FEASSSA 2026: Morogoro’s football faithful puts Tanzania’s Premier League ahead of EPL obsession

From the smallest roadside eatery to the biggest supermarket, from dusty training grounds to television screens everyone seems to like the game.

You do not have to look for football in Morogoro because football finds you.

Walk into a small eatery, the kind Kenyans would casually call a kiosk, and there is a good chance the television above the counter will be showing the Tanzanian Premier League

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Move to a shop or supermarket and the story is much the same.

If there is a television, chances are it is carrying football, while Mishike Mishike, a popular local football programme, provides another magnet for supporters who want to keep up with the latest discussions, debates and stories from the game.

Even the night cannot quite put football to sleep.

As the cool air sweeps through the streets and the city settles into its evening rhythm, children gather around television screens to catch whatever football they can find.

Some stand outside shops, others squeeze into small spaces with adults, but the purpose is the same: nobody wants to miss what is happening on the pitch.

The football culture is equally visible before a ball is kicked.

Along the roadsides, jerseys of local clubs hang from stalls like colourful flags, readily available to supporters who want to wear their allegiance rather than merely talk about it.

Simba and Young Africans colours are particularly prominent, turning ordinary streets into a moving portrait of Tanzania’s fierce football rivalry.

The two giants have also established offices in Morogoro, while the region itself has produced players who have gone on to leave their footprints on the national game.

Former Yanga and Pan African player Jellah Mtagwa, who was born in Morogoro, is among the notable names associated with the region’s football history, while the city has continued to produce talent for the modern game, including Tanzania internationals such as Aishi Manula, Faridi Mussa and Salum Machaku.

That history has given the next generation something to chase, and you can see the chase every morning and evening when the city’s dusty spaces become makeshift football grounds.

Young players run through the dust, balls move between feet and voices rise as coaches and teammates demand more from one another, with the hope that today’s training session might eventually become tomorrow’s breakthrough.

Football, to many of them, is not simply something to watch after school or during the weekend; it is a possible career, a source of identity and, in some cases, the dream that gives purpose to hours spent running through the dust.

The passion was perhaps best illustrated by an experience involving Team Kenya during their stay in Morogoro for the Federation of East Africa Secondary Schools Sports Association (FEASSSA) Games.

The Kenyan contingent wanted to find somewhere in town to watch Arsenal take on Manchester City, only to discover that their search was almost hopeless because Simba were playing at the same time.

In a city where club football carries enormous emotional weight, Simba’s match was the main event, and Arsenal’s big clash had to take its place in the queue.