Simba S.C.

Simba S.C
Full name	Simba Sports Club
Nickname(s)	Wekundu wa Msimbazi (Reds of Msimbazi) or Lunyasi
Short name	SSC
Founded	1936; 88 years ago
Ground	Benjamin Mkapa Stadium
Capacity	60,000
Chairman	Murtaza Mangungu
Head Coach	Abdelhak Benchikha
League	Tanzanian Premier League
2022-23	2nd of 16
Website	Club website
Home colours	Away colours

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

It was founded in 1936 as Queen before being renamed to Sunderland and, in 1971, was finally renamed Simba (Swahili for "Lion"). The team's nickname, Wekundu wa Msimbazi (The Reds of Msimbazi), is a reference to their all-red home strip and Msimbazi Street in Kariakoo where their headquarters is based. The fanbase for Simba Sports Club is one of the biggest in Tanzania with there ultras being led by the fierce Isaac Beck.

Simba SC has won 22 league titles and five domestic cups and has participated in CAF Champions League multiple times. It is also among the giant clubs in East and Central Africa, having won the CECAFA Club Championship six times.

Simba plays their home games at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Miburani ward of Temeke District.

The club was ranked among the top ten clubs in Africa, at number 10, by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) in their May 1, 2022 – April 30, 2023 rankings.^[1] Globally, the club was ranked at number 105 in the IFFHS World Ranking.^[2]

The club is one of the richest in East Africa, with a total budget of TSh 6.1 billion (equivalent to $5.3 million) unveiled for the 2019/2020 season.^[3]

Simba holds a long-standing rivalry with Yanga with whom they contest the Kariakoo derby, named after the ward where both teams were founded. The rivalry was ranked 5th as one of the most famous African derbies.^[4]

Honours

Domestic

Tanzanian Premier League^[5]

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^[6]

Winner (3): 1984, 1995, 2000

FAT Cup^[6]

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^[6]

Winner (5): 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2005
Runners-up (1): 2006

Community Shield^[6]

Winner (10): 2002, 2003, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2023
Runners-up (3): 2001, 2010, 2021

Mapinduzi Cup^[7]

Winner (3): 2011, 2015, 2022
Runners-up (5): 2014, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021

Continental

CECAFA Club Championship^[8]

Winners (6): 1974, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 2002
Runners-up (7): 1975, 1952, 1978, 1981, 2003, 2011, 2018

CAF Cup^[9]

Runners-up (1): 1993

CAF Club Champions

•Semi Final 1974

• Group Stage 2003,2018,2020,2021,2022,2023

Colours and badge

Logo from 2010 to 2020
Logo from 2020

Players

Current squad{updated|20 January 2024}^[10]Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Last updated: 20 February 2023
Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Management

Position	Staff
Chief Executive Officer	Imani Kajula
Chief Scouting	Mels Daalder
Head of Operations	Ms Belinda Paul
Senior Accountant	Suleiman Kahumbu
Media officer	Ahmed Ally
Competition manager	Hamiss Kissiwa
Football logistics manager	Abbas Ally
Content & social media coordinator	Rabi Hume
Content manager	Ally Mohamed
Facilities manager	Juma Matari
Office assistant	Said Hassan Ahmad