Whoever christened football a religion never lied, because world over, the game has produced cult heroes.

Heroes come and go though, but teams stay and the bond built with one team is passed on from one generation to another.

The script is the same in Tanzania; “You are either born a Simba or Yanga fan,” an airport attendant told this reporter on Monday afternoon.

The Kariakoo Derby is East Africa’s biggest football game between Tanzanian football outfits, Yanga and Simba.

This weekend, they meet in the first around of the Ligi Kuu Bara (Premier League) and as it has been the norm, Tanzania will come on a standstill.

“That day is a public holiday, who can afford to go to work when the Derby is going on?” A store attendant at the Julius Nyerere International Airport told Football256.

Last season, both games ended in barren draws as Yanga went on to win their record extending 28th league title, undefeated.

The promotion of the Ligi Kuu Bara and the derby in particular by the league broadcasters Azam, just sets the scene for you in case you are fresh in town.

It doesn’t matter which program is showing on their sports channels, the derby promotional countdown is well stationed in the top right corner of your screen.

As if that is not enough, a squeeze back pops up every now and then, not to mention the official promo, interviews of current players and coaches.

“A derby is a day like no other, everyone in Tanzania must know about it then they will want to be apart of it,” Musa a cab driver at the airport told this reporter.

Yanga will be the hosts of this one and they will have to deal with the small detail of failing to make it to the group stages of the CAF Champions League. Yanga were eliminated by Al Hilal Omdurman 2-1 on aggregate.

Simba on the other hand made it through, after going past Primeiro de Agosto of Angola 4-1 on aggregate.

Ahead of Sunday, both teams are tied on 13 points after five games, yet Simba top the log because of a superior goal difference, nine to Yanga’s seven.