Video showing Tanzania giants Yanga FC receiving rapturous welcome surfaces

• The video shows how fans welcome Tanzanian powerhouses Yanga FC for a Premier League game at the Benjamin Mkapa stadium in Kigoma
• Yanga is the most successful club in Tanzania having won 27 Premier League titles. They are involved in a heated rivalry with Simba SC
• Similar scenes were observed in Morocco when Raja Casablanca fans filled a 30,000-seater stadium with almost twice the number ahead of their Champions League clash

Footage has surfaced online showing how fans of Tanzanian football giants Young Africans adore their club. The video, posted by the club’s Chief Executive Officer Senzo Mbatha, shows the fans welcoming the club to Kigoma for a Premier League fixture.

Yanga, as the club is popularly known, enjoys a cult following in Tanzania. The club is involved in a fearsome rivalry with Simba SC whose nickname is ‘Wekundu Wa Msimbazi.’

The club was given a Presidential welcome with a convoy lining up from the airport. Yanga was in Kigoma to play Ruvu Shooting Stars in a Premier League game that ended in a goalless draw.

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Senzo Mbatha took to Twitter with a lot of pride to appreciate the fans' support

This is the type of reception that Young Africans Sports Club receives when it plays in faraway regions of Tanzania. This was in our recent away fixture in the region of Kigoma. The convoy started from the airport. You got to love football in these parts. The love from the fans is out of this world.

Yanga currently leads the table with 56 points and is on course to win this season’s title. Their main competitors, Simba Sc, are further back in second place with 43 points. They are the most successful club in the competition with 27 titles.

Similar scenes in Morocco

Raja Casablanca of Morocco similarly have a huge following. Their recent CAF Champions League match against Al Ahly saw their 45,000-seater stadium filled with over 60,000 people a few minutes before kickoff.

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Another video showed how the security apparatus at the Stade Mohamed V had a hard time containing the fans who scaled the wall to gain entry into the stadium.

Raja, unfortunately, bowed out of the competition after losing 3-2 on aggregate. Al Ahly are the defending champions.

African football continues to grow with teams particularly from North Africa getting huge attendances during games. Fans revel in major African derbies like the Cairo derby which pits Al Ahly against Zamalek.

The Kariakor derby in Tanzania between Simba SC and Yanga is also a major crowd puller like the Soweto derby of Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates.