- Address: Taifa Road, Dar es-Salaam
- Country: Tanzania
- Capacity: 60,000
- Opened: 2007
- Main use: Football
- Tenants: Simba (football), Young Africans (football)
Extra stadium info – Tanzania National Main Stadium
The construction of the Tanzania National Main Stadium, which is also used for athletics, started in 2005. It opened as the largest sports venue by capacity in Tanzania and one of the largest sports venues by capacity in Africa. On 13 July 2017, the English side Everton FC played against the Kenyan side Gor Mahia at the Tanzania National Main Stadium. Wayne Mark Rooney, one of the first football players with 10 million followers on his main social media page, scored against Gor Mahia that day. He started his professional football career with Everton in 2002. Wayne Rooney became the record goalscorer for the national football team of England.
Simba Sports Club and the Young Africans
Simba SC and the Young Africans, the first Tanzanian sports clubs with 1 million followers on their main social media page, use the Tanzania National Main Stadium for home games. Both clubs became two of the most popular African sports clubs. The Young Africans football club, nicknamed Yanga, was founded in 1935. Simba Sports Club was founded one year later.
The results of Simba and Yanga
In 2016, the Young Africans became the first football club with 20 Tanzanian top-flight league titles. They gathered 73 points in 30 games during that domestic top-flight league season. The Young Africans won 22 of those 30 games. Seven games ended in a draw and one game ended in a defeat. Simba became the second football club with 20 Tanzanian top-flight league titles in 2019. They gathered 93 points in 38 matches during that domestic top-flight league season. Simba SC won 29 games of the 38 games. Six games ended in a draw and three games ended in a loss.
Mbwana Samatta
Mbwana Samatta signed with Simba SC in 2010. He joined Tout Puissant Mazembe from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2011 and he signed with KRC Genk from Belgium in 2016. Mbwana Samatta became the first player from Tanzania to play and score in the world famous English Premier League after he joined Aston Villa Football Club in 2020.
The Taifa Stars and Didier Drogba
The national football team of Tanzania, nicknamed Taifa Stars, use the Tanzania National Main Stadium for home games. In 2010, they played their first game at the venue in front of a capacity crowd. 60,000 people attended the match, which Tanzania lost against the national football team of the Côte d’Ivoire. Didier Drogba, one of the first athletes with 1 million followers on his main social media page, scored the only goal of the match. He played several FIFA World Cup matches for the Côte d’Ivoire. Drogba played professional football for clubs in France, the United Kingdom, China, Türkiye and Canada before he ended his professional football career with a club in the United States.
The African championship for national football teams
In 1980, the national football team of Tanzania performed in the African championship for national football teams for the first time in their history. The Taifa Stars finished below Nigeria, Egypt and the Côte d’Ivoire in the group stage of the tournament. The national football team of Algeria finished first place in the other group, above Morocco, Ghana and Guinea.
