Azam FC: Football Club Guide to the Wana Lambalamba of Dar es Salaam

Azam FC are a Tanzanian football club from Chamazi, in the Temeke district of Dar es Salaam, founded on 23 July 2004 and owned by the Bakhresa Group. They play at the 10,000 seat Chamazi Stadium, also known as the Azam Complex, where they have been based since 2010. If you arrived expecting a Kenyan side, Azam are based in Tanzania. For South African readers following East African soccer, their home city is also home to Simba and Yanga.

Below, I set out who Azam are, where they play, how the squad and coaching staff are shown, what they have won and how they fit between the two old giants of Dar es Salaam. The head coach, the squad, the news and the fixtures sit in the live modules at the top and refresh themselves, so the words here explain how to read them. For a reader in Lagos, the closest picture I can offer is a well run new estate built between two old markets, where every family on the street already has a loyalty.

Who Are Azam FC, and Which Azam Is This?

Azam FC are a privately owned club in Tanzania's top flight, the Tanzanian Premier League, and they belong to the Bakhresa Group, which also owns their ground. The move to Chamazi gave a young club a home complex of its own by 2010. Their nicknames are Wana Lambalamba, Chamazi Millionaires and The Bakers. If you are new to Tanzanian football, the key dates are their founding in 2004 and their unbeaten league title in 2013-14, alongside regional cup wins in 2015 and 2018.

Where Is the Latest Azam News, and Who Is the Coach?

The latest Azam news, transfer talk and the name of the current head coach are all in the live modules at the top, and they change the moment the club announces something. I would rather point you there than print a name in the prose, because football benches everywhere change faster than a danfo driver changes lanes on Third Mainland Bridge, and a dated module is always the safer guide. What stays true is the shape of the job. Whoever holds it is expected to compete with Simba and Yanga at home and to take Azam deep into the CAF Confederation Cup, so check the module for the name and the date, and follow the news feed for any contract talk.

How Do You Follow Azam Fixtures, Results and the Table From Africa?

The quickest route is the Azam fixtures list, which shows every match in date order with kick off times in WAT, EAT, SAST and GMT side by side. Dar es Salaam runs on East Africa Time, three hours ahead of GMT, so a 16:00 EAT kick off at Chamazi is 16:00 in Nairobi and Kampala, 15:00 SAST in Johannesburg, 14:00 WAT in Lagos and 13:00 GMT in Accra. The results module fills in once the final whistle goes, and the league table (or log, as South African readers know it) ranks the clubs on points across the season. Where to watch in each country is listed alongside the fixtures data rather than written into the copy, because broadcast arrangements can change from one season to the next.

How Is the Azam Squad Set Out, and Who Are the Best Known Players?

The Azam squad module lists the current players by position and carries the date it was last refreshed, so that is the place to check who is in the side. Of the former Azam players, John Bocco is the name East Africans reach for first. Born on 5 August 1989, he joined as a teenager during the 2008 promotion push and stayed until 2017, then played for Simba from 2017 to 2024 before joining JKT Tanzania in July 2024. For a Nigerian reader, his story is a little like a striker who grew up at one Lagos club and later led the line for its biggest rival, which tells you how highly both sides rated him.

What Have Azam Won?

Azam won the Tanzanian Premier League title in 2013-14 without losing a match. The league began in 1921 as the Dar es Salaam Football League and became the National League in 1965. The unbeaten title makes 2013-14 a defining season in Azam's history.

In cup football, Azam won the Mapinduzi Cup five times between 2012 and 2019, with victories in 2012, 2013, 2017, 2018 and 2019. The tournament is played in Zanzibar to mark Revolution Day on 12 January, and Kenyan and Ugandan clubs have been invited from time to time since 2013, while the 2025 edition was the first to use national teams. Azam have also won the CECAFA Club Championship, the Kagame Cup, in 2015 and 2018. That regional title probably means most to readers in Nairobi and Kampala, because it is the same trophy their own clubs chase.

From Mzizima to Chamazi: The History in Brief

Azam began on 23 July 2004 as Mzizima FC, became Azam Sports Club in 2005 and took the name Azam Football Club in 2006. The 2008 promotion push brought a teenage John Bocco into the side, and the same year saw the start of the rivalry with African Lyon, who were then called Mbagala Market. In 2010 the club moved to the Chamazi complex in Temeke, a ground the Bakhresa Group owns and Azam operate as main tenant.

The stadium holds 10,000 and is listed among the venues for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, which Tanzania hosts jointly with Kenya and Uganda. That is quite a step for a ground that became the Azam home only in 2010, and it means supporters travelling from Nairobi or Kampala for the tournament could well end up in Chamazi. The timeline below puts the key dates in one place, from Mzizima in 2004 to the Confederation Cup group stage of 2025-26.

Who Are Azam's Rivals, and Where Do They Fit Between Simba and Yanga?

Azam's main rivals are Yanga (Young Africans) and Simba, the two clubs that have shaped Dar es Salaam football for generations, with Mtibwa Sugar and African Lyon also on the list. The matches against Simba and Yanga are their best known fixtures, and they are the fixtures where Azam measure whether a season is moving in the right direction. The African Lyon rivalry is older in Azam terms, going back to 2008.

Azam averaged 2,358 home fans in the 2023-24 Tanzanian Premier League. Chamazi is a compact ground where every call from the bench carries, and trophies and continental nights add to the atmosphere.

Where do Azam fit? Their own complex and the unbeaten league title in 2013-14 are central to their place in Dar es Salaam football alongside Simba and Yanga. Picture a new Lagos club with its own complex building a following alongside two established sides, and you have a way into the Azam story. The unbeaten season of 2013-14 proved the gap can be closed, and the head to head modules show how each meeting goes.

How Have Azam Done in the CAF Confederation Cup?

Azam reached the CAF Confederation Cup group stage in 2025-26, qualifying as Tanzania's third placed team of 2024-25. They beat El Merreikh Bentiu 4-0 on aggregate and then KMKM of Zanzibar 9-0 on aggregate to get there, and Nairobi United of Kenya were in the same group stage draw pot, which gave Kenyan readers a direct stake. USM Alger went on to win the competition, beating Zamalek of Cairo in the final second leg in Cairo on 16 May 2026. For South African, Nigerian and Ghanaian readers who follow the Confed Cup closely, the Azam run is the easiest way into Tanzanian football, and any continental campaign this season appears in the fixtures and results modules.

Which Azam Games Matter Most, and What Time Do They Kick Off?

The Azam games that matter most are the meetings with Simba and Yanga, the Confederation Cup nights, and the Mapinduzi Cup in Zanzibar each January. Supporters across East Africa know the club as Wana Lambalamba, and the white, blue and orange kit is easy to pick out on a phone screen in a busy viewing centre. Kenyan and Ugandan fans have the closest ties, through CECAFA, the Mapinduzi invitations and the shared 2027 AFCON hosting, so a Chamazi fixture is a neighbourly affair for them.

For an evening game at 19:00 EAT, that is 18:00 SAST, 17:00 WAT and 16:00 GMT, so Lagos and Accra fans can watch after work without a late night. If a Nigerian signs for Azam, the squad module will show it. Nigerian and Ghanaian readers can follow Azam's continental opponents and confirmed kick off times through the fixtures list.