The club was ranked among the top ten clubs in Africa, at number 3, by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) in their 1 September 2023 – 30 August 2023 rankings. Globally, the club was ranked at number 104 in the IFFHS World Ranking.[4][5]
The club became a symbol of the anti-colonial movement. Young Africans became associated with nationalists, freedom fighters and Sam Gosmore and inspired the political party TANU to adopt yellow and green as their primary colours. The club is currently in a process that will keep the club ownership 49% for investors and the rest 51% to the club members.
The club holds a long-standing rivalry with Simba, with whom they contest the Kariakoo derby, named after the district where both teams were founded. The rivalry was ranked 5th as one of the most famous African derbies.[6]
On Wednesday, 17 May 2023, Young Africa made history when they became the first Tanzanian club to reach a CAF Confederation Cup final after defeating Marumo Gallants 4-1 on aggregate and they faced USM Algiers from Algeria on the Cup's Finals which they lost 2-2 on aggregate due to away goals .[7][8][9]
History
The club's roots can be traced as far back as 1910s, but the officially recognised history of the club started in 1935 when Dar es Salaam residents, who were grouped as Africans by the colonial administration in Tanganyika, decided to form a football club to compete in a league which was full of "non-African" football clubs. The name New Young is said to be the club's first name. Later it was replaced by the name Dar es Salaam Young Africans SC, and eventually the name changed to Young Africans Sports Club.
After its establishment in 1935, its members squabbled over their team's poor performance and results. The club had an even poorer and unsatisfactory performance in 1936 that caused some of the members to split and form another team. The proponents of breaking away were Arabs who saw fit to cause conflict among the club members that led to a split. They succeeded, and together with dissidents formed a club known as Queens F.C. /sunderland fc (currently Simba). The two teams, Young Africans and Simba, have been rivals ever since.
In 2020 Yanga signed a consultancy deal with La Liga.[10] On May 27, the members of the club agreed to change their club's ruling structure to allow private investments from other companies.
On 17 May 2023, Yanga for the first time in its history qualified to a Continental final after defeating Marumo Gallants in the semi-final.[11] On 3 June, Yanga Lost the 2023 CAF Confederation Cup final against USM Alger On Saturday, 16 September 2023, Yanga became the first African club to have over 2000 fans traveling with the team to an away CAF official match. The game was conducted at Kigali in Rwanda, a journey of 1156 km, which is over 20 hour drive distance. They bossed the game and of course thwarted the Sudanese side 2-0. .[12][13]
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Club leadership
The club has been led democratically by various top leaders since it was started, first leader being Ali Said followed by Musa Sulaiman. The current top leader is Engineer Hersi Said.
Period
Chairman
1935–1939
Ali Said
1945–1947
Musa Suleiman
1948–1950
G. Khalifan
1950–1953
Hamis Penda
1953–1954
Nasib Mwande
1955–1961
Hafidh Mkweche
1961–1962
Abdul Jaffer
1963–1971
Abass Kandoro
1972–1977
Salim Salim
1978–1980
Mohamed Gulamhussein
1980–1986
Abass Kandoro
1986–1989
Mustapha Mwituka
1989–1993
Hassan Muhiddin
1994–1999
Tarimba Abbas
1999–2000
Rashid Kawawa
2000–2005
Francis Kifukwe
2007–2010
Imani Madega
2010–2012
Lloyd Nchunga
2012–2019
Yusuf Manji
2019–2022
Mshindo Msola
2022–present
Hersi Said*
The top leader of the club is now called the President not chairman. The president is the CEO of the club. This came after the transformation the club to include 51% private investor and 49% club members.
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