Simba SC: The Red Lions of Dar es Salaam, Football Club Guide and African Kick-Off Times

Established in 1936, Simba SC carry Dar es Salaam's football identity across Africa under the nickname Wekundu wa Msimbazi, the Red Lions. The listed record credits Simba with 22 Tanzanian league titles through 2020-21, and in 2024-25 they reached the CAF Confederation Cup final, a continental final appearance in 2024-25. If you are reading from Johannesburg, this is the Tanzanian soccer club, not one of the brands or businesses that borrow the Swahili word for lion. The fixtures show match times, while the table shows how league results contribute to the title race.

In my opinion, Simba are the East African club a Lagos fan should get to know first. Think of the noise that Enyimba and Kano Pillars brought to continental football followed in Nigerian viewing centres, then move it to Dar es Salaam and dress it in red. But, the record matters as much as the colour: a semi-final in 1974, a CAF Cup final in 1993, the holders Zamalek knocked out in 2003, and fourth place in the IFFHS ranking of African clubs for May 2024 to April 2025. That is a club with a long memory and a recent rise.

Who Are Simba SC, the Red Lions of Msimbazi?

Simba SC are a Dar es Salaam club that began in 1936 as The Queens, played for a spell under the name Sunderland, and became Simba in 1971. The nickname Wekundu wa Msimbazi joins the red strip to Msimbazi Street in Kariakoo, the ward where the club was born, which is why many East African fans simply say Msimbazi. Readers do mix the name up, so here is the short version: Simba SC is the Tanzanian club you see in the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup draws. Anything else called Simba, from a snack to a cartoon lion, belongs to another world entirely, and the search for the club starts and ends in Kariakoo.

Where Can You Watch Simba and Follow Fixtures and Results?

The quickest route is the Simba fixtures list, with the results module beside it updating after every match. Read the competition, the venue and the kick-off time together, because a CAF night away from Dar es Salaam can start at a very different hour from a league game at home. Tanzania runs on EAT, the same as Nairobi and Kampala, which sits three hours ahead of GMT, two ahead of WAT and one ahead of SAST. For a Simba match starting at 19:00 EAT, Lagos viewers would tune in at 17:00 WAT, Johannesburg at 18:00 SAST and Accra at 16:00 GMT. Where to watch changes by country and with broadcast rights, so check the country listing on match day; most fans follow through television, streaming and live score apps.

Where Do Simba Sit in the Tanzanian Premier League Table?

The live table (or log) above answers that, and it updates itself after every round, so the copy here explains how to read it rather than repeating it. In Tanzania's Ligi Kuu, a victory earns three points; drawn matches add a single point to each side's total, with goal difference separating clubs level on points. Look at games played as well, because Simba's continental travel can leave them with matches in hand while rivals have already played. In my opinion, the season is best read through one question: how Simba are faring against Young Africans, and how both clubs are faring against everyone else, since the title has so often been settled by the two Kariakoo sides.

How Is the Simba Squad Built, and Who Are the African Stars?

The squad module lists the current players by position and nationality, along with the head coach, and it changes as the club registers new signings, so the names belong there rather than here. What stays true is the way Simba recruit. They look across East and Southern Africa, and Kenyan, Ugandan and Zambian players have worn the red shirt in recent seasons, which is a big reason fans in Nairobi and Kampala follow Simba team news nearly as closely as their own leagues. Readers in Nigeria can use the nationality column to find Nigerian players. Where there is none, the West African link runs through the CAF draw, when Simba meet the clubs Nigerian and Ghanaian fans already know.

What Have Simba SC Won?

The listed record credits Simba with 22 Tanzanian league titles through 2020-21, with 2020-21 the most recent title on the listed record. Those titles form a substantial part of Simba's domestic honours, and it is the number Simba supporters reach for whenever a derby argument turns to the record books. The domestic cup and Community Shield wins sit in the records module, which keeps the count current, so you do not need to take anyone's word for a tally from memory. That being said, the league count is the one that defines a Tanzanian club, much as the league title count defines Enyimba's standing at home.

The regional story is just as rich. Simba won six CECAFA Club Championship titles between 1974 and 2002, in 1974, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996 and 2002, which made them one of the strongest sides in East and Central Africa through the 1990s. The year 1974 deserves a second look, because that regional title came in the same year as the club's continental semi-final, a season most clubs in the region would still trade a great deal for. It could be argued that the six CECAFA titles explain why Kenyan and Ugandan fans treat Simba as a regional club rather than a purely Tanzanian one.

How Far Have Simba Gone in Africa, and Why Does the Quarter-Final Matter?

Simba's continental timeline is longer than many readers expect. They reached the semi-finals of the African Cup of Champions Clubs in 1974, a semi-final appearance in the top competition in 1974, and were runners-up in the CAF Cup in 1993. In 2003 they knocked out the defending champions Zamalek of Egypt and reached the Champions League group stage. A continental milestone came in the 2024-25 CAF Confederation Cup, where Simba reached the final and finished as runners-up, a continental final appearance in 2024-25. The timeline below sets those dates side by side.

Why does the quarter-final barrier matter so much? Simba reached the Champions League quarter-finals in 2018-19, 2020-21, 2022-23 and 2023-24. A quarter-final is two legs against sides used to semi-finals, and in my opinion the deciding factor is the away leg: a draw or a narrow defeat on the road would turn a home crowd at Mkapa into the advantage it should be. The Confederation Cup final of 2024-25 suggests the step is within reach, and that is the story to follow each time Simba reach the last eight again.

Why Is the Kariakoo Derby Against Yanga So Big?

The Kariakoo derby is Simba against Young Africans, better known as Yanga, and it takes its name from the ward in Dar es Salaam where both clubs were founded. That shared birthplace is the heart of it. Two clubs grew up streets apart, built rival followings in the same neighbourhood, and carried that rivalry into every corner of the country. Kenyans and Ugandans usually call it the Dar derby or simply Simba vs Yanga, and you will hear it discussed in Swahili from Mombasa to Kampala.

The result Simba fans quote first is the 6-0 win over Young Africans in 1977, the club's biggest victory in the fixture. For a Lagos comparison, think of the way a famous scoreline from decades ago still gets brought out in a viewing centre whenever two sets of fans run out of recent material. A result like that becomes part of the furniture. The records module carries the full head to head, split by competition, so you can see the long view rather than relying on whichever game someone remembers best.

Why does it matter beyond Dar es Salaam? The rivalry splits the country, and it has pushed both clubs to raise their level on the continent. In 2023-24 Simba and Young Africans both reached the CAF Champions League quarter-finals, the first time Tanzania had sent two clubs to that stage, and fans across Africa noticed. So, when you see the derby in the fixtures list, read it as the one game in the Tanzanian season that can shift the title race and the mood of a city at the same time.

Where Do Simba Play, and Who Owns the Club?

Simba play their big matches at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam, which has a listed capacity of 60,000, and on a continental night the stands fill with red shirts from Kariakoo outward. Fans often shorten the ground to Mkapa. The ownership model is a split one: the club's membership body holds 51% and the businessman Mohammed Dewji holds 49%. In my opinion, that balance explains a good deal about Simba's recent ambition, because members keep the controlling share while outside investment has helped the club recruit across the region. It is a structure worth knowing when you read about signings and continental targets.

How Do Simba Compare With Yanga, Al Ahly and Mamelodi Sundowns?

At home, Young Africans are Simba's true peers, and the two clubs measure every season against each other first. On the continent, Al Ahly and Mamelodi Sundowns have set the standard for regular deep runs, and they are the benchmark Simba are chasing. The fourth place in the IFFHS ranking of African clubs for May 2024 to April 2025 suggests the gap has narrowed, and the 2024-25 Confederation Cup final backs that up. Perhaps the fairest summary is that Simba already belong among the clubs that reach the knockout rounds, and the next mark is to become a regular semi-finalist.

For South African readers, Simba are the side your clubs may meet in CAF competition, which is why so many searches from Johannesburg and Pretoria land on the name. For readers in Lagos and Accra, the useful frame is the continental draw: when Simba face a West African club, the records module shows how the two have met before. If you want one game to judge Simba by, watch a Champions League quarter-final away leg, then check the result against the timeline above.