| Founded | 1963, as National League |
|---|---|
| Country | Tanzania |
| Confederation | Confederation of African Football |
| Number of teams | 18 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | Tanzanian First Division League |
| Domestic cup(s) | Azam Sports Federation Cup |
| International cup(s) | CAF Champions League CAF Confederation Cup |
| Current champions | Simba (2019–20) |
| Most championships | Young Africans (22) |
| Website | tff.or.tz |
| Current: 2020–21 Tanzanian Premier League | |
The Tanzania Mainland Premier League (Swahili: Ligi Kuu Tanzania Bara) is the top-level professional football league in Tanzania and is administered by the Tanzania Football Federation. The league was formed in 1965 as the "National League". Its name was later changed to the "First Division Soccer League", and to the "Premier League" in 1997.
Competition format
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Tanzanian Premier League match between Kagera Sugar and Mbeya City on 17 January 2015
Starting from the 2018–19 season, the league is composed of 20 teams that play a double round-robin. The first place team qualifies for the CAF Champions League.
Since the 2015–16 season, the winner of the Tanzania FA Cup has qualified for the CAF Confederations Cup. Prior, the runner-up in the Premier League had qualified for the Confederations Cup. The bottom three finishers in the league are relegated to the First Division League for the following season.[1]
Champions
Wins by year
Previous champions are:[2]
- 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 (Mwanza)
- 1991: Young Africans S.C. (Dar es Salaam)
- 1992: Malindi (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: season cancelled
- 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)
Wins by club
| Club | Wins |
|---|---|
| Young Africans | 22 |
| Simba (includes Sunderland) | 20 |
| Maji Maji | 3 |
| Malindi | 2 |
| Prisons | 1 |
| Pan African | 1 |
| Azam | 1 |
| Cosmopolitans | 1 |
| Mseto Sports | 1 |
| Coastal Union | 1 |
| Pamba | 1 |
| KMKM | 1 |
Top scorers
| Year | 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 |
| 2014–15 | | Simon Msuva[3] | Young Africans | 17 |
| 2017–18 |  | Emmanuel Okwi | Simba | 20 |
| 2018–19 |  | Meddie Kagere | Simba | 23 |
References
- ^ "About the Premier League". Tanzania Football Federation. 26 February 2010. Archived from the original on 28 October 2010. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
- ^ "Tanzania – List of Champions". RSSSF. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
- ^ "Vodacom set to award VPL champs Sh80m". The Citizen.
External links
- tff.or.tz; League website at association's website
- Page at fifa.com; League standings & results
- RSSSF competition history