Simba, Hippo & Co
The enthusiasm for football in Tanzania is world champion. But the organisation is underground. When does the season start? In which league mode does it start? How many teams are in a league? There are more answers than questions. Which brings us to the impassability of the Tanzanian game.
The structure should look as follows:
- Premiere League (professional league with a sponsor name, in which the 20 teams determine the national champions)
- First Division (sometimes two or three tracks with 12 teams each [one more or another less is not important])
- Second Division (times three times four track with 12 teams each)
- Third Division (regional leagues)
Roughly speaking, there are only two teams that make up the title among themselves: Simba SC and Young Africans SC (a total of 44 out of 55 championships). Since 2007 there is also a Hoffenheim or Leipzig variant in Tanzania: Azam FC. However, they have only managed one championship so far.
It is not surprising that all three clubs are at home in the metropolis of Dar Es Salaam. There are numerous other clubs in the city, but Simba and YoungA are not able to hold their own in the eyes of the fans. Mostly they play in the National Stadium or in the Uhuru next to it:
Since you can never be sure when and where the game will take place, it is extremely difficult or impossible to buy tickets in advance. Only very few matches are sold out not only because of this circumstance. Ticket prices are a few cents or Euros depending on the league. A long-awaited and, above all, planned match can cost as much as 20 euros. Anyway, there are no limits at the top.
Due to the long distances, which you have to cover in the national leagues, a few thousand kilometres can easily be covered. The quickest way to fly to the games is to fly to an airfield in the area and have enough change in your wallet. Otherwise there are nice bus trips. Long bus trips. Beautiful long bus rides, where you are happy when you arrive at your destination.
The stadium pubs are usually easily recognisable by their barbecue smoke.
There is no beer or alcohol in general in the stadiums. But we do not know the VIP areas 😉