The Tanzania Mainland Premier League (Swahili: Ligi Kuu Tanzania Bara) is a top-level Tanzanian professional football league, governed by the Tanzania Football Federation.
The league was first organized in Dar es Salaam in 1921[2] and by 1929 had six participants. In the 1930s, the league included street teams such as Arab Sports (Kariakoo) and New Strong Team (Kisutu), which primarily consisted of Arab and African players. The Sudanese community had a team that joined the league in 1941 although by the mid-1940s the team had split up. Other teams in the league's early history included the Khalsas, an exclusively Sikh team, and the Ilala Staff, a team of Ilalan residents.
In 1942, clubs from public institutions such as the Government School, Post Office, Railways SC, King's African Rifles SC, Police SC, and the Medical Department started to dominate the league. However, most teams disbanded in the aftermath of World War II, with many European players ceasing their participation in the league and their clubs. This included Gymkhana Club, Police Club, King's African Rifles, and Railways, who eventually withdrew from the league. Starting in the 1940s, they were replaced by African street teams such as Young Africans (Yanga) and Sunderland (known as Old Boys in 1942 and later renamed Simba in 1971), as well as the Goan's Club manned by Goans, and the Agha Khan Club by Ismaili Khojas.
From this period onwards, Yanga and Sunderland gradually became the most prominent clubs in Dar es Salaam. Yanga, founded in 1935, entered the first division and won four major cups in 1942. Sunderland joined the first division soon after Yanga and won four major trophies in 1946.
By 1955, the Dar es Salaam League had 38 registered clubs. It became the "National League" by 1965, incorporating most of the major teams in Tanzania. The name was later changed to the "First Division Soccer League" and later to the "Premier League" in 1997. Tanzania Breweries became the sponsor of the championship, after which the league was called the Tanzania Breweries League (TBL). The contract with Breweries was terminated in 2001 after a conflict with the Tanzania Football Association. In 2002, a contract was signed with the telecommunication company Vodacom, which lasted until 2009, after which they were renewed the same year.
The Tanzanian Premier League (TPL) follows a typical double round-robin format with each team playing the other twice, home and away. Each win earns three points, a draw earns a point for both teams, and a loss earns zero points.
The bottom two-placed teams are automatically demoted to the Championship and are replaced by the winners and runners-up from the championship. The third and fourth worst-ranked teams enter a play-off with the 3rd and 4th placed teams from the First Division.[3]
Confederation of African Football (CAF) teams based in Tanzania compete in the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup.
Recent positive performances by TPL clubs in continental competitions have seen Tanzania rise in the CAF 5-year ranking. As a result, more teams from the league have had the opportunity to compete on the continental stage.
The league champion qualifies for the CAF Champions League for the following season.
Starting in the 2021-22 season, the second-placed team from the previous season also qualifies for the CAF CL.
Since the 2015–16 season, the winner of the Tanzania FA Cup has qualified for the CAF Confederations Cup. This qualification place had previously been awarded only to the runner-up in the Premier League.
From the 2021-22 season onwards, the champions of the FA Cup and the third-placed team in the Premier League have also qualified for the tournament.
Starting from the 2018–19 season, the league was composed of 20 teams, which was further lowered to 18 in 2020 and then 16 in 2021.
Previous champions are:[4]
{{cite news}}: External link in |work=