Azam Football Club is a professional football club based in

Chamazi Chamazi is an administrative ward in the Temeke district of the Dar es Salaam Region of Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the ...

, Temeke,

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over s ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

, that competes in the

Tanzanian Premier League The Tanzania Mainland Premier League () is the top-level professional association football, football league in Tanzania and is administered by the Tanzania Football Federation. History The league was first organised in 1921 in Dar es Salaam. By ...

. Nicknamed "Wana Lambalamba, Chamazi Millionaires or the Bakers", the club was founded as ''Mzizima Football Club'' in 2004, changed its name to Azam Sports Club in 2005, then Azam Football Club in 2006 and moved to its current stadium, Azam Complex Chamazi, in 2010. Azam FC have won 10 trophies; one

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

, a record 5 Mapinduzi Cup, two

Kagame Cup The CECAFA Club Cup is a football club tournament organised by CECAFA. It has been known as the Kagame Interclub Cup since 2002, when Rwandan President Paul Kagame began sponsoring the competition. It is contested by clubs from East and Central A ...

, one

Azam Sports Federation Cup Azam may refer to: Given name * Azam of Kalat, Khan of Kalat, Balochistan 1931–1933 * Azam Ali (born 1970), Iranian singer and musician * Azam Ali (scientist) (active from 1988), Bangladeshi researcher into biomaterials * Azam Azih (born 1995 ...

and one Community Shield. In th
2013/14
season, Azam FC won the league unbeaten, and by so doing, the club became only the second (after

Simba SC Simba Sports Club is a football (soccer), football club based in Kariakoo, Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam Tanzania, Founded in 1936, the club, which broke away from another Tanzania Giants, Dar Young Africans was named Queens, in honor of her Maj ...

br>2009/10
to win the league without losing a single game. Azam FC were undefeated in the league (26 matches) in a run that stretched to a 38 games, from the 18th round of 2012/13 season to the 4th round of 2014/15. In 2015, the club became the first in the history of Tanzanian clubs to win the Kagame Cup without conceding a goal. Azam FC is one of the most widely supported football clubs in Tanzania, and has rivalries with

Yanga SC Young Africans Sports Club, commonly referred as Yanga is a Tanzanian professional football club based in Jangwani, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Founded in 1935, the club play their home games at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium. Nicknamed "Yanga" (Yo ...

Mtibwa Sugar FC Mtibwa Sugar Football Club is a Tanzanian football club based in Turiani in northern Mvomero District. Their home games are played at Manungu Stadium.and using stadiums such as CCM jamhuri and Gairo as their home stadium History Mtibwa Sugar Spor ...

and African Lyon.

History

Early years (2004–2005)

Azam FC, started as Mzizima FC on 23 July 2004. The club was founded by the workers o
Mzizima wheat flour milling industry
owned by

Said Salim Bakhresa Said Salim Awadh Bakhresa (born 1949 in Zanzibar), is a Tanzanian business tycoon. He is the founder and the chairperson of the Bakhresa Group of companies. He is a well-known industrialist in the mainland of Tanzania and the island of Zanzibar ...

,(SSB) group of Companies, at Banda la Ngozi, Nyerere Road, Ilala,

. Mzizima FC was a brainchild of Hafidh Salim (who became the first Chairperson), Ali Mlungula, Seif Mshamu Kiwile, Athuman Kikila, Mohamed Saad Makununi, Mzee Chuli Ramadhan, and Babu Ayubu. Then they were joined by Abubakar Mapwisa, Seleman Mabehewa, Twalib Suleiman Chuma, Mohamed Seif 'King', Nassor Idrisa 'Father', Ibrahim Jeshi and Abdallah Hassan. They started this team just for recreation and leisure after the long working hours, so as to improve their social life, health and well-being. They didn't have a place as their training ground thus they approached the

Tanzania Railways Limited The Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC) is a state-owned enterprise that runs one of Tanzania's two main railway networks. When the East African Railways and Harbours Corporation was dissolved in 1977 and its assets divided between Kenya, Tanza ...

(TRC) to allow them use their open space at Ilala Goods Shed. TRC gave them a nod and the work of leveling the ground started immediately. After the ground was ready, they dubbed it, 'Surulele', after the legendary National Stadium, Lagos Nigeria where the Taifa Stars played in at the

1980 African Cup of Nations The 1980 African Cup of Nations was the 12th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was hosted by Nigeria. Just like in 1978, the field of eight teams was split into two groups of four. Nigeria won ...

. The ground allowed the players, who were the workers, to showcase their talents. The very first players are Nassor Idrisa, Salum Kakolo, Mjomba Akili, Salva Mayola, Ali Dosho, Gabriel Sebastian Manyoronga, Mohamed Kikuni, Tebela, Zabron Mihangi, Salehe Hillary, Mussa Lumbi, Hatibu Katoto, Amiri Rashid Kikwa, Hamis Jafar, Ibrahim Jaluo, Abbas Kuka, Mbaraka Shaaban Jangama 'Cantona', Abdulkarim Amin 'Popat', Hassan Jeba, Said Nachikongo, Mussa Juma, Faraj Ismail, Mazaila Athuman and James Adriano Kilongola.

Champions of Ilala 2005

After only playing friendly matches, in 2005, Mzizima FC participated in official league after joining division four. This was the lowest official league in Tanzanian football pyramid, and organized by the respective districts' football associations. Based in Ilala district of Dar es Salaam, Mzizima FC joined the Ilala District League under Ilala District Football Association, which was played in May, from 1st to 28th, at Benjamin Mkapa Secondary School ground, Ilala, Dar es Salaam. Mzizima FC made it to the final and saw off Ndanda FC of Misheni Kota, Kariakoo Dar es Salaam by 2–1, with the brace from Mussa Lumbi in front of Honourable

Mussa Hassan Mussa Mussa Hassan Mussa (born 11 February 1959) is a Chileann CCM politician and Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bic ...

, the Ilala Member of Parliament. Mr. Abubabar Bakhresa, the Managing Director of SSB, awarded the team a sum of 330,000/= for winning the championship. The win meant Mzizima FC was automatically promoted to Dar es Salaam regional league (division three) for the 2006 season.

Azam Sports Club

Other SSB owned industries had their own football teams too, and in 2005 they agreed to merger with Mzizima SC to form one strong team following the suggestion from Mr. Abubabar Bakhresa, the Managing Director of SSB. The teams were Kipawa iscuits & Bakery Industry TAZARA - Buguruni heat Flour Milling & Mineral Water Industryand Vingunguti mary Packaging & Garage They decided to organize the tournament involving all these teams to help select the players to form one new team. The tournament was played at Airwing ground in Ukonga. Mzizima FC and Kipawa FC qualified for the final but the match was interrupted as Kipawa confronted the officiating. After the disputed tournament, every team maintained its status but later some players defected from other teams to join Mzizima FC to honour the call of Mr. Abubakar Bakhresa. Some of them were Luckson Kakolaki and Id Abubakary of Kipawa. This led to the strengthening of Mzizima SC and weakening of other teams, and lately they swallowed their pride and agreed to merger with Mzizima FC to form one team. On 28/10/2005, the newly formed team adopted the new name, Azam Sports Club, because Azam is the flagship name for the SSB group of companies.

Azam Football Club 2006

After winning the Ilala District Championship (division four) in 2005, Azam SC was automatically promoted to the Dar es Salaam regional league (division three). But the regional league proved to be a bit tough for Azam SC players who were workers from within the company. The need to improve the team forced the recruitment of new players from outside the company. The new players helped the team to win promotion to second division for 2007 season. But that was the beginning of the new era because the club now started to pay wages to the players only for playing football, thus the professionalization of the club. On June 6, 2006, Azam Sports Club turned full professional and marked the evolution by dropping 'Sports Club' from its name, and replaced it with 'Football Club'. From that day on, the official name of the club is Azam Football Club. The players recruited for 2007 season were Seleman Matola, Shekhan Rashid, Kasimu Kilungo, Juma Assey, Daud Jumanne, James Adrian, Makame Usi 'Vigema', Boniface Pawasa, Heri pazi, and Alimu Chilumbe. Others were Kamba Luffo and Steven Nyenge. These were the players who had vast experience of local and international football and improved the team.

Promotion to Premier League

In April 2006, the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) announced that from 2007 they will change the league system and calendar. The old calendar of January - December was to be replaced by the new one of August - May. So to get the representatives in African competitions for 2007 (as CAF still used February - November calendar), TFF organized what they called the LIGI NDOGO (mini league). Also all other leagues below premier league to be disbanded and replaced by new competition called National League. This competition was to start from district level to the national level in the same season. National level is where the promotion to the premier league was obtained. Under this new format, the team could be formed the same season and got promoted to the premier league in the same season. So when the new season started, Azam FC which at the time was in division two, had to drop to district level to participate in this new competition. They started from Ilala District and in one of their matches they played against Cosmopolitan and lost 2–0, at Benjamin Mkapa Secondary School ground. All goals were scored by the 17 year old,

John Bocco John Raphael Bocco (born 5 August 1989) is a Tanzanian international footballer who plays for Simba, as a striker. Club career Born in Dar es Salaam, Bocco began his career with Azam for nearly 10 years. He signed a two-year contract with Simb ...

. Azam FC who eventually managed to qualify for regional level, signed John Bocco and enrolled him for the rest of the season. They too signed a 16 year old Salum Abubakary 'Sure Boy'. Azam FC triumphantly made it all the way to National level for promotion playoffs. There were two centers for playoffs, Dodoma and Musoma, and Azam FC was in Dodoma. Their group included Mbagala Market, the team which had a 17 year old in

Mbwana Samatta Mbwana Ally Samatta (born 23 December 1992) is a Tanzanian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Belgian Pro League club Genk, on loan from Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe, and captains the Tanzania national team. Samatta began his ...

, Majimaji FC and Kijiweni FC from Uyole Mbeya. The match against Mbagala Market which ended in a stalemate was very intense and a reminder of the two previous encounters at regional, all ended in a draw. This is where the rivalry between Azam FC and Mbagala Market started. Mbagala Market, now African Lyon, is the first team to beat Azam FC at Azam Complex Chamazi. Azam FC was promoted after accumulating 7 points from two wins (3–0 against Kijiweni and 2–0 against Majimaji) and one draw (0-0 against Mbagala Market). The promotion was officially sealed on July 27, 2008, after a comfortable 2–0 win over Majimaji FC with free kick goals from John Bocco. Since promotion, Azam FC have managed to finish in top three in all seasons, except 2008/09 ighthand 2016/17 ourth

Colours and badge

Achievements

: 1 ::Champions
2013-14
*

CECAFA Club Championship The CECAFA Club Cup is a football club tournament organised by CECAFA. It has been known as the Kagame Interclub Cup since 2002, when Rwandan President Paul Kagame began sponsoring the competition. It is contested by clubs from East and Central Afr ...

: 2 ::Champions
2015
* Mapinduzi Cup: 5 ::Champions
2012

Players

For a list of every Azam FC player and every Azam captain, see List of Azam F.C. players

Current squad

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Current Technical Bench

* Daniel Cadena * Kalimangonga Ongala orwad Coach* Agrey Moris ssistant interim coach* Daniel Cadena oalkeeper Coach UEFA GK-A* Nyasha Charandura

ports Scientist A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

* Hiraoui Moadh itness & Conditioning Coach* Mwanandi Mwankemwa eam Doctor* Joao Fernandes hysio* Chris Nyoni ssistant Physio* Yusuph Nzawila

it Manager It or IT may refer to: * It (pronoun), in English * Information technology Arts and media Film and television * ''It'' (1927 film), a film starring Clara Bow * '' It! The Terror from Beyond Space'', a 1958 science fiction film * ''It!'' (1967 ...

* Hamis Salehe Jumapili ssistant Kit Manager* Luckson Kakolaki eam Coordinator

Out On Loan Players

Academy

Further information:

Azam FC Academy Azam may refer to: Given name * Azam of Kalat, Khan of Kalat, Balochistan 1931–1933 * Azam Ali (born 1970), Iranian singer and musician * Azam Ali (scientist) (active from 1988), Bangladeshi researcher into biomaterials * Azam Azih (born 199 ...

Under 20

Under 17

Current Youth Technical Bench

* Mohamed Badru ead Coach* John Yonatus Matambara ssistant* Mwalo Hashim Ilunga oal Keeping Coach * Twalib Mbaraka eam Doctor* Ernest Mtungujo

* Mbaraka Shaaban Jangama 'Cantona' ssistant Kit Manager* Rashid Said Mgunya eam Manager* Abdihamd Moallin echnical Director

Managerial history

See also: List of Azam F.C. coaches * Athuman Kikila

004 004, 0O4, O04, OO4 may refer to: * 004, fictional British 00 Agent * 0O4, Corning Municipal Airport (California) * O04, the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation * Abdul Haq Wasiq, Guantanamo detainee 004 * Junkers Jumo 004 turbojet engine * Lauda ...

* Mohamed Seif 'King' 004–2008* Neidar Dos Santos 008–09* Sylvester Marsh (Caretaker)

009 009 may refer to: * OO9, gauge model railways * O09, FAA identifier for Round Valley Airport * 0O9, FAA identifier for Ward Field, see List of airports in California * British secret agent 009, see 00 Agent * BA 009, see British Airways Flight 9 * ...

* Itamar Amorin 009–10* Sylvester Marsh (Caretaker)

010 010 may refer to: * 10 (number) * 8 (number) in octal numeral notation * Motorola 68010, a microprocessor released by Motorola in 1982 * 010, the telephone area code of Beijing * 010, the Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the R ...

* Stewart John Hall

010–12 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

* Vivek Nagul (Caretaker)

012 012 may refer to: * Tyrrell 012, a Formula One racing car * The dialing code for Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassie ...

* Boris Bunjak

* Stewart John Hall

012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

* Joseph Omog 013–2015* George 'Best' Nsimbe (Interim coach)

015 Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak album ...

* Stewart John Hall 015–2016* Dennis Kitambi (Caretaker)

016 HV-016 is a former military unit of Norway, that was a part of the Home Guard. It was established after 1985 to "stop terror- or sabotage actions that could weaken or paralyze Norway's ability to mobilize its military and its ability to resist". ...

* Zeben Hernandez

* Idd Nassor Cheche (Caretaker)

Aristică Cioabă Aristică Cioabă (born 4 August 1971) is a Romanian football manager and a former footballer who is the current manager of Bangladesh Police FC of Bangladesh Premier League. Playing career Cioabă began his footballing career in with Petroșa ...

017–2018* Idd Nassor Cheche (Caretaker)

018 018 may refer to *Air Canada Flight 018, an airline flight from Hong Kong to Vancouver, Canada, illegally boarded by a Chinese man wearing a disguise in 2010 *Area code 018, a telephone area code in Uppsala, Sweden *BMW 018, an experimental turboje ...

Hans van der Pluijm Hans van der Pluijm (born 3 January 1949) is a Dutch football coach who most recently coached Azam F.C. in Tanzania. A former goalkeeper, he played for FC Den Bosch between 1967 and 1986. After retiring, he was the manager of Den Bosch until 1995 ...

018–2019* Meja Mstaafu Abdul Mingange (Interim coach)

019 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

Etienne Ndayiragije Etienne Ndayiragije (born 3 December 1978) is a Burundian football manager who manages the Burundi national team. On 12 February 2021, The Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) has parted company with the national football team head coach Etienne N ...

* Aristică Cioabă 019–2020* George Lwandamina 020-2021* Abdihamid Moallin (Care Taker)

021 021 is: * in Brazil, the telephone area code for the city of Rio de Janeiro and surrounding cities (Greater Rio de Janeiro) * in China, the telephone area code for the city of Shanghai. * in Indonesia, the area code for the city of Jakarta and su ...

* Abdihamid Moallin (Head Coach) 022 * Mohamed Badru (Caretaker - only one match vs Yanga) 022* Dennis Jean Lavagne 022* Kalimangonga Ongala (Caretaker) 022* Daniel Cadena 022

CEOs

* Saad Kawemba Byemba

014 - 2017 Fourteen or 14 may refer to: * 14 (number), the natural number following 13 and preceding 15 * one of the years 14 BC, AD 14, 1914, 2014 Music * 14th (band), a British electronic music duo * ''14'' (David Garrett album), 2013 *''14'', an unrele ...

* Abdul Mohamed

017 - 2018 Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanese m ...

* Abdulkarim MohamedAmin Nurdin 'Popat'

018 - Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the short s ...

Media Officers

* Jaffary Iddy Maganga 009 - 2020*

Zaka Zakazi ZAKA ( he, זק"א, abbreviation for ''Zihuy Korbanot Ason'', , literally: "Disaster Victim Identification") is a series of voluntary community emergency response teams in Israel, each operating in a police district (two in the Central Distr ...

020 - 2023* Hasheem Ibwe

023 - 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societies ...

References

External links

Official Site

Azam FC Facebook Page

Azam FC Twitter Page

Azam FC Blog
{{Tanzanian Premier League Sport in Dar es Salaam 2004 establishments in Tanzania