania Mainland Premier League (Swahili: Ligi Kuu Tanzania Bara) is a top-level Tanzanian professional football league, governed by the Tanzania Football Federation.

Tanzanian Premier League
Founded
  • 1921 (1921)[1]
    (as "Dar es Salaam Football League")
  • 1965 (1965) (as "National League")
CountryTanzania Tanzania
ConfederationConfederation of African Football
Number of teams16
Level on pyramid1
Relegation toChampionship
Domestic cup(s)
International cup(s)
Current championsYoung Africans
(2021–22)
Most championshipsYoung Africans (29 titles)
TV partnersAzam TV
(live matches and highlights)
Websiteligikuu.co.tz
Current: 2022–23 Tanzanian Premier League

History

The league first organized in 1921 in Dar es Salaam.[2] By 1929, it had six participants. In the 1930s, the league included street teams such as Arab Sports (Kariakoo) and New Strong Team (Kisutu), which were mostly composed of Arabs and Africans. The Sudanese community also has its own team, which joined the league in 1941.

Other teams in its early history included the Khalsas, an exclusively Sikh team, and the Ilala Staff, a team of Ilalan residents.

In 1942, clubs from public institutions such as the Government School, Post Office, Railways SC, King's African Rifles SC, Police SC, and Medical Department started to dominate the league. However, most teams disbanded in the aftermath of World War II, with many European players ceasing their participation in the league, and their clubs, which included Gymkhana Club, Police Club, King's African Rifles, and Railways, eventually withdrawing. Starting from the 1940s, they were replaced by African street teams such as Young Africans (Yanga) and Sunderland (known as Old Boys in 1942 and later to become Simba), as well as the Goan's Club manned by Goans, and the Agha Khan Club by Ismaili Khojas.

The Sudanese team broke up in the mid-1940s.

From this period onwards, Yanga and Sunderland gradually became the most popular and strongest clubs in Dar es Salaam. Yanga, founded in 1938, entered the first division of the league soon afterward and won four major cups in 1942. Sunderland joined the first division soon after Yanga and won four important trophies in 1946.

By 1955, the Dar es Salaam league had 38 registered clubs. It became the "National League" by 1965, incorporating most of the major teams in Tanzania. The name was later changed to the "First Division Soccer League" and to the "Premier League" in 1997. Tanzania Breweries became the sponsor of the championship, after which the League was called the Tanzania Breweries League (TBL). The contract with Breweries terminated in 2001 after a conflict with the Tanzania Football Association. In 2002, a contract was signed with the telecommunication company Vodacom, which lasted until 2009, after which they were re-signed the same year.

Competition format
Tanzanian Premier League match between Kagera Sugar and Mbeya City on 17 January 2015

Competition

The Tanzanian Premier League (TPL) follows a typical double round-robin format: with each team playing the other twice, home and away. Winning earns three points, a draw earns a point for both teams, and a loss earns zero points.

Promotion & Relegation

The bottom two placed teams are automatically demoted to the Championship and are replaced by the winners and runners-up from the Championship. The third and fourth worst-ranked teams enter a play-off with the 3rd and 4th placed teams from the First Division.[3]

International Competitions

As a member of the CAF, teams based in Tanzania compete in the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup.

Recent positive performances by TPL clubs in continental competitions have seen Tanzania rise in the CAF 5-Year Ranking. As a result, more teams from the league have had the opportunity to compete on the continental stage.

CAF Champions League

The league champion qualifies for the CAF Champions League for the following season.

Starting in the 2021-22 season, the second-placed team from the previous season also qualifies for the CAF CL.

CAF Confederation Cup

Since the 2015–16 season, the winner of the Tanzania FA Cup has qualified for the CAF Confederations Cup. This qualification place had previously been awarded only to the runner-up in the Premier League.

From the 2021-22 season onwards, the champions of the FA Cup and the third-placed team in the Premier League have also qualified for the tournament.

Clubs

Starting from the 2018–19 season, the league is composed of 20 teams, which was further lowered to 18 in 2020 and 16 in 2021.

Champions
Club Wins[4]
Yanga 28
Simba (includes Sunderland) 22
Maji Maji 3
Malindi 2
Prisons 1
Pan African 1
Azam 1
Cosmopolitans 1
Mseto Sports 1
Coastal Union 1
Pamba 1
KMKM 1

Wins by year

Previous champions are:[5]

  • 1965: Sunderland (Dar es Salaam)
  • 1966: Sunderland (Dar es Salaam)
  • 1967: Cosmopolitans S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 1968: Young Africans S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 1969: Young Africans S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 1970: Young Africans S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 1971: Young Africans S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 1972: Young Africans S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 1973: Simba S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 1974: Young Africans S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 1975: Mseto S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 1976: Simba S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 1977: Simba S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 1978: Simba S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 1979: Simba S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 1980: Simba S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 1981: Young Africans S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 1982: Pan African S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 1983: Young Africans S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 1984: KMKM (Zanzibar)
  • 1985: Majimaji F.C. (Ruvuma)
  • 1986: Majimaji F.C. (Ruvuma)
  • 1987: Young Africans S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 1988: Coastal Union S.C. (Tanga)
  • 1989: Malindi (Zanzibar)
  • 1990: Pamba SC (Mwanza)
  • 1991: Young Africans S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 1992: Malindi S.C. (Zanzibar)
  • 1993: Simba S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 1994: Simba S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 1995: Simba S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 1996: Young Africans S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 1997: Young Africans S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 1998: Majimaji F.C. (Ruvuma)
  • 1999: Prisons (Mbeya)
  • 2000: Young Africans S.C. (Dar Es Salaam)
  • 2001: Simba S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 2002: Simba S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 2003: Simba S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 2004: Simba S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 2005: Young Africans S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 2006: Young Africans S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 2007: Simba S.C. (Dar es Salaam) [mini-league]
  • 2007–08: Young Africans S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 2008–09: Young Africans S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 2009–10: Simba S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 2010–11: Young Africans S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 2011–12: Simba S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 2012–13: Young Africans S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 2013–14: Azam F.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 2014–15: Young Africans S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 2015–16: Young Africans S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 2016–17: Young Africans S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 2017–18: Simba S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 2018–19: Simba S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 2019–20: Simba S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 2020–21: Simba S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
  • 2021–22: Young Africans S.C. (Dar es Salaam)

Top scorers
Year Best scorers Team Goals
1997 TanzaniaMohamed Hussein "Mmachinga"Young Africans26
2004 TanzaniaAbubakar Ally MkangwaMtibwa Sugar
2005 TanzaniaAbdallah JumaMtibwa Sugar25
2006 n/an/a
2007 TanzaniaMashikuSC United17
2007–08 TanzaniaMichael KatendeKagera Sugar
2008–09 KenyaBoniface AmbaniYoung Africans18
2009–10 TanzaniaMusa Hassan MgosiSimba18
2010–11 TanzaniaMrisho NgasaAzam18
2011–12 TanzaniaJohn Raphael BoccoAzam19
2012–13 Ivory CoastKipre TchetcheAzam17
2013–14 BurundiAmissi TambweSimba19
2014–15 TanzaniaSimon MsuvaYoung Africans17
2015–16 BurundiAmissi TambweYoung Africans21
2016–17 TanzaniaSimon MsuvaYoung Africans14
2017–18 UgandaEmmanuel OkwiSimba20
2018–19 RwandaMeddie Kagere Simba23
2019–20 RwandaMeddie Kagere Simba22
2020–21 TanzaniaJohn Bocco Simba16
2021-22 TanzaniaGeorge Mpole[6]Geita Gold17
2022-23 Democratic Republic of the CongoFiston Mayele[7]Young Africans16

Hat-tricks
Player For Against Scorer Date
Kenya Alexis Kitenge Stand U Young Africans 4-3 16 September 2018
Uganda Emmanuel Okwi Simba Ruvu Shooting 0-5 28 October 2018
Tanzania Salim Aiyee Mwadui Kagera Sugar 4-0 6 January 2019
Uganda Emmanuel Okwi Simba Coastal Unión 8-1 8 May 2019
Rwanda Meddie Kagere
Tanzania Ditram Nchimbi Polisi T Young Africans 3-3 3 October 2019
Tanzania Saliboko Daluwesh Lipuli Singida United 5-1 6 November 2019
Zambia Aubrey Chirwa Azam Alliance 0-5 26 November 2019
Tanzania Kevin Sabato Kagera Sugar Singida United 3-0 1 February 2020
Tanzania David Richard Alliance Mwadui 4-1 19 February 2020
Rwanda Meddie Kagere4 Simba Singida United 8-0 11 March 2020
Tanzania Green Atupele Biashara MU Kinondoni MC 4-0 24 June 2020
Zambia Aubrey Chirwa4 Azam Singida United 7-0 5 July 2020
Tanzania Adam Omar JKT Tanzania Mwadui 1-6 25 October 2020
Tanzania John Bocco Simba Coastal Unión 0-7 21 November 2020
Tanzania Modathir Said Coastal Unión Mwadui 5-0 15 July 2021
Tanzania Juma Luizio Mbeya City Biashara MU 4-0 18 July 2021
Tanzania Ibrahim Hilika Mtibwa Sugar Transit Camp 1-4 21 July 2021
Tanzania Jeremiah Juma Tanzania Prison Namungo 3-1 20 November 2021
Tanzania Shiza Kichuya Namungo Mtibwa Sugar 2-4 26 June 2022
Democratic Republic of the Congo Idris Mbombo Azam Biashara MU 4-1 29 June 2022
Tanzania John Bocco Simba Ruvu Shooting 0-4 12 November 2022
Democratic Republic of the Congo Fiston Mayele Young Africans Singida BS 4-1 17 November 2022
Tanzania Saidi Ntibazonkiza Simba Tanzania Prisiones 7-1 30 December 2022
Tanzania John Bocco
Tanzania Ibrahim Ali Namungo Kinondoni MC 1-3 24 January 2023
Democratic Republic of the Congo Jean Baleke Simba Mtibwa 0-3 11 March 2023
Burkina Faso Stephane Aziz Ki Young Afričana Kagere Sugar 5-0 11 April 2023
  • 4 Player scored 4 goals
  • 5 Player scored 5 goals

References
  1. "Tanzania – List of champions". RSSSF.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  2. Football, in Tanzania (18 November 2008). "POPULAR MUSIC, SPORTS, AND POLITICS: A DEVELOPMENT OF URBAN CULTURAL MOVEMENTS IN DAR ES SALAAM, the 1930s-1960s" (PDF). TSURUTA, Tadasu. POPULAR MUSIC, SPORTS, AND POLITICS: A DEVELOPMENT OF URBAN CULTURAL MOVEMENTS IN DAR ES SALAAM, the 1930s–1960s. African Study Monographs 2003, 24(3): 195–222. 24 (3): 206. doi:10.14989/68221. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 September 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2008.
  3. "About the Premier League". Tanzania Football Federation. 26 February 2010. Archived from the original on 28 October 2010. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
  4. "Tanzania - List of Champions". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 2022-09-20. Retrieved 2022-02-11.
  5. "Tanzania – List of Champions". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
  6. "Who will win Best Player Award?". The Citizen. 2022-07-07. Archived from the original on 2023-02-02. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  7. "Mayele: Kaizer Chiefs to sign DR Congo international? - Motaung and Young Africans respond | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Archived from the original on 2023-02-02. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
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