South Africa’s esteemed football administrator, Senzo Mbatha, who served as CEO of both Tanzanian giants Young Africans SC and Simba SC, has provided an insightful answer to the question: Can Tanzanian clubs match the salaries of Betway Premiership teams?
There have been several cases of players transferring between the two countries in recent years, along with unsuccessful attempts to bring top players from Tanzania to South Africa. Zambian midfielder Larry Bwalywa moved from Simba SC to AmaZulu FC, while Abdi Banda and Baraka Majogoro both had stints with Chippa United.
Interestingly, Kaizer Chiefs were unable to secure the signatures of Fiston Mayele and Stephane Aziz Ki, both from Young Africans. Their attempts to sign Feisal Salum from Azam FC also proved unsuccessful.
Currently, Neo Maema and Rushine De Reuck turn out for Simba, while Mahlatsi ‘Skudu’ Makudubela spent a season at Yanga in the 2023/24 season.
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Mbatha confirmed that the top clubs in Tanzania have elevated their payment structures to a globally competitive level, but stopped short of declaring them a match for their South African counterparts.
“In Tanzania, there are like four or five clubs that are at the level of paying players well. By paying players well, I mean being able to pay a player a salary that will allow them to move out of their country to Tanzania,” Mbatha told SAFJA journalists.
The four clubs he was referring to are Yanga, Simba, Azam FC and Singida Black Stars.
“And you’ll see that these big four clubs, the majority of their players are players from outside. I mean, Yanga, for instance, there were about 10 to 12 players that are from outside when I was there.
“I think they’re still keeping the same number because there are regulations as well. So, the pay is good, but you cannot compete directly if a South African club wants to go after a particular player. I think the South African club would win that battle.
“But that does not mean that they are unable to match the salaries. They are there in terms of ensuring that they can match salaries, they can pay signing-on fees, and the living conditions are good.”
Although he believes Dar es Salaam is a pleasant city to live in, he highlights the language barrier as the main challenge. Tanzanians mainly speak Swahili.
With the 2027 AFCON scheduled to be hosted in three East African countries, including Tanzania, he is confident that the facilities will improve and the level of professionalism will rise.
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