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Tanzania national football team

Men's football team

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11 min read
Source updated September 9, 2026

The Tanzania national football team (Swahili: Timu ya Taifa ya Mpira wa Miguu ya Tanzania) represents Tanzania in men's international football and is controlled by the Tanzania Football Federation, the governing body for football in Tanzania, Tanzania's home ground is Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium in Dar es Salaam and their head coach is Hemed Morocco from Tanzania. They are colloquially known as the Taifa Stars. Tanzania has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup. Before uniting with Zanzibar, the team played as the Tanganyika national football team. The team represents both FIFA and Confederation of African Football (CAF).

The island of Zanzibar, part of Tanzania (and once an independent nation), is also an associate member of CAF and has played matches with other nations, but is not eligible to enter the World Cup or Africa Cup of Nations. See Zanzibar national football team.

01History

Since qualifying for the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations, Tanzania endured nearly 40 years without major success, struggling in both African and World Cup qualifiers. Their best effort was in 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification, where the Taifa Stars defeated Burkina Faso twice and only finished three points behind group winners Senegal. In 2010 Tanzania won the CECAFA Cup for the third time.

A recent achievement was a 1-0 win against South Africa in the 2017 COSAFA Cup Quarter-finals. But afterwards, Tanzania lost the Semi-finals 2-4 to Zambia. Then, in the Third-place playoff, Tanzania managed to win the match against Lesotho 4-2 in a penalty shootout after the extra time ended in a goalless draw. This Third place was considered Tanzania's biggest football achievement in many years.

On 24 March 2019, Tanzania beat East African rivals Uganda 3-0 to reach the finals of the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in 39 years. At the Finals the Taifa Stars, being the weakest team in the group, lost all three Group C matches, as predicted. A few months later, Tanzania qualified for the African Nations Championship for only the second time, as well as defeating Burundi in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

On 19 November 2024 Tanzania won a narrow victory of 1-0 against Guinea which secured their fourth times Afcon qualification since 1980. A decisive goal by Simon Msuva sent them to the tournament in 2025. The Afcon finals are scheduled to take place from 21 December 2025 to 18 January 2026 in Morocco.

In February 2026, Tanzania's Ministry of Sports extended Miguel Ángel Gamondi's contract to coach the national football team.

02Team image

Kit suppliers

Kit supplier	Period
Uhlsport	2017-2023
Sandaland	2023,

03Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Win Draw Loss Fixture

2025

Congo v Tanzania

5 September 2026 World Cup qualification	Congo	1-1	Tanzania	Brazzaville, Congo
17:00 UTC+1	Moussavou 68'	Report	Mwalimu 84'	Stadium: Stade Alphonse Massemba-Débat Referee: Thabang Ketshabile (Botswana)

Tanzania v Niger

9 September 2026 World Cup qualification	Tanzania	0-1	Niger	Zanzibar City, Tanzania
16:00 UTC+3		Report	Sosah 58'	Stadium: Amaan Stadium Referee: Mustapha Ghorbal (Algeria)

Tanzania v Zambia

8 October 2026 World Cup qualification	Tanzania	0-1	Zambia	Zanzibar City, Tanzania
22:00 UTC+3		Report	F. Sakala 75'	Stadium: Amaan Stadium Referee: Ibrahim Kalilou Traore (Ivory Coast)

Iran v Tanzania

14 October Friendly	Iran	2-0	Tanzania	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
20:00 UTC+4	Hosseinzadeh 17' (pen.) Mohebi 26'	Report		Stadium: Rashid Stadium Referee: Adel Al Naqbi (United Arab Emirates)

Kuwait v Tanzania

15 November Friendly	Kuwait	4-3	Tanzania	Cairo, Egypt
18:00 UTC+2		Report		Stadium: Al Salam Stadium

Nigeria v Tanzania

23 December 2025 AFCON GS	Nigeria	2-1	Tanzania	Fez, Morocco
18:30 UTC+1	Ajayi 36' Lookman 52'	Report	M'Mombwa 50'	Stadium: Fez Stadium Attendance: 11,444 Referee: Dahane Beida (Mauritania)

Uganda v Tanzania

27 December 2025 AFCON GS	Uganda	1-1	Tanzania	Rabat, Morocco
18:30 UTC+1	Ikpeazu 80'	Report	Msuva 59' (pen.)	Stadium: Al Medina Stadium Attendance: 10,540 Referee: Jalal Jayed (Morocco)

Tanzania v Tunisia

30 December 2025 AFCON GS	Tanzania	1-1	Tunisia	Rabat, Morocco
17:00 UTC+1	Salum 48'	Report	Gharbi 43' (pen.)	Stadium: Rabat Olympic Stadium Attendance: 15,205 Referee: Jean-Jacques Ndala (DR Congo)

2026

Morocco v Tanzania

4 January 2025 AFCON R16	Morocco	1-0	Tanzania	Rabat, Morocco
17:00 UTC+1	Díaz 64'	Report		Stadium: Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium Attendance: 63,894 Referee: Boubou Traore (Mali)

Tanzania v Liechtenstein

26 March 2026 FIFA Series	Tanzania	0-1	Liechtenstein	Kigali, Rwanda
16:30 UTC+2		Report	Sağlam 55'	Stadium: Kigali Pelé Stadium Referee: Mohamed Diraneh (Djibouti)

Macau v Tanzania

29 March 2026 FIFA Series	Macau	0-6	Tanzania	Kigali, Rwanda
15:00 UTC+2		Report	Amâncio 16' (o.g.) Mwamnyeto 26' Yahya 45' Peter 56' Miroshi 74' Allarakhia 87'	Stadium: Kigali Pelé Stadium Attendance: 12,900 Referee: Lucky Kasalirwe (Uganda)

Tanzania v Uganda

4 June Friendly	Tanzania	Cancelled	Uganda	Marrakesh, Morocco
21:00 UTC+1				Stadium: Marrakesh Stadium

Tanzania v Rwanda

8 June Friendly	Tanzania	Cancelled	Rwanda	Marrakesh, Morocco
21:00 UTC+1				Stadium: Marrakesh Stadium

Tanzania v Madagascar

TBD 2027 AFCON qualification	Tanzania	v	Madagascar	TBD, Tanzania
TBD				Stadium: TBD

Madagascar v Tanzania

TBD 2027 AFCON qualification	Madagascar	v	Tanzania	TBD, Madagascar
TBD				Stadium: TBD

Nigeria v Tanzania

TBD 2027 AFCON qualification	Nigeria	v	Tanzania	TBD, Nigeria
TBD				Stadium: TBD

Tanzania v Nigeria

TBD 2027 AFCON qualification	Tanzania	v	Nigeria	TBD, Tanzania
TBD				Stadium: TBD

Tanzania v Guinea-Bissau

TBD 2027 AFCON qualification	Tanzania	v	Guinea-Bissau	TBD, Tanzania
TBD				Stadium: TBD

Guinea-Bissau v Tanzania

TBD 2027 AFCON qualification	Guinea-Bissau	v	Tanzania	TBD, Guinea-Bissau
TBD				Stadium: TBD

04Coaching staff

Head coach	Miguel Ángel Gamondi
Assistant coach	Juma Mgunda
Assistant coach	Hemed Morocco
Goalkeeper coach	Osama Al-Hamdan
Physical coach	Mikael Mayoyo
Sports therapist	Joris De Vos
Head of medical	Lisobine Kisongo
Team manager	Reinhard
Video analysis	Gabriel Johnson

Coaching history

Caretaker managers are listed in italics.

Bert Trautmann (1975)
Geoff Hudson (1977-1979)
Sławomir Wolk (1979-1980)
Mahammed Msomali (1980-1981)
Rudi Gutendorf (1981)
Joseph Bendera (1981-1985)
Paul West (1985-1989)
Charles Boniface Mkwasa (1989-1992)
Sunday Kayuni (1993-1995)
Clóvis de Oliveira (1995-1996)
Badru Hafidh (1996-1998)
Sylersaid Mziray (1998-1999)
Mansour Magram (1999-00)
Burkhard Pape (2000-01)
Mshindo Msolla (2001-02)
James Siang'a (2002)
Mshindo Msolla (2002-03)
Badru Hafidh (2003-06)
Júlio César Leal (2006)
Márcio Máximo (2006-10)
Jan Poulsen (2010-12)
Kim Poulsen (2012-14)
Salum Madadi (2014)
Mart Nooij (2014-2015)
Charles Boniface Mkwasa (2015-2017)
Salum Mayanga (2017-2018)
Emmanuel Amunike (2018-2019)
Etienne Ndayiragije (2019-2021)
Kim Poulsen (2021-2022)
Honour Janza (2022)
Dean Alty (2022)
Kim Poulsen (2022-2023)
Adel Amrouche (2023-2024)
Hemed Morocco (2024-2025)
Miguel Ángel Gamondi (2025-present)

05Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2026 FIFA Series (men's matches) matches against Liechtenstein and Macau on 26 and 29 March 2026, respectively.

Caps and goals correct as of 29 March 2026, after the match against Macau.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Yonna Geoffrey	(1999-08-09) 9 August 1999	1	0	Pamba
13	1GK	Zuberi Foba	(2002-05-23) 23 May 2002	3	0	Azam
18	1GK	Aishi Manula	(1995-09-13) 13 September 1995	66	0	Azam
	1GK	Yona Amosi	(1999-08-09) 9 August 1999	0	0	Pamba

2	3MF	Haji Mnoga	(2002-04-16) 16 April 2002	20	0	Patro Eisden
3	2DF	Nickson Kibabage	(2000-10-12) 12 October 2000	17	0	Simba
4	2DF	Lameck Lawi	(2005-09-12) 12 September 2005	2	0	Azam
5	2DF	Nuru Twalib	(2003-01-01) 1 January 2003	2	0	Azam
14	2DF	Bakari Mwamnyeto (vice-captain)	(1995-10-05) 5 October 1995	54	1	Young Africans
15	2DF	Mohamed Husseini	(1996-11-01) 1 November 1996	65	1	Young Africans
24	2DF	Mohamed Mussa	(2004-04-29) 29 April 2004	1	0	Mashujaa
	2DF	Ibrahim Hamad	(1997-11-12) 12 November 1997	37	1	Young Africans

6	3MF	Feisal Salum	(1998-01-11) 11 January 1998	62	5	Azam
8	3MF	Charles M'Mombwa	(1998-03-14) 14 March 1998	20	4	Floriana
12	3MF	Morice Abraham	(2003-08-13) 13 August 2003	12	0	Simba
16	3MF	Kelvin Nashon	(2000-08-02) 2 August 2000	2	0	Pamba
17	3MF	Alphonce Msanga	(2003-06-14) 14 June 2003	10	0	Şamaxı
20	3MF	Novatus Miroshi	(2002-09-02) 2 September 2002	37	4	Göztepe
23	3MF	Mudathir Yahya	(1995-05-06) 6 May 1995	41	2	Young Africans
	3MF	Yusuf Kagoma	(1996-04-03) 3 April 1996	9	0	Simba

7	4FW	Iddy Nado	(1995-11-03) 3 November 1995	25	1	Azam
9	4FW	Paul Peter	(2003-11-30) 30 November 2003	4	1	JKT Tanzania
10	4FW	Kelvin John	(2003-06-10) 10 June 2003	14	1	AaB
11	4FW	Tarryn Allarakhia	(1997-11-17) 17 November 1997	14	2	Boreham Wood
19	4FW	Selemani Mwalimu	(2006-01-19) 19 January 2006	9	1	Simba
22	4FW	Bakari Msimu	(2007-12-10) 10 December 2007	1	0	Coastal Union
	4FW	Simon Msuva	(1993-10-02) 2 October 1993	103	25	Al-Talaba

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for Tanzania in the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Hussein Masalanga	(1992-03-04) 4 March 1992	3	0	Singida Black Stars	2025 Africa Cup of Nations
GK	Yakoub Suleiman Ali	(1999-12-07) 7 December 1999	13	0	Simba	2025 Africa Cup of Nations
GK	Ally Salim	(2000-04-19) 19 April 2000	5	0	Simba	v. Morocco, 25 March 2025

DF	Pascal Msindo	(2003-08-15) 15 August 2003	18	0	Azam	2025 Africa Cup of Nations
DF	Dickson Job	(2000-12-29) 29 December 2000	43	1	Young Africans	2025 Africa Cup of Nations
DF	Wilson Nangu	(2001-09-30) 30 September 2001	2	0	Simba	2025 Africa Cup of Nations
DF	Lusajo Mwaikenda	(2000-10-27) 27 October 2000	24	0	Azam	2025 Africa Cup of Nations
DF	Shomari Kapombe	(1992-01-28) 28 January 1992	95	2	Simba	2025 Africa Cup of Nations
DF	Ibrahim Ame	(1993-03-12) 12 March 1993	2	0	Mashujaa	v. Morocco, 25 March 2025
DF	Miraji Abdallah	(2004-06-30) 30 June 2004	0	0	Coastal Union	v. Morocco, 25 March 2025
DF	Abdulrazack Hamza	(2003-03-23) 23 March 2003	0	0	Simba	v. Morocco, 25 March 2025

MF	Khalid Habibu	(2001-09-10) 10 September 2001	4	0	Singida Black Stars	2025 Africa Cup of Nations

FW	Mbwana Samatta (captain)	(1992-12-23) 23 December 1992	89	22	Le Havre	2025 Africa Cup of Nations
FW	Kibu Denis	(1998-12-04) 4 December 1998	27	0	Simba	2025 Africa Cup of Nations
FW	Abdul Hamisi Suleiman	(2001-02-26) 26 February 2001	27	4	Azam	2025 Africa Cup of Nations
FW	Clement Mzize	(2004-01-07) 7 January 2004	9	0	Young Africans	v. Morocco, 25 March 2025
^DEC Player refused to join the team after the call-up. ^INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury. ^PRE Preliminary squad. ^RET Player has retired from international football. ^SUS Suspended from the national team.

06Player records

As of 4 January 2026

Players in bold are still active with Tanzania.

Most appearances

Rank	Name	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Erasto Nyoni	107	7	2006-2021
2	Simon Msuva	103	25	2012-present
3	Mrisho Ngassa	100	25	2006-2015
4	Kelvin Yondani	97	0	2008-2021
5	Shomari Kapombe	95	2	2011-present
6	Mbwana Samatta	89	22	2011-present
7	John Bocco	84	16	2009-2023
8	Himid Mao	81	2	2013-present
9	Juma Kaseja	79	0	2002-2021
10	Aishi Manula	68	0	2015-present

Top goalscorers

Rank	Name	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Mrisho Ngassa	25	100	0.25	2006-2015
1	Simon Msuva	25	103	0.24	2012-present
3	Mbwana Samatta	22	89	0.25	2011-present
4	John Bocco	16	84	0.19	2009-2023
5	John Nteze Lungu	12	22	0.55	1992-2002
6	Jerson Tegete	8	28	0.29	2006-2011
6	Danny Mrwanda	8	34	0.24	2005-2011
8	Mohamed Rajab	7	20	0.35	2002-2011
	Thomas Ulimwengu	7	51	0.14	2010-2021
	Erasto Nyoni	7	107	0.07	2006-2021

07Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record									Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930 to 1962	Not a FIFA member								Not a FIFA member
1966 and 1970	Did not enter								Did not enter
1974	Did not qualify								3	0	2	1	1	4
1978	Withdrew								Withdrew
1982	Did not qualify								4	1	1	2	7	6
1986	Did not qualify								2	0	2	0	1	1
1990	Did not enter								Did not enter
1994	Withdrew during qualifying								Withdrew during qualifying
1998	Did not qualify								2	0	1	1	1	2
2002									2	0	0	2	2	4
2006									2	0	1	1	0	3
2010									6	2	2	2	9	6
2014									8	3	0	5	10	14
2018									4	1	1	2	4	10
2022									8	2	4	2	8	10
2026									8	3	1	4	6	7
2030	To be determined
2034	To be determined
Total		0/16							49	12	15	22	49	67

Africa Cup of Nations

Africa Cup of Nations record									Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
as Tanganyika									as Tanganyika
1957	Not affiliated to CAF								Not affiliated to CAF
1959
1962
1963
as Tanzania									as Tanzania
1965	Not affiliated to CAF								Not affiliated to CAF
1968	Withdrew during qualifying								Withdrew during qualifying
1970	Did not qualify								4	1	1	2	3	10
1972									2	0	1	1	2	6
1974									4	1	2	1	5	3
1976									2	0	1	1	3	6
1978	Withdrew during qualifying								Withdrew during qualifying
1980	Group stage	7th	3	0	1	2	3	6	4	2	1	1	8	4
1982	Withdrew								Withdrew
1984	Did not qualify								2	0	1	1	3	4
1986	Withdrew during qualifying								Withdrew during qualifying
1988	Did not qualify								3	0	1	2	3	6
1990									2	0	2	0	2	2
1992									6	1	2	3	4	7
1994	Withdrew during qualifying								Withdrew during qualifying
1996	Did not qualify								10	4	0	6	14	15
1998									6	1	2	3	5	7
2000									2	0	0	2	0	2
2002									2	0	0	2	2	4
2004	Withdrew during qualifying								Withdrew during qualifying
2006	Did not qualify								2	0	1	1	0	3
2008									6	2	2	2	4	7
2010									2	2	2	2	9	6
2012									6	1	2	3	6	9
2013									2	0	2	0	2	2
2015									4	1	2	1	6	6
2017									4	0	1	3	0	6
2019	Group stage	24th	3	0	0	3	2	8	6	2	2	2	6	5
2021	Did not qualify								6	2	1	3	5	6
2023	Group stage	22nd	3	0	2	1	1	4	6	2	2	2	3	4
2025	Round of 16	16th	4	0	2	2	3	5	6	3	1	2	5	4
2027	Qualified as co-hosts								Qualified as co-hosts
2029	To be determined								To be determined
Total	Round of 16	4/35	13	0	5	8	9	23	99	25	32	42	100	134

African Nations Championship

African Nations Championship record									Qualification record
Appearances: 3									Appearances: 7
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
2009	Group stage	5th	3	1	1	1	2	2	6	4	1	1	10	4
2011	Did not qualify								3	1	1	1	7	2
2014									2	0	0	2	1	4
2016									2	0	1	1	1	4
2018									2	0	2	0	1	1
2020	Group stage	10th	3	1	1	1	3	4	4	1	2	1	2	2
2022	Did not qualify								4	2	0	2	3	5
2024	Quarter-finals	7th	5	3	1	1	5	2	Qualified as hosts
Total	Quarter-finals	2/7	6	2	2	2	5	6	23	8	7	8	25	22

African Games

African Games record
Year	Result	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1973	7th	3	0	0	3	3	7
Total	1/4	3	0	0	3	3	7

Gossage Cup / CECAFA Cup

08Honours

Regional

CECAFA Cup
- Champions (3): 1974, 1994, 2010
- Runners-up (5): 1973, 1980, 1981, 1992, 2002
- Third place (4): 1975^s, 1979, 1990, 2008
COSAFA Cup
- Third place (1): 2017

Friendly

Gossage Cup / Challenge Cup (5): 1949, 1950, 1951, 1964, 1965

Notes

^s Shared titles.

Watch videos about Tanzania national football teamExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Tanzania national football team”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Images, from Wikimedia Commons:

Flag of Tanzania.svg by Unknown author, Public domain

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