Men's national association football team representing Tanzania
Tanzania Nickname(s) Taifa Stars Association Tanzania Football Federation (TFF)Confederation CAF (Africa)Sub-confederation CECAFA (East & Central Africa)Head coach Hemed Morocco (interim)Captain Mbwana Samatta Most caps Erasto Nyoni (107)Top scorer Mrisho Ngasa (25)Home stadium Benjamin Mkapa Stadium FIFA code TAN
Current 112 [ 1] Highest 65 (February 1995) Lowest 175 (October–November 2005) Uganda Tanganyika as Tanzania Tanzania Kenya Tanzania Somalia Jinja , Uganda; 1 December 1995) Somalia Tanzania Kampala , Uganda; 1 December 2012)Tanganyika Kenya Tanganyika ; Date Unknown 1956)as Tanzania Saudi Arabia Tanzania Dammam , Saudi Arabia; 11 September 1998)Appearances 3 (first in 1980 ) Best result Group stage (1980 , 2019 , 2023 ) Appearances 2 (first in 2009 ) Best result Group stage (2009 , 2020 ) Appearances 3 (first in 1997 ) Best result Third place (2017 ) Appearances 63 (first in 1945 ) Best result Champions (1949, 1950, 1951, 1964, 1965 , 1974 , 1994 , 2010 )
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 Adel Amrouche from Algeria. 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
Tanzania is currently ranked 121st in the FIFA World Rankings .[ 3]
History
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.[citation needed
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.[citation needed
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 .[citation needed
Coaching staff
Results 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
2023
2024
Coaches
Caretaker managers are listed in italics .
Players
Current squad
The following 27 players were called up for 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches against Ethiopia and Guinea on 4 and 10 September 2024.[ 9]
Caps and goals correct as of 10 September 2024, after the match against Guinea .
Recent call-ups
The following players have been called up for Tanzania in the last 12 months.
Player records
As of 19 November 2024 [ 10] Players in bold are still active with Tanzania.
Most appearances
Top goalscorers
Competitive record
FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup record
Qualification record
Year
Round
Position
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
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
To be determined
3
2
0
1
2
2
2030
To be determined
2034
Total
44
13
12
19
45
62
Africa Cup of Nations
Africa Cup of Nations record
Qualification record
Appearances: 3
Appearances: 24
Year
Round
Position
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 Qualified 6
3
1
2
5
4
2027 Qualified as co-hosts Qualified as co-hosts
2029
To be determined
To be determined
Total
Group stage
4/36
9
0
3
6
6
18
93
22
31
40
95
130
African Nations Championship
African Nations Championship record
Qualification record
Appearances: 2
Appearances: 7
Year
Round
Position
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 Qualified as hosts Qualified as hosts
Total
Group stage
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
Honours
Regional
References
External links
General Stadiums Players Africa Cup of Nations Other tournaments Other Tanzanian teams
National teams
League system
Domestic cups
Awards Lists Related articles
International Competitions Club Competitions Current members National Teams
