Tanzania Premier League side, Singida Black Stars FC have kick started the NMB Mapinduzi Cup in style with a 3-1 victory against Mlandege FC.

The CECAFA Kagame Cup reigning champions collected the Group A win in a match played at the New Amaan Stadium in Zanzibar on Sunday.

Foreign recruits Idriss Diomande and Joseph Guede Gnadou (Ivory Coast) and Ghanaian Emmanuel Kwame Keyekeh netted the goals for Singida Black Stars FC.

Said Matola scored the lone goal for the 2024 champions Mlandege FC.

In the match played on Monday Fufuni SC and Muembe Makumbi FC settled for a 1-1 draw in a Group B tie. Mboni Kibamba gave Fufuni FC the lead after 54 minutes, but Abdalla Iddi Pina leveled matters seven minutes later.

The group C match between another Zanzibar Premier League side KVZ FC and TRA FC ended 1-1. Enock Mtamba scored for TRA United FC, while Micheal Joseph made sure KVZ FC collected a point.

Action continues on Wednesday with Mlandege FC facing Uganda Premier League side, Uganda Revenue Authority FC. The same day Singida Black Stars FC will face Azam FC.

The NMB Mapinduzi Cup 2026 is bankrolled by NMB Bank and other co-partners. The tournament was created to commemorate Zanzibar’s Revolution day which is marked annually on January 12th.

Group A: Mlandege FC, Azam FC, Singida Black Stars FC, URA FC

Group B: Simba SC, Muembe Makumbi City FC, Fufuni SC

Group C: Young Africans SC, KVZ FC, TRA United SC

Tanzania Premier League top sides, Young Africans SC and Simba SC will take part in the Mapinduzi Cup 2026 in Zanzibar.

The tournament which will attract 10 teams from Tanzania, Zanzibar and guest side URA FC from Uganda will take place December 28^th to January 13^th, 2026.

Simba SC who hired South African and former coach of Stellenbosch FC, Steve Barker on Friday are placed in Group B alongside teams from Zanzibar Muembe Makumbi City FC and Fufuni SC.

Young Africans SC are placed in Group C together with KVZ FC and TRA United SC.

The 2024 champions Mlandege have been placed in Group A that also has Uganda’s URA FC, Singida Black Stars FC and five time winners Azam FC.

Young Africans SC and Simba SC who are playing in the group stage of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League, and Azam FC and Singida Black Stars FC are in the group stage of the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup will use the tournament to prepare ahead of continental matches which resume later in January 2026.

The Mapinduzi Cup is a tournament created to commemorate Zanzibar’s Revolution day which is marked annually on January 12th.

Group A: Mlandege FC, Azam FC, Singida Black Stars FC, URA FC

Group B: Simba SC, Muembe Makumbi City FC, Fufuni SC

Group C: Young Africans SC, KVZ FC, TRA United SC

Hosts Zanzibar are the winners of the Mapinduzi Cup 20225.

The Zanzibar Heroes defeated Burkina Faso 2-1 in the final of the tournament played on Monday night at the Gombani Stadium in Pemba.

Zanzibar went into the match with a point to prove as the West African team has defeated them 1-0 in the initial stages of the tournament.

Ibrahim Hamad Hilika gave the home side the lead four minutes from the interval as the local fans burst into celebration.

After the interval Burkina Faso continued to press before Aboubacar Traroe leveled matters after 70 minutes. As the referee prepared to blow the final whistle Hassan Ali Cheda

Made it 2-1 after he brilliantly curled in a shot that the Burkina Faso goalkeeper failed to stop.

Feisal Salum, the Zanzibar Heroes captain said they are very happy to win the Mapinduzi Cup as a national team. “It has been a good tournament and we thank the fans for all the support,” added the captain.

The final was graced by the President of Zanzibar and the Chairman of the Revolutionary Council, Hussein Mwinyi.

This was the first time that the tournament was played between national teams and not teams from around the region like has previously been the case. The tournament attracted Zanzibar, Tanzania, Kenya and Burkina Faso.

Zanzibar Heroes have defeated Kenya 1-0 to qualify for the final at the on-going Mapinduzi Cup 2025 in Pemba, Zanzibar.

The Heroes netted a late goal off a corner that Ali Khatib nodded in four minutes into added time at the Gombani Stadium on Friday night.

Moses Shumah had earlier missed a scoring opportunity for Kenya, while skipper Feisal Salum ‘Toto’ also had his effort blocked by the Harambee Stars goalkeeper.

Kenya’s Aboud Omar was shown a straight red card following an altercation with the referee after 70th minute. Zanzibar also had a player sent off later in the match. Zanzibar who finished second will now face Burkina Faso who topped the round robin log.

“We are happy that we managed to get a win against a strong Kenyan side. Now we shall focus on preparing for the final match against Burkina Faso on January 13th,” said Zanzibar’s captain Salum.

Zanzibar Heroes beat Tanzania 1-0 in the opening match of the tournament and lost by the same margin to Burkina Faso in the second match.

Table standing

                          P   W   D    L   GF  GA GD Pts

Burkina Faso   3    2    1     0     4     1     3     7

Zanzibar          3    2    0     1      2     1     1    6

Kenya              3    1    1     1     3     2     1     4

Tanzania          3     0    0     3    0    5    -5     0