Tanzania national football team

The Tanzania national football team (Swahili: Timu ya Taifa ya Mpira wa Miguu ya Tanzania) represents Tanzania in men's international football and is controlled by the Tanzania Football Federation, the governing body for football in Tanzania, Tanzania's home ground is Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium in Dar-es-Salaam and their head coach is Adel Amrouche from Algeria. They are colloquially known as the Taifa Stars. Tanzania has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup. Before uniting with Zanzibar, the team played as the Tanganyika national football team, The team represents both FIFA and Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Tanzania
Nickname(s)Taifa Stars
AssociationTanzania Football Federation (TFF)
ConfederationCAF (Africa)
Sub-confederationCECAFA (East & Central Africa)
Head coachHemed Morocco (interim)
CaptainMbwana Samatta
Most capsErasto Nyoni (107)
Top scorerMrisho Ngasa (25)
Home stadiumNational Stadium
FIFA codeTAN
First colours
Second colours
Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current 119 Steady (4 April 2024)[1]
Highest65 (February 1995)
Lowest175 (October–November 2005)
First international
 Uganda 7–0 Tanganyika 
(Uganda; Date Unknown 1945)
as Tanzania
 Tanzania 1–1 Kenya 
(Tanzania; 1 March 1969)
Biggest win
 Tanzania 7–0 Somalia 
(Jinja, Uganda; 1 December 1995)
 Somalia 0–7 Tanzania 
(Kampala, Uganda; 1 December 2012)
Biggest defeat
 Tanganyika 0–9 Kenya 
(Tanganyika; Date Unknown 1956)
as Tanzania
 Saudi Arabia 8–0 Tanzania 
(Dammam, Saudi Arabia; 11 September 1998)
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances3 (first in 1980)
Best resultGroup stage (1980, 2019, 2023)

The island of Zanzibar, part of Tanzania (and once an independent nation), is also an associate member of CAF and has played matches with other nations, but is not eligible to enter the World Cup or Africa Cup of Nations. See Zanzibar national football team.

Tanzania is currently ranked 121st in the FIFA World Rankings.[2]

History

Since qualifying for the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations, Tanzania endured nearly 40 years without major success, struggling in both African and World Cup qualifiers. Their best effort was in 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification, where the Taifa Stars defeated Burkina Faso twice and only finished three points behind group winners Senegal. In 2010 Tanzania won the CECAFA Cup for the third time.

A recent achievement was a 1–0 win against South Africa in the 2017 COSAFA Cup Quarter-finals. But afterwards, Tanzania lost the Semi-finals 2–4 to Zambia. Then, in the Third-place playoff, Tanzania managed to win the match against Lesotho 4–2 in a penalty shootout after the extra time ended in a goalless draw. This Third place was considered Tanzania's biggest football achievement in many years.

On 24 March 2019, Tanzania beat East African rivals Uganda 3–0 to reach the finals of the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in 39 years. At the Finals the Taifa Stars, being the weakest team in the group, lost all three Group C matches, as predicted. A few months later, Tanzania qualified for the African Nations Championship for only the second time, as well as defeating Burundi in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

Coaching staff

Head coachTanzania Hemed Morocco
Assistant coachTanzania Juma Mgunda
Assistant coachTanzania Hemed Morocco
Assistant coachGermany Dr. Carolin Braun
Goalkeeper coachSaudi Arabia Osama Al-Hamdan
Physical coachFinland Mikael Mayoyo
Sports therapistBelgium Joris De Vos
Head of medicalTanzania Lisobine Kisongo
Team managerTanzania Reinhard

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2023

28 March 2023 AFCON qualification Tanzania  0–1  Uganda Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
20:00 UTC+3 Report
  • Mato 90+1'
Stadium: National Stadium
Referee: Ibrahim Kalilou Traore (Ivory Coast)
18 June 2023 AFCON qualification Tanzania  1–0  Niger Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
16:00 UTC+3
  • Msuva 69'
Report Stadium: National Stadium (Tanzania)
Referee: Mohamed Al Sayd (Egypt)
7 September 2023 AFCON qualification Algeria  0–0  Tanzania Annaba, Algeria
20:00 UTC+1 Report Stadium: 19 May 1956 Stadium
Referee: Djindo Louis Houngnandande (Benin)
15 October Friendly Sudan  1–1  Tanzania Taif, Saudi Arabia
19:00 UTC+3
  • Musab
Report
  • Bajana
Stadium: King Fahd Sports City
18 November 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Niger  0–1  Tanzania Marrakesh, Morocco
17:00 UTC+1 Report
  • M'Mombwa 56'
Stadium: Stade de Marrakech
Attendance: 178
Referee: Lotfi Bekouassa (Algeria)
21 November 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Tanzania  0–2  Morocco Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
19:00 UTC+3 Report
Stadium: Benjamin Mkapa (National Stadium)
Attendance: 60,000
Referee: Abongile Tom (South Africa)
27 December Friendly Zanzibar  0–0  Tanzania

2024

7 January Friendly Egypt  2–0  Tanzania Cairo, Egypt
18:00 UTC+2
Report Stadium: Cairo International Stadium
Referee: Hashem Al-Ibrahim (Kuwait)
17 January 2023 AFCON GS Morocco  3–0  Tanzania San Pédro, Ivory Coast
Stadium: Laurent Pokou Stadium
21 January 2023 AFCON GS Zambia  1–1  Tanzania San Pédro, Ivory Coast
Stadium: Laurent Pokou Stadium
24 January 2023 AFCON GS Tanzania  0–0  DR Congo Korhogo, Ivory Coast
Stadium: Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium
22 March 2024 FIFA World Series Tanzania  0–1  Bulgaria Baku, Azerbaijan
15:00 UTC+4 Report Despodov 52' Stadium: Dalga Arena
Attendance: 154
Referee: Aliyar Aghayev (Azerbaijan)
25 March 2024 FIFA World Series Tanzania  3–0  Mongolia Baku, Azerbaijan
17:00 UTC+4
  • John 49'
  • Sopu 62'
  • Miroshi 76'
Report Stadium: Dalga Arena
Attendance: 146
Referee: Elçin Məsiyev (Azerbaijan)

Coaches

Caretaker managers are listed in italics.
  • West Germany Bert Trautmann (1975)
  • England Geoff Hudson (1977–1979)
  • Poland Sławomir Wolk (1979–1980)[3]
  • Tanzania Mahammed Msomali (1980–1981)
  • West Germany Rudi Gutendorf (1981)
  • Zanzibar Joseph Bendera (1981–1985)[4]
  • Tanzania Paul West (1985–1989)[5]
  • Tanzania Charles Boniface Mkwasa (1989–1992)
  • Tanzania Kayuni Sunday (1993–1995)[6]
  • Brazil Clóvis de Oliveira (1995–1996)
  • Tanzania Badru Hafidh (1996–1998)
  • Tanzania Sylersaid Mziray (1998–1999)[7]
  • Tanzania Mansour Magram (1999–00)
  • Germany Burkhard Pape (2000–01)
  • Tanzania Mshindo Msolla (2001–02)
  • Kenya James Siang'a (2002)
  • Tanzania Mshindo Msolla (2002–03)
  • Tanzania Badru Hafidh (2003–06)
  • Brazil Júlio César Leal (2006)
  • Brazil Márcio Máximo (2006–10)
  • Denmark Jan Poulsen (2010–12)
  • Denmark Kim Poulsen (2012–14)
  • Tanzania Salum Madadi (2014)
  • Netherlands Mart Nooij (2014–2015)
  • Tanzania Charles Boniface Mkwasa (2015–2017)
  • Tanzania Salum Mayanga (2017–2018)
  • Nigeria Emmanuel Amunike (2018–2019)
  • Burundi Etienne Ndayiragije (2019–2021)
  • Denmark Kim Poulsen (2021–2022)
  • Zambia Honour Janza (2022)
  • Tanzania Dean Alty (2022)
  • Denmark Kim Poulsen (2022–2023)
  • Algeria Adel Amrouche (2023–2024)
  • Tanzania Hemed Morocco (2024–)

Players

Current squad

The following 27 players were called up for 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.[8]

Caps and goals correct as of 7 January 2024, after the match against Egypt.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Kwesi Kawawa (2001-12-05) 5 December 2001 1 0 Sweden Karlslunds IF
13 1GK Beno David Kakolanya (1994-06-27) 27 June 1994 4 0 Tanzania Singida Fountain Gate
18 1GK Aishi Manula (1995-09-13) 13 September 1995 60 0 Tanzania Simba

2 2DF Haji Mnoga (2002-04-16) 16 April 2002 8 0 England Aldershot Town
4 2DF Ibrahim Hamad (1997-11-12) 12 November 1997 8 0 Tanzania Young Africans
5 2DF Dickson Job (2000-12-29) 29 December 2000 23 1 Tanzania Young Africans
14 2DF Bakari Mwamnyeto (1995-10-05) 5 October 1995 37 0 Tanzania Young Africans
15 2DF Mohamed Husseini (1996-11-01) 1 November 1996 38 0 Tanzania Simba
16 2DF Lusajo Mwaikenda (2000-10-27) 27 October 2000 5 0 Tanzania Azam
20 2DF Novatus Miroshi (2002-09-02) 2 September 2002 18 2 Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk
24 2DF Abdi Banda (1995-05-20) 20 May 1995 20 0 South Africa Chippa United
25 2DF Abdulmalik Zakaria (1996-03-03) 3 March 1996 0 0 Tanzania Namungo
26 2DF Miano Danilo (2003-03-31) 31 March 2003 0 0 Spain Villena

3 3MF Mudathir Yahya (1996-05-06) 6 May 1996 28 0 Tanzania Young Africans
6 3MF Feisal Salum (1998-01-11) 11 January 1998 33 2 Tanzania Azam
7 3MF Himid Mao (1992-11-15) 15 November 1992 70 2 Egypt Ghazl El Mahalla
8 3MF Morice Abraham (2003-08-13) 13 August 2003 3 0 Serbia Spartak Subotica
11 3MF Tarryn Allarakhia (1997-11-17) 17 November 1997 1 0 England Wealdstone
17 3MF Sospeter Bajana (1996-10-14) 14 October 1996 5 1 Tanzania Azam
19 3MF Mzamiru Yassin (1996-01-03) 3 January 1996 47 0 Tanzania Simba

9 4FW Cyprian Kachwele (2005-02-15) 15 February 2005 0 0 Canada Whitecaps 2
10 4FW Mbwana Samatta (captain) (1992-12-23) 23 December 1992 76 22 Greece PAOK
12 4FW Simon Msuva (1993-10-02) 2 October 1993 88 21 Algeria JS Kabylie
21 4FW Charles M'Mombwa (1998-03-14) 14 March 1998 3 1 Australia Macarthur FC
22 4FW Kibu Denis (1998-12-04) 4 December 1998 17 0 Tanzania Simba
23 4FW Ben Starkie (2002-07-23) 23 July 2002 3 0 England Basford United
27 4FW Mohammed Sagaf (1997-11-12) 12 November 1997 1 0 England Boreham Wood

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for Tanzania in the last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Metacha Mnata (1998-11-25) 25 November 1998 9 0 Tanzania Young Africans 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
GK Zuberi Foba Masudi (2002-05-23) 23 May 2002 0 0 Tanzania Azam v.  Niger, 18 June 2023

DF Kennedy Juma (1994-08-07) 7 August 1994 10 0 Tanzania Simba 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
DF Lameck Elias Lawi (2000-11-28) 28 November 2000 0 0 Tanzania Coastal Union 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
DF Ally Kibwana Shomari (2000-11-21) 21 November 2000 7 0 Tanzania Young Africans v.  Niger, 18 June 2023
DF Kheir Makame Jecha (1996-08-23) 23 August 1996 0 0 Tanzania Kikosi Maalum Kuzuia Magendo v.  Niger, 18 June 2023
DF Datius Peter (1998-11-26) 26 November 1998 0 0 Tanzania Kagera Sugar v.  Niger, 18 June 2023
DF Shomari Kapombe (1992-01-28) 28 January 1992 82 1 Tanzania Simba v.  Uganda, 28 March 2023
DF Charles Luhende (1989-01-21) 21 January 1989 5 0 Tanzania Kagera Sugar v.  Uganda, 28 March 2023
DF Abdallah Mfuko (1993-03-23) 23 March 1993 2 0 Tanzania Kagera Sugar v.  Uganda, 28 March 2023
DF Yahya Mbegu (2000-08-07) 7 August 2000 0 0 Tanzania Polisi v.  Uganda, 28 March 2023

MF Ayoub Idrissa Bilali (2001-07-27) 27 July 2001 1 0 Bosnia and Herzegovina Goražde 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
MF Adolf Bitegeko (1999-02-26) 26 February 1999 0 0 Iceland Völsungur 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
MF Yusuph Kagoma (1996-02-01) 1 February 1996 0 0 Tanzania Geita Gold 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
MF Raphael Daudi (1996-11-09) 9 November 1996 7 0 Tanzania Ihefu v.  Niger, 18 June 2023
MF Anuary Jabir (1996-11-08) 8 November 1996 3 0 Tanzania Kagera Sugar v.  Uganda, 28 March 2023
MF Ally Msengi (2001-12-20) 20 December 2001 1 0 South Africa Moroka Swallows v.  Uganda, 28 March 2023
MF Khalid Habibu (2001-09-10) 10 September 2001 0 0 Tanzania KMKM v.  Uganda, 28 March 2023
MF Edmund John (2002-12-04) 4 December 2002 0 0 Tanzania Geita Gold v.  Uganda, 28 March 2023
MF Ramadhani Makame (1998-06-29) 29 June 1998 0 0 Turkey Bodrumspor v.  Uganda, 28 March 2023

FW Abdul Hamisi Suleiman (2001-02-26) 26 February 2001 7 0 Tanzania Azam 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
FW Said Khamis (2000-07-20) 20 July 2000 5 1 Serbia Jedinstvo Ub 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
FW Raphael Bocco (1989-08-05) 5 August 1989 84 16 Tanzania Simba v.  Algeria, 7 September 2023
FW George Tibar (2000-01-01) 1 January 2000 1 0 United Arab Emirates Hatta v.  Niger, 18 June 2023
FW Bernard Kamungo (2002-01-01) 1 January 2002 0 0 United States FC Dallas v.  Niger, 18 June 2023
FW Kelvin John (2003-06-10) 10 June 2003 6 0 Belgium Genk v.  Uganda, 28 March 2023
FW Alphonce Msanga (2003-06-14) 14 June 2003 0 0 Serbia Spartak Subotica v.  Uganda, 28 March 2023

DEC Player refused to join the team after the call-up.
INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.
PRE Preliminary squad.
RET Player has retired from international football.
SUS Suspended from the national team.

Player records

As of 21 November 2023[9]
Players in bold are still active with Tanzania.

Most appearances

Rank Name Caps Goals Career
1 Erasto Nyoni 107 7 2006–2021
2 Mrisho Ngassa 100 25 2006–2015
3 Kelvin Yondani 97 0 2008–2021
4 Simon Msuva 86 21 2012–present
5 Raphael Bocco 84 16 2009–present
6 Shomari Kapombe 82 1 2011–present
7 Juma Kaseja 79 0 2002–2021
8 Mbwana Samatta 75 22 2011–present
9 Himid Mao 69 2 2013–present
10 Shaban Nditi 62 2 2002–2012

Top goalscorers

Rank Name Goals Caps Ratio Career
1 Mrisho Ngassa 25 100 0.25 2006–2015
2 Mbwana Samatta 22 75 0.29 2011–present
3 Simon Msuva 22 86 0.24 2012–present
4 Raphael Bocco 16 84 0.19 2009–present
5 John Nteze Lungu 12 22 0.55 1992–2002
6 Jerson Tegete 8 28 0.29 2006–2011
Danny Mrwanda 8 34 0.24 2005–2011
8 Mohamed Rajab 7 20 0.35 2002–2011
Thomas Ulimwengu 7 51 0.14 2010–2021
Erasto Nyoni 7 107 0.07 2006–2021

Competitive record

World Cup record

FIFA World Cup Qualification
Year Round Position Pld W D L F A Pld W D L F A
1930 to 1962 Not a FIFA member Not a FIFA member
1966 and 1970 Did not enter Did not enter
West Germany 1974 Did not qualify 3 0 2 1 1 4
Argentina 1978 Withdrew Withdrew
Spain 1982 Did not qualify 4 1 1 2 7 6
Mexico 1986 2 0 2 0 1 1
Italy 1990 Did not enter Did not enter
United States 1994 Withdrew during qualifying Withdrew during qualifying
France 1998 Did not qualify 2 0 1 1 1 2
South Korea Japan 2002 2 0 0 2 2 4
Germany 2006 2 0 1 1 0 3
South Africa 2010 6 2 2 2 9 6
Brazil 2014 8 3 0 5 10 14
Russia 2018 4 1 1 2 4 10
Qatar 2022 8 2 4 2 8 10
Canada Mexico United States 2026 To be determined 2 1 0 1 1 2
Morocco Portugal Spain 2030 To be determined
Saudi Arabia 2034
Total 0/15 43 12 12 19 44 62

Africa Cup of Nations record

Africa Cup of Nations Africa Cup of Nations Qualification Record
Appearances: 3 Appearances: 24
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
as  Tanganyika as  Tanganyika
Sudan 1957Not affiliated to CAFNot affiliated to CAF
United Arab Republic 1959
Ethiopia 1962
Ghana 1963
as  Tanzania as  Tanzania
Tunisia 1965 Not affiliated to CAF Not affiliated to CAF
Ethiopia 1968Withdrew during qualifyingWithdrew during qualifying
Sudan 1970Did not qualify4112310
Cameroon 1972201126
Egypt 1974412153
Ethiopia 1976201136
Ghana 1978Withdrew during qualifyingWithdrew during qualifying
Nigeria 1980Group stage7th301236421184
Libya 1982WithdrewWithdrew
Ivory Coast 1984Did not qualify201134
Egypt 1986Withdrew during qualifyingWithdrew during qualifying
Morocco 1988Did not qualify301236
Algeria 1990202022
Senegal 1992612347
Tunisia 1994Withdrew during qualifyingWithdrew during qualifying
South Africa 1996Did not qualify104061415
Burkina Faso 1998612357
Ghana Nigeria 2000200202
Mali 2002200224
Tunisia 2004Withdrew during qualifyingWithdrew during qualifying
Egypt 2006Did not qualify201103
Ghana 2008622247
Angola 2010222296
Equatorial Guinea Gabon 2012612369
South Africa 2013202022
Equatorial Guinea 2015412166
Gabon 2017401306
Egypt 2019Group stage24th300328622265
Cameroon 2021Did not qualify621356
Ivory Coast 2023Group stage22nd302114622234
Morocco 2025To be determinedTo be determined
Kenya Tanzania Uganda 2027Qualified as hostsQualified as hosts
TotalGroup stage4/3690366189322314095130

African Nations Championship record

African Nations Championship African Nations Championship Qualification Record
Appearances: 2 Appearances: 7
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Ivory Coast 2009Group stage5th3111226411104
Sudan 2011Did not qualify311172
South Africa 2014200214
Rwanda 2016201114
Morocco 2018202011
Cameroon 2020Group stage10th311134412122
Algeria 2022Did not qualify420235
Kenya Tanzania Uganda 2024Qualified as hostsQualified as hosts
Total Group stage 2/7 6 2 2 2 5 6 23 8 7 8 25 22

African Games

Football at the African Games
YearResultMWDLGFGA
Nigeria 19737th300337
Total1/4300337

Gossage Cup / CECAFA Cup


Honours

  • CECAFA Cup
    • Champions (3): 1974, 1994, 2010
    • Runners-up (5): 1973, 1980, 1981, 1992, 2002

References

  1. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  2. "FIFA". fifa.com. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  3. "Brother Danny: Taifa Stars Ilivyofuzu Kwenda Lagos 1980". brotherdanny5b.blogspot.com. Archived from the original on 10 December 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  4. "International Matches 1987 - Africa". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  5. "International Matches 1992 - Africa". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 28 November 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  6. "International Matches 1993 - Africa". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 3 December 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  7. "International Matches 1998 - Africa". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  8. "Final Squad". Twitter. TFF Tanzania.
  9. "Tanzania". National Football Teams.
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