Tanzanian Premier League

Founded	1921; 103 years ago (1921)[1] (as "Dar es Salaam Football League") 1965; 59 years ago (1965) (as "National League")
Country	Tanzania
Confederation	Confederation of African Football
Number of teams	16
Level on pyramid	1
Relegation to	Championship
Domestic cup(s)	Azam Sports Federation Cup
International cup(s)	CAF Champions League CAF Confederation Cup
Current champions	Young Africans (2022–23)
Most championships	Young Africans (29 titles)
Top goalscorer	John Bocco (155 goals)
TV partners	Azam TV (live matches and highlights)
Website	ligikuu.co.tz
Current: 2023–24 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.

History[edit]

The league was first organized in Dar es Salaam in 1921^[2] and by 1929 had six participants. In the 1930s, the league included street teams such as Arab Sports (Kariakoo) and New Strong Team (Kisutu), which primarily consisted of Arab and African players. The Sudanese community had a team that joined the league in 1941 although by the mid-1940s the team had split up. Other teams in the league's 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 the 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. This included Gymkhana Club, Police Club, King's African Rifles, and Railways, who eventually withdrew from the league. Starting in the 1940s, they were replaced by African street teams such as Young Africans (Yanga) and Sunderland (known as Old Boys in 1942 and later renamed Simba in 1971), as well as the Goan's Club manned by Goans, and the Agha Khan Club by Ismaili Khojas.

From this period onwards, Yanga and Sunderland gradually became the most prominent clubs in Dar es Salaam. Yanga, founded in 1935, entered the first division and won four major cups in 1942. Sunderland joined the first division soon after Yanga and won four major 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 later 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 was 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 renewed the same year.

Competition format[edit]

Competition[edit]

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

Promotion & Relegation[edit]

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[edit]

Confederation of African Football (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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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

2023-2024 season clubs[edit]

Geita Gold

Simba
Yanga
KMC
Azam

Mashujaa

JKT Tanzania

Ihefu

Dodoma

Singida FG

Tanzania Prisons

Coastal Union

Namungo

Mtibwa Sugar

Kagera Sugar

Tabora United

class=notpageimage|

Location of clubs in Tanzania for the 2023–24 Tanzanian Premier League season

Champions[edit]

Wins by year[edit]

Previous champions are:^[4]

Top goalscorers[edit]

Season	Nat.	Best scorers	Team	Goals
1997		Mohamed Hussein "Mmachinga"	Young Africans	26
2004		Abubakar Ally Mkangwa	Mtibwa Sugar
2005		Abdallah Juma	Mtibwa Sugar	25
2006		n/a	n/a
2007		Mashiku	SC United ]	17
2007–08		Michael Katende	Kagera Sugar
2008–09		Boniface Ambani	Young Africans	18
2009–10		Musa Hassan Mgosi	Simba	18
2010–11		Mrisho Ngasa	Azam	18
2011–12		John Raphael Bocco	Azam	19
2012–13		Kipre Tchetche	Azam	17
2013–14		Amissi Tambwe	Simba	19
2014–15		Simon Msuva	Young Africans	17
2014–15		Abdulrahman Mussa	Ruvu Shooting	17
2015–16		Amissi Tambwe	Young Africans	21
2016–17		Simon Msuva	Young Africans	14
2017–18		Emmanuel Okwi	Simba	20
2018–19		Meddie Kagere	Simba	23
2019–20		Meddie Kagere	Simba	22
2020–21		John Bocco	Simba	16[6]
2021–22		George Mpole	Geita Gold	17[7]
		Fiston Kalala Mayele	Young Africans
2022–23		Fiston Kalala Mayele	Young Africans	17[8]
		Saidi Ntibazonkiza	Simba
2023-24		Stephane Aziz Ki	Young Africans	13

All-time goalscorers[edit]

Rank	Player	Goals	Years
1	John Bocco	155	2008
2	Emmanuel Okwi	97	2009-2019

Multiple hat-tricks[edit]

Rank	Country	Player	Hat-tricks
1		John Bocco	3
2		Stephane Aziz Ki	2
		Jean Baleke
		Aubrey Chirwa
		Meddie Kagere
		Saidi Ntibazonkiza
		Emmanuel Okwi
8		Salim Aiyee	1
		Ibrahim Alu
		Shante Ali
		Boniface Ambani
		Green Atupele
		Omar Changa
		Saliboko Daluwesh
		Prince Dube
		Emmanuel Gabriel
		Ibrahim Hilika
		Aziz Hunter
		Jeremiah Juma
		Shiza Kichuya
		Alexis Kitenge
		Juma Luizio
		Omari Matu
		Fiston Mayele
		Idris Mbombo
		Haruna Moshi
		Ditram Nchimbi
		Mrisho Ngassa
		Adam Omar
		Abuu Ramadhani
		David Richard
		Kevin Sabato
		Modathir Said
		Wasiri Shentembo
		Kipre Tiagori

Assists[edit]

Season	Nat.	Player	Team	Assists
2021-22		Pape Sakho	Simba	6
2022-23		Clatous Chama	Simba	14
2023-24		Kipre Junior	Azam	8

Clean sheets[edit]

Season	Nat.	Goalskeeper	Team	Clean sheets
2022-23		Djigui Diarra	Yanga	14
2023-24		Ley Matampi	Coastal Union	10

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• tff.or.tz; League website at association's website
• Page at fifa.com; League standings & results
• RSSSF competition history