NEWS
Young Africans battle Simba SC in biggest League derby in CECAFA Zone
All roads will lead to the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium today Saturday to witness the Kariakoo derby in the NBC Tanzania Premier League between arch-rivals Young Africans SC and Simba SC.
It is also the biggest League derby in the CECAFA Zone which will pit the two teams in the Zone that reached the quarter final stage of the 2023/2024 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League.
After bowing out at the quarter final stage of TotalEnergies CAF Champions League, the two sides will be all out to try and prove a point to send a strong message to their fans. Of course Young Africans SC go into the match with a lot of confidence with a 4 point league on the log ahead of Azam FC who have played two matches more, while Simba SC have 46 points from 20 matches.
Miguel Gamondi, the Young Africans SC head coach said that although it is a derby, it is like any other game. ” We have prepared well and the players are very motivated to come out and win the match. Yes we respect our opponents and what happened before will not matter in the match on Saturday, ” said Gamondi.
In their last meeting i the first leg of the League last November, Young Africans brushed a side their rivals 5-1 in a match played at the same Stadium.
But Simba SC who bowed out of the CRDB Bank Confederation Cup few days ago are expected to come all out to try and prove a point. Selemani Matola, the Simba SC assistant coach said during an interview that although they know their opponents are enjoying good form, they are well prepared for the match.
” We are well prepared and remember this is a derby which makes it a very strong match, ” added Matola. The Simba SC captain Shomari Kapombe also summed it up saying they have prepared well and will be all out targeting three points from that match.
While Simba SC will look to the experience of Burundian international Saidi Ntibazonkiza and Clatous Chama for the goals, Young Africans Sc will hope that their midfielder Stephane Aziz Ki who has netted 14 goals in the League now finds his scoring touch.
Referee Ahmed Arajiga is expected to take charge of the match which is expected to attract over 40,000 spectators from within Tanzania and from other countries.
Besides the Tanzanian Kariakoo derby, the other big derbies in the CECAFA Zone include Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards in Kenya, and Al Merriekh and Al Hilal in Sudan.
KVZ FC will represent Zanzibar in the 2026/2027 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League.
The KVZ FC side emerged champions of the 2025/2026 Zanzibar PBZ Premier League giving the army team the ticket to play in Africa’s biggest tournament.
KVZ FC were crowned champions on Friday after finishing with 67 points from 30 matches played, while JKU SC came second with 64 points.
Hussein Ahmada, General Secretary of the Zanzibar Football Federation (ZFF) says they had a successful season. “We thank all the teams and our sponsors PBZ Bank for the constant support of Football,” added Ahmada.
The Zanzibar champions will however start their test of continental Football when they take part in the regional CECAFA Kagame Cup to take place in Rwanda next month.
Several members from Member Associations in the CECAFA Zone are attending the 2026 FIFA Executive Football Summits 2026 in Miami, United States.
The Presidents and General Secretaries of Member Associations of Burundi, Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopia and Rwanda have joined other members from around the world to exchange ideas, strengthen relationships and shape the future of the game.
Among other things the summit is being used as a platform to sensitise Member Associations on key FIFA programmes, including the FIFA Forward programme and the scheduled launch of FIFA Forward 4 in January 2027.
Mattias Grafström, the FIFA Secretary General opened the plenary session by setting out the summit’s dual ambition: a formal programme of sessions covering youth development and strategy, alongside the informal exchange of ideas that has become a hallmark of the event.
FIFA Executive Summit 2026
The FIFA President Gianni Infantino also thanked all members for attending the Summit. “Ten years ago, those of you who are a little bit older maybe remember the Development Programme that FIFA had was granting to every Member Association one million (US dollars) in four years, meaning 250,000 US dollars per year,” said Infantino.
He explained that today with FIFA Forward 3.0, Member Associations receive US$8 million (around two million every year), to invest in competitions, to invest in infrastructure, and to invest in football-related projects.
He also added that the FIFA Series, which was played in a total of 12 different countries in 2026 between the women’s and men’s editions, was an example of how FIFA was helping MAs. Rwanda and Kenya hosted the FIFA Series this year for the men and Women respectively.
Africa’s top male referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan has been selected to officiate the the Union of European Football Associations – UEFA Super Cup final in August, 2026.
“We’re pleased to share that Somali referee Omar Artan will officiate the highly anticipated match between PSG and Aston Villa in Salzburg,” said the statement from UEFA.
The development comes after the Somali referee was selected to officiate at the FIFA World Cup 2026, but was denied entry into US early this week and returned back home.
The European soccer body UEFA said Artan will referee the math on August 12th game between the Champions League winner Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa, the Europa League winner. The game will be in Salzburg, Austria.
The European Soccer body said the decision to appoint Artan to officiate the UEFA Super Cup match has been made in the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) recently signed between UEFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to encourage cooperation in many areas, including refereeing. “UEFA and CAF are united by a shared commitment to developing football at all levels and promoting the core values of unity, equality and non-discrimination,” said UEFA on their website.
On Wednesday Artan received a hero’s welcome back in Mogadishu, and also met the President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.
The Harambee Stars of Kenya have settled for a 1-1 draw against Lesotho in an International friendly match played on Thursday in Pretoria, South Africa.
Frank Odhiambo gave Kenya the lead after 14 minutes at the Lucas Moripe Stadium.
The two teams continued to create some decent scoring opportunities, but failed to convert them.
After recess the Lesotho team re-organised themselves and leveled matters through Thabo Makhele. The match ended 1-1 and the two teams will face-off again on June 7th at the same Stadium.
Ethiopia will also be in action against Malawi on June 6th at the Addis Ababa Stadium, and the second match to be played after three days.
The other teams from the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda had their scheduled matches in Morocco cancelled due to sanitary and public health considerations.
The teams are using the FIFA Window to play International friendly matches as they prepare ahead of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2027 qualifiers.
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