Samia women super cup to rock Arusha for three days

ARUSHA: THE highly anticipated clash between two powerhouses of the Tanzania Women’s Premier League (TWPL), Simba Queens and JKT Queens, will shift their focus from the league title to battle for a spot in the final of the Samia Super Cup.

This exciting semi-final showdown will take place at the Sheikh Amri Abeid Stadium in Arusha, marking a key event in the celebrations for International Women’s Day, which will be nationally observed on Saturday, March 8 in Arusha.

Both teams are in the midst of a fierce title race in the TWPL. As of now, Simba Queens are leading the league with 34 points from 12 matches, while JKT Queens are hot on their heels with 29 points from 11 games. Meanwhile, Yanga Princess are in third place with 24 points from 12 games and Fountain Gate Princess sit in sixth place with 11 points from 11 outings.

In addition to the Simba-JKT clash, the first semi-final of the Samia Super Cup will feature Yanga Princess against Fountain Gate Princess, with the match scheduled to kick off at 2:00 pm on the same day.

The Arusha Regional Commissioner, Paul Makonda, has announced that there will be no entrance fee for fans and sports enthusiasts to attend the matches as part of the Women’s Day festivities.

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The Samia Super Cup, a key event leading up to International Women’s Day celebrations, will take place from March 4 to March 6, 2025, in Arusha. Makonda expressed the region’s goal of making Arusha a hub for sports tourism in Tanzania.

“This women’s soccer tournament is just the beginning of our proposal to establish Arusha as a prime sports tourism destination,” he said. All sporting events surrounding International Women’s Day in Arusha will be open to the public free of charge.

According to the event’s schedule, there will be a break for the teams on Wednesday, March 5. On Thursday, March 6, two matches will be played, the third-place match to determine the second runner-up and the final to crown the overall winner.

Baraka Kizuguto, the Competition Manager from the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF), confirmed that the TFF will be present to supervise the tournament.

Beyond soccer, other sporting events will be held as part of the International Women’s Day celebrations in Arusha, including athletics. More than 2,000 women participated in the ‘Fun Run,’ a race organised by the Regional Sports Committee under the leadership of Dinah Mosha.

Other activities include traditional games, cultural dances, netball, sack racing, old twist music dancing, Chacha (Salsa) and classic Rhumba.