Tanzania’s richest man, Mohammed Dewji, has bought a 49% stake in Simba at the cost of $8 million to acquire a stake of  one of the most successful football clubs in the Tanzanian Premier League.

In 2016, Dewji, who is ranked as the richest man in Tanzania, made a $10 million bid to acquire a controlling stake of at least 51% in Simba and immediately told journalists his plans to transform Simba into Africa’s most successful club by hiring high-quality players and investing in key infrastructure.

Simba SC, which was founded in 1936 by a group of community leaders in Dar es Salaam, currently has a fan base of more than 10 million people and is constantly ranked amongst the top three clubs in the Tanzanian league.

Dewji told journalists that he plans to transform Simba SC into Africa’s most successful soccer club by hiring high quality players and investing in key infrastructure – including $2.5 million to set up a modern Simba SC stadium and training ground in Bunju, located on the outskirt of Dar es Salaam.

But the club, which has struggled with funding and cash flow problems recently, has failed to outshine its main rivals – Azam FC, a club owned by multimillionaire Said Bakhresa and Young Africans, which is owned by local businessman Yusuf Manji.

Mohammed Dewji, 45, is the CEO of the METL Group, a Tanzanian industrial conglomerates with interests in manufacturing, distribution, trading, haulage, storage and real estate. He currently has a net worth of $1.09 billion according to the FORBES’ Realtime Billionaire scoreboard.