ZED Football Club ( ar, نادي زد لكرة القدم), formerly known as FC Masr, is an Egyptian professional football club based in

Giza Giza (; sometimes spelled ''Gizah'' arz, الجيزة ' ) is the second-largest city in Egypt after Cairo and fourth-largest city in Africa after Kinshasa, Lagos and Cairo. It is the capital of Giza Governorate with a total population of 9.2 ...

, Egypt. The club currently plays in the

Egyptian Second Division The Egyptian Second Division ( ar, الدوري المصري الدرجة الثانية) (a.k.a. The Egyptian Professional League B, arz, الدوري المصري الممتاز ب) is an Egyptian professional football league representing the se ...

, the second-highest league in the Egyptian football league system. The club was known as FC Masr since its establishment in 2009 until 24 November 2020, when ZED Egypt acquired the club and renamed it to ZED FC prior to the start of the 2020–21 season in Egypt. They played in the

Egyptian Premier League The Egyptian Premier League ( ar, الدوري المصري الممتاز), also known as WE Egyptian Premier League (WE EPL) after the addition of title sponsor WE, is a professional association football league in Egypt and the top level of th ...

only once during the 2019–20 season under the name of FC Masr; their last season under that name.

History

2009–2014: Founding and time in lower leagues

On 1 November 2009, Egyptian football management company Masr for Football

SAE SAE or Sae may refer to: Science and technology : * Selective area epitaxy, local growth of epitaxial layer through a patterned dielectric mask deposited on a semiconductor substrate * Serious adverse event, in a clinical trial * Simultaneous Auth ...

announced the establishment of the club, with the aim of becoming a leading football club in Egypt concentrating on the

youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if ...

. As the 2009–10 season in Egyptian football had already started before November, the club couldn't participate in the lowest league in the

Egyptian football league system The Egyptian football league system refers to the hierarchically interconnected league system (league pyramid) for association football in Egypt. All divisions are bound together by the principle of promotion and relegation. The system consists of ...

and was available to enter the

Egyptian Fourth Division Egyptian Fourth Division is a football division in Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge ...

from the next season. However, FC Masr registered for the league for the 2011–12 season, almost two years after the club was officially founded. Since the Egyptian Fourth Division is a regional league, FC Masr were placed into a group for teams from

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

. FC Masr enjoyed a good start to their first-ever season and were close to secure a place in the promotion play-offs, however all football related activities in Egypt were suspended (later abandoned) by the

Egyptian Football Association The Egyptian Football Association ( ar, الاتحاد المصري لكرة القدم) is the governing body of football in Egypt. A member of FIFA since 1923 and a founding member of CAF, the EFA has jurisdiction for the Egyptian football lea ...

after the

Port Said Stadium riot On 1 February 2012, a massive riot occurred at Port Said Stadium in Port Said, Egypt, following an Egyptian Premier League football match between Masry and Ahly. Seventy-four people were killed and more than 500 were injured after thousands ...

occurred in February 2012 following a

2011–12 Egyptian Premier League The 2011–12 Egyptian Premier League was the fifty-fifth season of the Egyptian Premier League since its establishment in 1948. The season began on 14 October 2011, with a total of 19 teams contesting the league. Al Ahly won the last seven lea ...

match between Al Masry and

Al Ahly AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media * Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British soap opera * Al (''Fullmetal ...

, which resulted in the death of 74 attendants. In the following season, the club competed in the same group and again finished first, earning themselves this time an immediate promotion to the

Egyptian Third Division Egyptian Third Division ( ar, دوري الدرجة الثالثة المصري) is a football division in Egypt. It is the third level on the Egyptian football league system. Egyptian Third Division is the largest league of the Egyptian Fourth D ...

. In the Third Division, and similar to the lowest league, FC Masr entered a group for teams from Cairo,

, El Monufia and other nearby

governorates A governorate is an administrative division of a state. It is headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either State (administrative division), states or province, provinces, the term ''govern ...

. The club qualified to the next round of the league, known as the Promotion Groups where teams are divided into groups of 6 teams per group, after leading their regional group. In the Promotion Groups, they succeeded in earning promotion to the

for the first time in their history; earning back-to-back promotions from the lowest league to the second-tier league in the league system in only two years. In November 2020, the club was renamed to ZED FC after the club was purchased by ZED Sports. The new ownership structure implemented former captain

Osama Nabieh Osama Nabieh ( ar, أسامة نبيه; born 20 January 1975) is a former Egyptian professional footballer who currently coaches for the Egyptian National Team. Nabih has played for several clubs in Egypt, including Zamalek, Tersana and Baladeyet ...

as manager. ZED FC's academy won the "Best Academy in Africa" award at the 2021

Globe Soccer Awards The Globe Soccer Awards aka Dubai d'Or are football awards organised by the European Club Association (ECA) in conjunction with the European Association of Player's Agents (EFAA) and delivered by the organisation Globe Soccer. The award ceremony ...

. In December 2021, the club announced a partnership with English

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

(which is part-owned by ZED FC owner Onsi Sawiris' uncle

Nassef Sawiris Nassef Onsi Sawiris ( ar, ناصف أنسي ساويرس; born January 19, 1961) is an Egyptian billionaire businessman, and the youngest of Onsi Sawiris' three sons (his brothers are Naguib and Samih). As of October 2021, his net worth was es ...

) to allow young players from their academy to play in Europe.

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

Recent seasons

The recent season-by-season performance of the club:

Current squad

Managers

Hesham Zakaria Hesham is a common male given name and surname. In Arabic it means "generous", though in some instances there may not be any connection with the Arabic. It is not to be confused with the similar-looking but unrelated name Hashim "هاشم". Notabl ...

(1 August 2014 - 30 June 2015) *

Mohamed Salah Mohamed Salah Hamed Mahrous Ghaly ( ar, محمد صلاح حامد محروس غالي, ; born 15 June 1992), also known as Mo Salah, is an Egyptian professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Liverpool and captains the Egypt na ...

- 2 Times - (22 September 2015 - 30 December 2015, 13 October 2018 - 5 August 2019) *

Ahmed El-Kass Ahmed Abdou Abd El-Aziz El-Kass (Egyptian Arabic: ''أحمد الكاس''; born 8 July 1965), is an Egyptian football manager and former football player. Career El-Kass played for Olympic, Zamalek and Ittihad Alexandria in the Egyptian Premier ...

(11 December 2016 - 21 January 2017) *

Ayman El Mizzayn Ayman El Mizzayn ( ar, ايمن المزين) is an Egyptian football manager. In 2020 he was appointed as head coach of Tanta SC Tanta Sports Club ( ar, نادي طنطا الرياضي) is an Egyptian football and sports club based in Tant ...

(1 July 2017 - 18 December 2017) * Khaled Galal - 2 Times - (18 December 2017 - 13 April 2018, 5 February 2020 –17 September 2020) *

- 2 Times - (5 August 2019 - 6 September 2019, 1 November 2020 - 13 March 2021) * Abdelnaser Mohamed (7 September 2019 - 5 February 2020) * Tareq Abdullah (15 September 2020 - 1 November 2020) *

Ismail Youssef Ismail Youssef Awadallah Mohamed ( ar, إسماعيل يوسف; born 28 June 1964 in Giza) is a former Egyptian football player. He is currently the assistant manager of the Egyptian Premier League team; Zamalek. Ismail is the youngest bro ...

(15 March 2021 – 1 June 2022) * Magdy Abdel Aaty (18 June 2022 – Present)

Managers Stats

References

{{Egyptian Premier League Egyptian Second Division Football clubs in Cairo Football clubs in Egypt