This weekend marks a defining moment for Tanzanian football as the four clubs embark on their second-leg assignments in both the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup
Dar es Salaam. Tanzania is on the brink of making football history in the CAF continental club championships as all four of its representatives, Young Africans (Yanga), Simba SC, Azam FC and Singida Black Stars, stand a strong chance of qualifying for the group stages of their respective competitions.
This weekend marks a defining moment for Tanzanian football as the four clubs embark on their second-leg assignments in both the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup.
In the CAF Champions League, reigning Tanzanian Premier League champions Yanga will face Malawian giants Silver Strikers FC in Lilongwe on Saturday.
The match is scheduled to kick off at 4pm Tanzanian time. Yanga go into the tie with optimism, having demonstrated consistency and experience in recent CAF campaigns, including reaching the CAF Confederation Cup final in 2023.
On the same day, Simba SC, Tanzania’s most successful CAF representative, will be away in Eswatini facing Nsingizini Hotspurs.
The Msimbazi Reds are eager to extend their continental dominance, with the match also set to kick off at 4pm Tanzanian time.
Simba, who reached the CAF Confederation Cup final in 2025, are determined to make another deep run, this time in the Champions League.
In the CAF Confederation Cup, Azam FC will begin their quest away against KMKM of Zanzibar on Saturday. The Ice-Cream makers have built an impressive squad this season and remains one of the most balanced teams in the competition. Their continental experience, combined with a strong local campaign, gives them a favorable chance to advance.
Singida Black Stars, the country’s fourth representative, will face Burundi’s Flambeau du Centre away on Sunday. The ambitious side from central Tanzania will be making a statement as they aim for their first-ever appearance in the group stage of a CAF competition.
If all four clubs manage to progress, Tanzania will make history by becoming the first nation in East and Central Africa to have four teams reach the group stages of CAF competitions in the same season. Historically, only three Tanzanian clubs, Yanga, Simba and Namungo FC have reached the group stages of CAF competitions.
Records show that so far, Yanga, Simba, and Namungo FC are the only Tanzanian clubs that have managed to reach the group stages of CAF’s continental club championships. Namungo FC achieved the feat in the 2020/2021 season.
Yanga and Simba have qualified several times and even reached the finals of the CAF Confederation Cup. Yanga played in the 2023 final, while Simba reached the final in 2025. However, both teams fell short of winning the title.
Tanzania first managed to field four teams in CAF competitions during the 2019/2020 season, when Yanga and Simba took part in the CAF Champions League, while Azam FC and KMC competed in the CAF Confederation Cup. None of the four teams managed to qualify for the group stage that year.
In the 2020/2021 season, only two teams represented the country, Simba in the CAF Champions League and Namungo FC in the CAF Confederation Cup.
In 2021/2022, four teams competed again: Yanga and Simba in the CAF Champions League, while Azam FC and Biashara United featured in the CAF Confederation Cup. During the 2022/2023 season, Yanga and Simba played in the CAF Champions League, with Azam FC and Geita Gold FC competing in the CAF Confederation Cup.
In 2023/2024, Yanga and Simba again featured in the Champions League, while Azam FC and Fountain Gate participated in the Confederation Cup.
In the 2024/2025 season, Yanga and Azam FC represented Tanzania in the CAF Champions League, while Simba and Coastal Union competed in the CAF Confederation Cup.
This season, however, optimism runs high. The teams are better prepared, financially stronger and technically sharper than ever before.
Should all four Tanzanian clubs progress, it will mark a new era in the nation’s football history, one that showcases the rapid growth, competitiveness and ambition of Tanzania’s domestic league on the continental stage.
