The Tanzania Premier League (TPL) is the top tier of football in Tanzania. It’s a top-flight league, which means it has teams from all over Tanzania playing against each other throughout the country. The league was first established in 1965 as “Ligi ya Taifa” and has gone through many changes since then from “Ligi Daraja la kwanza” to ‘’Ligi Kuu’’ and currently populary known as NBC Premier league. The league is organized and closely monitored by the Tanzania Football Federation TFF which is the governing body of football in Tanzania and oversees the Tanzania national football teams.
Currently Tanzania Premier league is popularly known as NBC premier league ( Ligikuu Ya NBC) mainly because of sponsorship deal between National Bank of Commerce (NBC) Limited Tanzania and TPL.
National Bank of Commerce (NBC) Limited Tanzania and the Tanzania Football Federation have signed a three-year sponsorship contract worth Sh2. 5 billion for the 2021-2022 league season. The contract was signed by the president of the Tanzania Football Federation, Hamisi Abdallah and the NBC’s managing Director Theobald on Wednesday, October 6 2021 in Dar es Salaam.
Before This the league titled NBC premier league, it was also know as Vodacom premier league due to sponsorship reason. Vodacom inked a three-year contract worth 9 billion with the Tanzania Football Federation in August 2019. (TFF). The league was named as the Vodacom Tanzania Mainland Premier League per the terms of the deal.
However, in June of 2021, Vodacom cancelled the agreement, claiming a financial loss of 30 billion/- in the 2020/21 fiscal year as a primary factor. The agreement was expected to be in place through the end of the 2021/22 season.
Tanzania Premier League: Everything You Need To Know
The Tanzania Premier League is no doubt the most competitive league in Africa and one of the most popular football leagues in East Africa, thanks to the quality of football played and the number of top-class players that play in it. The league is also known for its competitiveness and unpredictability as every team has a chance to win the title at any given season.
Tanzania Premier League System & Structure
The Tanzania Premier League (Ligikuu Ya Tanzania) is the highest ranking competition in Tanzania with 20 teams competing against one another to win its prestigious title. During this event, which takes place from August until May every year, there are 380 home & away games scheduled during the season between all of these teams; where each team competes head-to-head on their field.
Three points are given for a match win, one point for a draw and no points for a defeat. The team with the most points at the end of the season crowned the Tanzania Premier League title. The teams who finish in the bottom three times in the league table are relegated to the Championship, or second tier of Tanzania football.
Teams relegated from the Premier League are replaced by three teams promoted from the Championship; two of which were at the top of that league and one that gets there through an end-of-season playoff.
The champions of the Tanzanian Premier League (Ligi Kuu Tanzania Bara) qualify to play in the following season’s CAF Champions League.
Tanzania Premier League champions
Since the LigiKuu Tanzania began in 1965, there have been 10 different winners: Simba S.C, Cosmopolitans S.C, Mseto S.C, Pan African S.C, Tukuyu Stars, Coastal Union S.C, Majimaji F. C, Mtibwa Sugar F.C, Yanga S.C And Azam F.C. Young Africans have had the most success with 26 titles in the 58 seasons so far.
Young Africans Yanga are the defending champions, having managed to win the Tanzania Premier League Trophy (Kombe La Ligikuu Ya Tanzania) by narrowly beating Simba Sports club who were the defending champions for the 2021/22 title.
Check >> Msimamo Wa NBC Premier League 2021/2022
All Time Tanzania Premier League Winners
| Season | Winner | Region |
| 1965 | Simba S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 1966 | Sunderland | Dar es Salaam |
| 1967 | Cosmopolitans S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 1968 | Yanga S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 1969 | Yanga S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 1970 | Yanga S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 1971 | Yanga S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 1972 | Yanga S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 1973 | Simba S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 1974 | Yanga S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 1975 | Mseto S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 1976 | Simba S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 1977 | Simba S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 1978 | Simba S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 1979 | Simba S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 1980 | Simba S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 1981 | Yanga S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 1982 | Pan African S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 1983 | Yanga S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 1984 | Simba S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 1985 | Yanga S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 1986 | Tuku | Mbeya |
| 1987 | Yanga S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 1988 | Coastal Union | Tanga |
| 1989 | Yanga S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 1990 | Simba S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 1991 | Yanga S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 1992 | Yanga S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 1993 | Yanga S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 1994 | Simba S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 1995 | Simba S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 1996 | Yanga S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 1997 | Yanga S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 1998 | Majimaji | Ruvuma |
| 1999 | Mtibwa Sugar | Morogoro |
| 2000 | Mtibwa Sugar | Morogoro |
| 2001 | Simba S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 2002 | Yanga S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 2003 | Simba S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 2004 | Simba S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 2005 | Yanga S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 2006 | Yanga S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 2007 | Simba S.C. | Dar es Salaam |
| 2007–08 | Yanga S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 2008–09 | Yanga S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 2009–10 | Simba S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 2010–11 | Yanga S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 2011–12 | Simba S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 2012–13 | Yanga S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 2013–14 | Azam F.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 2014–15 | Yanga S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 2015–16 | Yanga S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 2016–17 | Yanga S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 2017–18 | Simba S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 2018–19 | Simba S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 2019-20 | Simba S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 2020–21 | Simba S.C | Dar es Salaam |
| 2021–22 | Yanga S.C | Dar es Salaam |
All Tanzania Premier League Top Goal Scorers
| Mwaka | Mfungaji Bora | Klabu Anayochezea | Magoli |
| 1997 | Mohamed Hussein “Mmachinga” | Yanga S.C.| | 26 |
| 2004 | Abubakar Ally Mkangwa | Mtibwa Sugar F.C. | |
| 2005 | Abdallah Juma | Mtibwa Sugar F.C. | 25 |
| 2006 | n/a | n/a | |
| 2007 | Mashiku | SC United FC | 17 |
| 2007–08 | Michael Katende | Kagera Sugar F.C. | |
| 2008–09 | Boniface Ambani | Yanga S.C. | 18 |
| 2009–10 | Musa Hassan Mgosi | Simba S.C. | 18 |
| 2010–11 | Mrisho Ngasa | Azam F.C. | 18 |
| 2011–12 | John Raphael Bocco | Azam | 19 |
| 2012–13 | Kipre Tchetche | Azam F.C. | 17 |
| 2014–15 | Simon Msuva[5] | Yanga S.C. | 17 |
| 2017-18 | Emmanuel Okwi | Simba S.C. | 20 |
| 2018-19 | Meddie Kagere | Simba S.C. | 22 |
| 2019–20 | Meddie Kagere | Simba | 22 |
| 2020–21 | John Bocco | Simba | 16 |
| 2021-22 | George Mpole | Yanga S.C. | 17 |
Current Tanzania Premier League Season : NBC premier league 2022/2023
The Latest Tanzania premier league ( Ligikuu Tanzania/ Nbc premier league) is schedule to kick start at 13 August 2022 where the all time leading winner Yanga sc will face their all time rival Simba Sports Club in a mouthwatering clash. For More Updates on Tanzania Premier league current season please visit our other article from the link shared below
