Simba Sports Club is a professional football club based in Kariakoo ward in Ilala District of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.
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 Lions"), 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. Globally, the club was ranked at number 105 in the IFFHS World Ranking.
Simba holds a long-standing rivalry with Young Africans S.C. (known as Yanga) with which they contest the Kariakoo derby, named after the ward, where both teams were founded. In 1977 Simba beat Yanga 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. It remains one of the best derbies on the African continent.
Honours Domestic Tanzanian Premier League Winner (22): 1965, 1966, 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 Winner (3): 1984, 1995, 2000 FAT Cup Winner (5): 1995, 2016–17, 2019–20, 2020–2021, 2025–26 Runners-up (3): 1974, 1998, 2000 Muungano Cup Winner (1): 2025–26 Dar es Salaam League Winner (2): 1944, 1946 Tusker Cup Winner (5): 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2005 Runners-up (1): 2006 Community Shield Winner (10): 2002, 2003, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2023 Runners-up (3): 2001, 2010, 2021 Mapinduzi Cup Winner (3): 2011, 2015, 2022 Runners-up (5): 2014, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021
Continental CECAFA Club Championship Winners (6): 1974, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 2002 Runners-up (7): 1975, 1952, 1978, 1981, 2003, 2011, 2018 CAF Cup Runners-up (1): 1993 CAF Confederation Cup Runners-up (1): 2024–25
Colours and badge
Players
Current squad
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 2025–26 – Group stage
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 – Runners-up
CAF Cup: 2 appearances
1993 – Finalist 1997 – First Round
Club Ranking
World
Ranking Team Points113 AS Monaco623114 Leicester City FC622115 Simba SC622116 ACF Fiorentina621117 Sporting Cristal620
CAF
Ranking Team Points8 CR Belouizdad7249 RS Berkane63110 Simba SC62211 TP Mazembe60312 ES Sahel585
Domestic
Ranking Team Points1 Simba SC6212 Young Africans5213 Azam FC2784 Namungo FC1665 KMC FC150
Kit Sponsorship Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor (chest) Shirt sponsor (sleeve) Shirt sponsor (back)2025–Diadora SABetway TanzaniaJay RuttyMo Dewji
Notes
References
External links