Tanzanian Premier League

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	prose. You can help by converting this article, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (March 2024)

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

The league was first organized in

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

Competition

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

The bottom two-placed teams are automatically demoted to the

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

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

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 was composed of 20 teams, which was further lowered to 18 in 2020 and then 16 in 2021.

2023-2024 season clubs

Simba
Yanga
KMC
Azam

Mashujaa

JKT Tanzania

Ihefu

Dodoma

Singida FG

Tanzania Prisons

Coastal Union

Namungo

Mtibwa Sugar

Kagera Sugar

Tabora United

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