// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Tanzania Stars say to the moon? You're star-struck.
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| Full name | Tanzania Stars |
|---|---|
| Founded | c. 1997 |
| Chairman | Mtemi Ramadhani (1997–2000) |
| Manager | Sunday Kayuni Mziray (1997) |
Tanzania Stars was a Tanzanian association football club based in Dar es Salaam. It was a part-time side formed from former Tanzanian international footballers and other veteran players.[1][2]
Although it played in the fourth division during 1998 and was not participating in a domestic league by 1999, the club won the mainland FAT Cup and the nationwide Nyerere Cup in both 1997 and 1998.[3] It consequently represented Tanzania in the African Cup Winners' Cup in 1998 and 1999.
History
[edit]Formation and veteran team
[edit]The club's founding date has not been recorded in the available sources. Tanzania Stars was based in Dar es Salaam and was organised as a part-time club composed of former international players.[1] A later retrospective described it as a veteran players' team.[4] Despite the players' experience, the club entered the lower levels of the domestic league system rather than the Mainland League.
Tanzania Stars was coached during its first recorded cup success by Sunday Kayuni Mziray, a prominent Tanzanian coach nicknamed "Super Coach". A retrospective account of Mziray's career credits him with guiding the team to the 1997 Nyerere Cup and its resulting African qualification.[5]
1997 cup double
[edit]The earliest presently documented competitive season for Tanzania Stars is 1997. The club won the mainland Football Association of Tanzania Cup, although the surviving results compilation does not name its final opponent or record the score.[3]
The mainland victory advanced Tanzania Stars to the Nyerere Cup, then the nationwide cup competition involving clubs from mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar. Tanzania Stars defeated Zanzibar club Mlandege 1–0 in the final, completing a domestic cup double.[3] The Nyerere Cup success qualified Tanzania Stars for the 1998 African Cup Winners' Cup.
1998 African campaign and second cup double
[edit]Tanzania Stars entered the 1998 African Cup Winners' Cup in the preliminary round against Malawian cup holder Bata Bullets. Tanzania Stars won 3–1 in Dar es Salaam and drew 2–2 in Malawi, advancing 5–3 on aggregate.[6]
In the first round, Tanzania Stars faced South African club Mamelodi Sundowns, which had replaced the withdrawn Kaizer Chiefs. Sundowns won the first leg 4–1 in South Africa and the return leg 2–0, eliminating Tanzania Stars 6–1 on aggregate.[6][7]
Domestically, the club remained a fourth-division, part-time side.[1] It nevertheless retained the FAT Cup by defeating Simba 2–0 in the mainland final. Tanzania Stars then defeated Zanzibar's Shangani in the Nyerere Cup semi-final and Mbeya Prisons 2–1 in the final, retaining that trophy as well.[1] Both finalists were leading top-flight sides: Mbeya Prisons had finished second in the 1998 Mainland League, while Simba finished fourth.[1] Tanzania Stars therefore completed the FAT Cup–Nyerere Cup double for a second successive year and qualified for the 1999 African Cup Winners' Cup.
1999 African campaign
[edit]By the time of its second continental appearance, Tanzania Stars was not participating in any Tanzanian domestic league.[2] Alex Kajumulo served as a technical adviser to the club during 1999.[8]
Tanzania Stars received a bye to the first round of the 1999 African Cup Winners' Cup, where it faced Uganda's Simba FC. The Ugandan side won the first leg in Kampala 2–1 on 12 March. The return match in Dar es Salaam ended 1–1, eliminating Tanzania Stars 3–2 on aggregate.[9][2] The second leg is the club's last competitive fixture identified in the available historical records.
Former Tanzanian international Mtemi Ramadhani,[10] who had served as Tanzania Stars' chairman since 1997, remained chairman until 2000.[11]
Later history
[edit]The club's subsequent history is unclear. A team using the name Tanzania Stars FC competed in the 2026 Imbeju Ndondo Cup.[12] The competition was a grassroots football tournament held in Dar es Salaam.[13] It is not known whether this team was a continuation or revival of the club that won the Nyerere Cup in 1997 and 1998.
Players and staff
[edit]A surviving team photograph taken before the 1999 home match against Simba FC identifies 13 Tanzania Stars players.[2] They were:
- Abdallah Msamba
- Alex Kajumulo
- Twaha Hamidu
- Sanifu Lazaro
- Zubery Katwila
- Yussuf Macho
- Mohammed Abubakar "Phantom"
- Issa Manofu
- Thabit Bushako
- George Masatu
- Muhehe Kihwelo
- William Fahnbulllar
- Malota Soma "Ball Jaggler"
A separate photograph described as having been taken before the match in Kampala names Edward Chumila, Monja Liseki, George Lucas, a player identified only as Mliberia, and Abubakar Kombo in addition to the players Issa Manofu, William Fahnbullah, Yussuf Macho, Thabit Bushako, Sanifu Lazaro and Twaha Hamidu. Its caption names Kihwelo as "Mtwa Kihwelo", whereas the Dar es Salaam photograph identifies him as "Muhehe Kihwelo"; the two captions also spell Fahnbullah's name differently.[4][2]
Mziray coached the 1997 cup-winning team,[5] while Kajumulo was recorded as the club's technical adviser in 1999.[8] Kajumulo also appeared as a player in the photograph of the team which faced Simba.[2]
Continental record
[edit]| Season | Competition | Round | Opposition | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | African Cup Winners' Cup | Preliminary round |  Bata Bullets |
3–1 | 2–2 | 5–3 |
| First round |  Mamelodi Sundowns |
0–2 | 1–4 | 1–6 | ||
| 1999 | African Cup Winners' Cup | First round |  Simba FC |
1–1 | 1–2 | 2–3 |
Notes on the historical record
[edit]No reliable source located for this article gives the club's precise founding date, home ground, colours, complete domestic cup results, or a formal dissolution date. The recorded history therefore begins with the 1997 cup victories and ends with the club's 1999 African campaign. Sources describe two successive phases of its domestic status: the 1998 season record places Tanzania Stars in the fourth division,[1] while the retrospective account of its 1999 CAF team states that it was not then participating in any league.[2]
Honours
[edit]- Nyerere Cup: 1997, 1998[3]
- FAT Cup: 1997, 1998[3]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gulam, Salim; Schöggl, Hans. "Tanzania 1998". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 13 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Timu pekee isiyo ya Ligi Kuu kuwahi kucheza michuano ya Afrika" [The only team outside the Premier League ever to play in African competition]. Bin Zubeiry Sports (in Swahili). 1 May 2016. Retrieved 13 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Manaschev, Erlan; Morrison, Neil; Schöggl, Hans. "Tanzania – List of Cup Winners". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 13 September 2026.
- 1 2 "Timu ya wakongwe, Tanzania Stars iliyoshiriki Kombe la Washindi Afrika 1999" [Veterans' team Tanzania Stars, which participated in the 1999 African Cup Winners' Cup]. Mwanaspoti Leo (in Swahili). 3 November 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2026.
- 1 2 "'Super Coach' Mziray Death Shocks Soccer Fans". AllAfrica. 31 October 2010. Retrieved 13 September 2026.
- 1 2 Stokkermans, Karel. "African Club Competitions 1998". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 13 September 2026.
- ↑ "Young Africans have history with PSL sides as Sundowns loom". SuperSport. 26 March 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2026.
- 1 2 "Here is why Alex Kajumulo wants to run for TFF president". Vijimambo. 23 March 2012. Retrieved 13 September 2026.
- ↑ Stokkermans, Karel. "African Club Competitions 1999". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 13 September 2026.
- ↑ "Mtemi Ramadhani". National Football Teams.
- ↑ "Hizi hapa sifa za Mtemi Ramadhan ndani ya Simba". Mwanaspoti (in Swahili). 18 October 2018. Retrieved 13 September 2026.
- ↑ "Imbeju Ndondo Cup 2026 results and standings". Nukta AI. Retrieved 13 September 2026.
- ↑ Omary, Majuto (4 June 2026). "CRDB Bank Foundation injects Sh400m into Imbeju Ndondo Cup 2026". The Citizen. Retrieved 13 September 2026.