The Zanzibar national football team represents Zanzibar in international football and is controlled by the Zanzibar Football Federation.
History Zanzibar is not a member of FIFA and is therefore not eligible to enter the World Cup. The island is part of the nation of the United Republic of Tanzania, which holds FIFA recognition at the international level. Prior to the union of Zanzibar and Tanganyika in 1964, Zanzibar was a fully independent member of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), but never qualified for the African Nations Cup.
Zanzibar was a provisional member of the N.F.-Board. The team placed second in the 2006 FIFI Wild Cup tournament, losing 4–1 on penalties to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the final. For that tournament, they were coached by the German comedian Oliver Pocher.
Their U-20 team also played in the 2006 ELF Cup, finishing fourth of eight, winning one game (1–0 against Kyrgyzstan's national football team) and drawing twice (against Gagauzia and Greenland) before losing 5–0 to Northern Cyprus in the semifinal. They regularly play in the CECAFA Cup, which includes national teams from Central and East Africa, and in 1995 they became champions, winning the final match 1–0 against the host nation, Uganda.
In March 2017, Zanzibar were admitted to CAF, becoming its 55th member, only for their membership to be rescinded four months later, with CAF president Ahmad Ahmad claiming the region should never have been admitted as it is not a sovereign nation.
Zanzibar won their first international trophy since 1995 with the 2025 Mapinduzi Cup after defeating Burkina Faso 2–1 in the final.
Results and fixtures
2025
2026
Coaching history
Gheorghe Dungu (1972–1974) Oliver Pocher (2005–2006) Abdel-Fattah Abbas (2006–2008) Souleymane Sané (2008–2011) Stewart Hall (2010) Hemed "Morocco" Suleiman (2017–2021) Hababuu Ali Omar (2021–2023)
Notable players
Ally Badru – played for El Qanah and Al Bashaer
Records
Players in bold are still active with Zanzibar.
Most appearances RankPlayerCapsGoalsCareer 1 Suleiman Selembe 32 5 2009–2019 2 Aggrey Morris 30 6 2004–2012 3 Nadir Haroub 28 1 2005–20154 Abdulghani Gulam Abdallah 18 1 2009–2012 Khamis Mcha Khamis 18 5 2007–2015 6 Ally Mwadini 17 0 2009–20157 Soud Abdallah Juma 14 1 2002–2007 Abdi Kassim 14 2 2002–2010 9 Abdallah Juma Ally 13 9 2002–200710 Issa Haidar Dau 11 0 2015–present Mwinyi Mngwali 11 0 2015–present Waziri Omar 11 0 2009–2013 Nassor Said 11 0 2009–2013 Mudathir Yahya 11 1 2015–present
Top goalscorers
RankNameGoalsCapsRatioCareer 1 Abdallah Juma Ally 9 13 2002–2007 2 Aggrey Morris 6 30 2004–20123 Khamis Mcha Khamis 5 18 2007–2015 Suleiman Selembe 5 32 2009–20195 Alek Mohammed 2 1 2006 Ali Shiboli 2 2 2010 Kassim Suleiman Khamis 2 3 2017–present Ahmed Ali Mkweche 2 4 2005–2007 Khamis Mussa Makame 2 7 2017–present Salum Ussi 2 7 2002–2006 Mohammed Juma 2 8 2017–present Abdulaziz Makame 2 9 2017–present Abdi Kassim 2 14 2002–2010
Competition records
CECAFA Cup Zanzibar competed in the Gossage Cup from 1949 to 1967, when the competition was renamed to the East and Central African Senior Challenge Cup:
Gossage Cup recordYearRoundPosition 1947Fourth Place4th100113 1948Third Place3rd100113 1949Fourth Place4th100123 1950Fourth Place4th100104 1951Third Place3rd100101 1952Third Place3rd210148 1953Third Place3rd100115 1954Fourth Place4th100105 1955Third Place3rd1001-- 1956Third Place3rd210157 1957Third Place3rd201148 1958Fourth Place4th301238 1959Runners-Up2nd311137 1960Fourth Place4th3003311 1961Fourth Place4th30031151962Fourth Place4th3003019 1963Fourth Place4th300315 1964Fourth Place4th3102510 1965Fourth Place4th3003212 1966Fourth Place4th301217TotalRunners-up20/3741443337141
East and Central African Senior Challenge Cup recordYearRoundPosition * 1967Third Place3rd310238 1968Fourth Place4th300308 1969Fourth Place4th3003112 1970Third Place3rd310245 1971Fourth Place4th301228TotalThird place5/51521121041
CECAFA Cup recordYearRoundPosition * 1973Group stage5th200206 1974Third place3rd210133 1975Group stage6th200217 1976Group stage6th310214 1977Group stage6th310214 1978Did not enter 1979Fourth place4th402238 1980Group stage5th310225 1981Group stage8th300339 1982Fourth place4th411238 1983Group stage8th301236 1984Group stage8th300314 1985Did not enter 1987Fourth slace4th512223 1988Group stage7th310213 1989Group stage6th302101 1990Fourth place4th511335 1991Group stage7th300347 1992Group stage8th4103214 1994Did not enter 1995Champions1st531154 1996Group stage5th311133 1999Group stage10th201113 2000Did not enter 2001Group stage10th200208 2002Group stage7th411213 2003Group stage5th201126 2004Group stage7th4103711 2005Third place3rd632176 2006Group stage9th201104 2007Quarter-finals7th312053 2008Group stage8th411235 2009Third place3rd622263 2010Quarter-finals7th412143 2011Quarter-finals7th411254 2012Third place3rd614156 2013Group stage9th310236 2015Group stage10th310236 2017Runners-up2nd632196 2019Group stage8th301213Total1 title36/40124293263100184
Africa Cup of Nations In March 2017, Zanzibar were admitted to the Confederation of African Football, becoming eligible for the Africa Cup of Nations. The invitation was rescinded in July when FIFA rules forbade two teams from one nation.
YearRoundPositionGPWDLGSGAAfrican Cup of Nations1957–1963Did not enter1965–2023Ineligible
Non-FIFA tournaments
World tournaments
World tournaments recordYearRoundPositionFIFI Wild Cup and ELF Cup2006Runners-up2nd421176 2006Fourth place4th513159VIVA World Cup 2006Did not enter 2008 2009 2010 2012Third Place3rd4301164CONIFA World Football Cup 2014Withdrew 2016Did not enter 2018TotalThird place3/10136432819
Honours Regional CECAFA Cup Champions (1): 1995 Runners-up (1): 2017 Third place (4): 1974, 2005, 2009, 2012
Non-FIFA competitions FIFI Wild Cup Runners-up (1): 2006 Viva World Cup Third place (1): 2012
Friendly Mapinduzi Cup Champions (1): 2025
Notes Shared titles.
References
External links Zanzibar at CAF Zanzibar at FIFA East and Central African Championship (CECAFA) at RSSSF