Tanzanian football exported talent in every direction in 2026. Players left for Algeria, Libya, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Malta, Kenya and Iraq, and the loudest deal of the year was fought over by two clubs in Dar es Salaam. Few fees were made public, so this countdown ranks by the weight of each move rather than the size of the cheque.

10. Habib Kyombo — Mbeya City to Polisi Tanzania

  • From: NAPSA Stars (Zambia)
  • To: Polisi Tanzania FC
  • Date: August 2026
  • Fee: Free transfer

Polisi Tanzania picked up a forward with more top-flight mileage than most of their squad. Kyombo has played for Simba, Pamba Jiji, Singida Black Stars, Fountain Gate and Mbeya City, and left for Zambia's NAPSA Stars on a free in April 2026. Four months later he was back in the Tanzanian Premier League.

For a side outside the Simba and Yanga axis, signing that kind of experience without paying a fee is the business that keeps mid-table clubs competitive.

9. Ibrahim Joshua — Tusker to Kakamega Homeboyz

  • From: Tusker FC (Kenya)
  • To: Kakamega Homeboyz (Kenya)
  • Date: September 2026
  • Fee: Free transfer

Not every Tanzanian export heads to Europe or North Africa. Joshua's move between two Kenyan Premier League sides was confirmed in the Football Kenya Federation's official transfer window closure report, and it reflects how routine the East African player market has become. Tanzanian professionals now move within the region on the same terms as local players.

8. Charles M'Mombwa — Floriana to Zabbar St Patrick

  • From: Floriana FC (Malta)
  • To: Zabbar St Patrick FC (Malta)
  • Date: 1 July 2026
  • Fee: Free transfer

M'Mombwa has one of the more unusual backgrounds in Tanzanian football: born in DR Congo, raised between Tanzania and Australia, and now four years into a career in the Maltese league. His switch from Floriana to Zabbar St Patrick came on a free at the start of July.

7. Nathaniel Chilambo — Azam to Simba

  • From: Azam FC
  • To: Simba SC
  • Date: 20 July 2026
  • Fee: Free transfer

Simba had wanted Chilambo for years. The interest dates back to Fadlu Davids' spell in charge, when Azam refused to let the right-back go. His contract expiry finally opened the door, and Simba signed the 22-year-old on a three-year deal to June 2029 without paying a fee. He now competes with captain Shomari Kapombe and David Kameta for a starting place, and was named in the Taifa Stars provisional squad for the AFCON 2027 qualifiers in September.

6. Baraka Majogoro — KMC to FC Platinum

  • From: Kinondoni Municipal Council FC
  • To: FC Platinum (Zimbabwe)
  • Date: July 2026
  • Fee: Undisclosed

FC Platinum announced Majogoro themselves, welcoming him through the club's own channels. The midfielder had returned to KMC in 2025 after two seasons at Chippa United in South Africa. The Zvishavane side are among Zimbabwe's most consistent clubs, and the move takes a KMC player straight from the Tanzanian top flight into a squad with regular continental football on its calendar.

5. Simon Msuva — Al-Talaba to Newroz

  • From: Al-Talaba SC (Iraq)
  • To: Newroz SC (Iraq)
  • Date: July 2026
  • Fee: Undisclosed

Msuva is Tanzania's joint all-time leading scorer with 25 international goals, level with Mrisho Ngasa, across a career of more than 100 caps. He finished last season as Al-Talaba's top scorer with nine goals before switching to Newroz, and he remains in Miguel Gamondi's plans, named in the September squad for the AFCON qualifiers.

4. Alphonce Msanga — Shamakhi to JS Kabylie

  • From: FC Shamakhi (Azerbaijan)
  • To: JS Kabylie (Algeria)
  • Date: 31 August 2026
  • Fee: Free transfer

The most competitive chase of the year. Young Africans and USM Alger both pursued Msanga before JS Kabylie won the race on deadline day, handing him a three-year contract. Kabylie hold 14 Algerian league titles, more than any other club in the country, and have never been relegated since reaching the top flight in 1969. Msanga joins under new head coach Karim Belhocine.

3. Kibu Denis — Simba to Al Nasr

  • From: Simba SC
  • To: Al Nasr SC (Libya)
  • Date: February 2026
  • Fee: Reported at $300,000

The largest confirmed fee of the Tanzanian year. Simba sold their forward with five months left on his contract rather than lose him for nothing, ending a spell of four and a half seasons at Msimbazi. Kibu had scored twice in the CAF Champions League before leaving, took the number 10 shirt at the Benghazi club, and joined former Simba teammates Fabrice Ngoma and Steven Mukwala there.

2. Adolf Bitegeko — Azam to Kaizer Chiefs

  • From: Azam FC
  • To: Kaizer Chiefs (South Africa)
  • Date: July 2026
  • Fee: Undisclosed

A first. No Tanzanian had played for Kaizer Chiefs in the club's 56-year history before Bitegeko, one of the biggest and most heavily supported sides on the continent. The 27-year-old captained Azam, helped them finish third last season, and arrives with six seasons of Scandinavian football behind him in Iceland, Norway and Finland — a rarer preparation for the South African Premiership than most.

1. Selemani Mwalimu — Wydad Casablanca to Young Africans

  • From: Wydad Casablanca (Morocco)
  • To: Young Africans SC (loan)
  • Date: August 2026
  • Fee: Loan fee of $75,000

The saga of the year. At Simba Day on 8 August the club played a video of Mwalimu telling supporters he was staying. Seventy-two hours later, on 11 August, Yanga unveiled him on loan from Wydad. The 20-year-old had spent 2025/26 on loan at Simba and scored the winner against Yanga in the Union Cup final. He has since been named in the Taifa Stars squad for the AFCON 2027 qualifiers as a Yanga player. For a rivalry that decides the mood of Tanzanian football, no other transfer came close.

What the window says about Tanzanian football

Five of these ten moves were free transfers or loans. The market exports steadily but rarely for money, and Kibu Denis's $300,000 was the exception rather than the pattern. With AFCON 2027 co-hosted by Tanzania and qualifying under way (although Tanzania are already through as co-hosts), everyone on this list has a reason to make the move work quickly.