Simba S.C.

Not to be confused with Simba FC or AS Simba.

Simba Sports Club is a professional football club based in Kariakoo ward in Ilala District of Dar es Salaam Region in Tanzania.

Simba S.C

Full name	Simba Sports Club
Nickname(s)	Reds of Msimbazi
Short name	SSC
Founded	1936; 89 years ago (1936)
Ground	Benjamin Mkapa Stadium
Capacity	60,000
Owner	Member of SSC 51% Mohamed Dewji 49%
Chairman	Murtaza Mangungu
Head Coach	Fadlu Davids
League	Tanzanian Premier League
2023–24	3rd
Website	www.simbasc.co.tz
Home colours Away colours Third colours

It was founded in 1936 as "The Queens"before being renamed to Sunderland and, in 1971, was finally renamed Simba (Swahili for "Lion"). The team's nickname, wekundu wa msimbazi ("the red of the Simba"), is a reference to their all-red home strip and Msimbazi Street in Kariakoo where their headquarters is based.

Simba SC has won 22 Tanzanian Premier League titles, 5 Tanzania FA Cup and has participated in CAF Champions League multiple times. Simba are two times finalists of CAF Confederation Cup, In the year 2025 and previous CAF cup in 1993 making the club the most successful Tanzanian football club in international competitions.

The club was ranked among the top 20 clubs in Africa, at number 04, by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) in their May 1, 2024 – April 30, 2025 rankings.^[1] Globally, the club was ranked at number 105 in the IFFHS World Ranking.^[2]

Simba holds a long-standing rivalry with Yanga with which they contest the Kariakoo derby, named after the ward, where both teams were founded. In 1977 Simba beat Young Africans 6-0 a record that stands to date as the biggest loss margin between the sides. The rivalry was ranked 5th as one of the most famous African derbies.^[3]

Honours

Domestic

• Tanzanian Premier League^[4]
  • Winner (22): 1965,^[a] 1966,^[a] 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2009–10, 2011–12, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21
• Nyerere Cup^[5]
  • Winner (3): 1984, 1995, 2000
• FAT Cup^[5]
  • Winner (4): 1995, 2016–17, 2019–20, 2020–2021
  • Runners-up (3): 1974, 1998, 2000
• Dar es Salaam League
  • Winner (2): 1944, 1946
• Tusker Cup^[5]
  • Winner (5): 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2005
  • Runners-up (1): 2006
• Community Shield^[5]
  • Winner (10): 2002, 2003, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2023
  • Runners-up (3): 2001, 2010, 2021
• Mapinduzi Cup^[6]
  • Winner (3): 2011, 2015, 2022
  • Runners-up (5): 2014, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021

Continental

• CECAFA Club Championship^[7]
  • Winners (6): 1974, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 2002
  • Runners-up (7): 1975, 1952, 1978, 1981, 2003, 2011, 2018
• CAF Cup^[8]
  • Runners-up (1): 1993

Colours and badge

• 
  The old crest (from 2010 to 2020)
• 
  The present crest

Players

Fabrice Ngoma joined Simba SC in 2023

Current squad

As of 11 July 2024^[9]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  TAN Ally Salim Juma 2 DF  CIV Karaboue Chamou 3 DF  TAN David Kameta 14 DF  TAN Abdulrazack Hamza 5 MF  TAN Awesu Ally Awesu 6 MF  COD Fabrice Ngoma (vice-captain) 7 FW  ZAM Joshua Mutale 8 MF  TAN Omary Abdallah Omary 10 MF  CIV Jean Charles Ahoua 11 FW  UGA Steven Mukwala 12 DF  TAN Shomari Kapombe (vice-captain) 13 MF  CMR Lionel Ateba 15 DF  TAN Mohammed Husseini (Captain) 17 MF  CGO Débora Fernandes Mavambo

No. Pos. Nation Player 19 MF  TAN Mzamiru Yassin 20 DF  CMR Che Malone Jr 21 MF  TAN Yusuph Kagoma 22 GK  MAR Ayoub Lakred 23 MF  TAN Salehe Karabaka 24 DF  TAN Kelvin Kijiri 25 MF  NGA Augustine Okejepha 28 GK  TAN Aishi Manula 29 DF  BFA Valentine Nouma 30 GK  TAN Hussein Abel Thomas 36 MF  TAN Ladaki Chasambi 37 FW  TAN Edwin Balua 38 FW  TAN Denis Kibu

Performance in CAF competitions

CAF Champions League: 12 appearances

2002 – First Round 2003 – Group stage (Top 8) 2004 – Preliminary Round 2005 – First Round 2008 – First Round

2011 – Special play-off for Group stage 2013 – Preliminary Round 2018–19 – Quarter-finals 2019–20 – Preliminary Round 2020–21 – Quarter-finals

2021–22 – Second Round 2022–23 – Quarter-finals 2023–24 – Quarter-finals

African Cup of Champions Clubs: 9 appearances

1974 – Semi-finals 1976 – Second Round 1977 – Second Round 1978 – Second Round 1979 – Second Round 1980 – Second Round

1981 – First Round 1994 – Quarter-Finals 1995 – Second Round

CAF Confederation Cup: 6 appearances

2007 – Preliminary Round 2010 – Second Round 2011 – Play-off 2012 – Second Round 2018 – First Round 2021–22 – Quarter-finals

2024–25 – finalist CAF Cup: 2 appearances 1993 – Finalist 1997 – First Round

Club Ranking

World As of 3 September 2023[10] Ranking Team Points 113 AS Monaco 623 114 Leicester City FC 622 115 Simba SC 622 116 ACF Fiorentina 621 117 Sporting Cristal 620

CAF As of 3 September 2023[11] Ranking Team Points 8 CR Belouizdad 724 9 RS Berkane 631 10 Simba SC 622 11 TP Mazembe 603 12 ES Sahel 585

Domestic As of 3 September 2023[12] Ranking Team Points 1 Simba SC 621 2 Young Africans SC 521 3 Azam FC 278 4 Namungo FC 166 5 KMC FC 150

Notes

1. As Sunderland