The club was ranked among the top ten clubs in Africa, at number 80, by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) in their 1 September 2022 – 30 August 2023 rankings. Globally, the club was ranked at number 104 in the IFFHS World Ranking.[3][4]
The club became a symbol of the anti-colonial movement. Young Africans became associated with nationalists, freedom fighters and Sam Gosmore and inspired the political party TANU to adopt yellow and green as their primary colours. The club is currently in a process that will keep the club ownership 49% for investors and the rest 51% to the club members.
Young Africans S.C. has the biggestfanbase in Tanzania compared to other clubs; where by Simba is the second in fanbase.
The club holds a long-standing rivalry with Simba, with whom they contest the Kariakoo derby, named after the district where both teams were founded. The rivalry was ranked 5th as one of the most famous African derbies.[5]
On Wednesday, 17 May 2023, Young Africa made history when they became the first Tanzanian club to reach a CAF Confederation Cup final after defeating Marumo Gallants 4-1 on aggregate and they faced USM Algiers from Algeria on the Cup's Finals which they lost 2-2 on aggregate due to away goals.[6][7][8]
After winning the Tanzania Premier League Championship for a third consecutive time in the 2023-24 season, Yanga achieved a historical milestone of winning the country's Premier League title for the 30th time.[9]
History
The club's roots can be traced as far back as the 1910s, but the officially recognised history of the club started in 1935 when Dar es Salaam residents, who were grouped as Africans by the colonial administration in Tanganyika, decided to form a football club to compete in a league which was full of "non-Africans" football clubs. The name New Young is said to be the club's first name. Later it was replaced by the name Dar es Salaam Young Africans SC, and eventually the name changed to Young Africans Sports Club.
After its establishment in 1935, its members squabbled over their team's poor performance and results. The club had an even poorer and unsatisfactory performance in 1936 that caused some of the members to split and form another team. The proponents of breaking away were Arabs who saw fit to cause conflict among the club members that led to a split. They succeeded, and together with dissidents formed a club known as Queens F.C. /sunderland fc (currently Simba). The two teams, Young Africans and Simba, have been rivals ever since.
In 2020, Yanga signed a consultancy deal with La Liga.[10] On 27 May, the members of the club agreed to change their club's ruling structure to allow private investments from other companies.
On 17 May 2023, Yanga for the first time in its history qualified to a Continental final after defeating Marumo Gallants in the semi-final.[11] On 3 June, Yanga Lost the 2023 CAF Confederation Cup final against USM Alger On Saturday, 16 September 2023, Yanga became the first African club to have over 2000 fans traveling with the team to an away CAF official match. The game was conducted at Kigali in Rwanda, a journey of 1156 km, which is over 20 hour drive distance. They bossed the game and of course thwarted the Sudanese side 2-0.[12][13]
The Young Africans drew an average home attendance of 9,460 in the 2023-24 edition of the Premier League, the highest in the league.[14]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
.png)
