Dar es Salaam. President Samia Suluhu Hassan has led Tanzanians in congratulating the Tanzania women’s under-20 national football team, the Tanzanite Queens, after they made history by qualifying for the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup finals to be held in Poland from September 5 to 27.
The Tanzanite Queens secured their place at the global tournament after defeating Cameroon women's national under-20 football team 2-0 in the second leg of the final qualification round on Sunday.
Goals scored by Mary Aaron and Hasnath Ubamba sealed a memorable victory for the young Tanzanian side, who overturned a first-leg deficit to qualify on aggregate for the first time in the country’s history.
The achievement has been widely celebrated across the nation, with football stakeholders, government leaders and sports fans describing it as a major milestone for women’s football development in Tanzania and East Africa.
In her congratulatory message, President Samia said the team’s success had brought honour and pride to the nation by becoming the first Tanzanian side ever to qualify for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
“I congratulate the Tanzania Women’s National Under-20 Football Team (Tanzanite Queens) for qualifying for the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
Your victory is a historic achievement and a great honour for our country,” said President Samia. She also directed the Ministry of Information, Culture, Arts and Sports together with all relevant authorities to ensure proper preparations are made so that the team can represent Tanzania and East Africa successfully during the tournament in Poland.
The historic qualification marks a turning point for Tanzanian women’s football, which has continued to grow in recent years through increased investment, youth development programmes and improved competition structures. Football analysts and local stakeholders have praised the players for showing determination, discipline and fighting spirit throughout the qualification campaign.
Many also commended the technical bench for guiding the team through difficult matches against strong African opponents.
The 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland will be the 12th edition of the tournament and will feature 24 nations from across the globe. Tanzania will join other qualified countries including Japan, China PR and Benin, who also secured a historic first appearance at the tournament.
The competition will see reigning champions North Korea women's national under-20 football team defending the title they won in Colombia in 2024 after defeating Japan 1-0 in the final.
For Tanzania, the qualification is expected to inspire a new generation of female footballers and strengthen the country’s ambitions of becoming a competitive force in African women’s football.
