Zamalek Sporting Club ( ar, نادي الزمالك للألعاب الرياضية), commonly referred to as Zamalek, is an Egyptian
sports club
A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports.
Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...
based in
Giza. It is one of the most successful football clubs in Africa and the Middle East,
and was the most titled club in African tournaments in the 20th century. The club is mainly known for its professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
team, which plays in the
Egyptian Premier League, the top tier of 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 ...
.
The club was founded on 5 January 1911 as Qasr El Nile Club and was first headed by the
Belgian
Belgian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to, Belgium
* Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent
* Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German
*Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...
lawyer
George Merzbach
George Sigismond Charles Stanislas Merzbach Bey (25 September 1874 – 17 February 1928) was a Belgian lawyer and sports pioneer. He was the head of one of the Mixed Courts of Egypt. In 1911, he founded and became the first president of Egyptian ...
. The name was changed two years later to Cairo International Sports Club (C.I.S.C.), colloquially El Qāhirah El Mokhtalat Club or El Mokhtalat Club. The club was renamed in 1941 after
King Farouk of Egypt
Farouk I (; ar, فاروق الأول ''Fārūq al-Awwal''; 11 February 1920 – 18 March 1965) was the tenth ruler of Egypt from the Muhammad Ali dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and the Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I, in 19 ...
and became known as Farouk El Awal Club (). After the
1952 Egyptian revolution, the club changed its name again to Zamalek SC .
Zamalek established itself as the second major force in Egyptian football during the 1920s, as it became the second Egyptian team to win titles. Zamalek was the first Egyptian team to win
Sultan Hussein Cup in 1921 and 1922, the
Egypt Cup
The Egypt Cup (also known as Egyptian FA Cup, formerly King Farouk Cup) is the main knockout football cup competition in Egypt.
List of finals
The following table provides a summary of seasons:
Notes:
* The Winner and Runner-up of 1960–61 Eg ...
in 1922; and the
Cairo League
The Cairo League is a former Egyptian football tournament. Before the start of Egyptian Premier League in its current form, the main competition was the Egypt Cup which started 1921. Egyptian federation started its 1st league competition (1938) in ...
in 1922–23. It is one of two clubs that have played in every season of the
Egyptian Premier League, and one of seven that have never been relegated to the
Egyptian Second Division.
At the international level, it has won five
CAF Champions League titles, one
CAF Confederation Cup title, four
CAF Super Cup titles and one
African Cup Winners' Cup title; making it one of the most successful clubs in Africa. It is also the first Egyptian team to ever win the
CAF Super Cup when it beat archrival
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 ...
in the
1994 CAF Super Cup. Zamalek was the first Egyptian team to participate in and win the
Afro-Asian Cup in
1987; and holds the record for most participations (1987, 1994, and 1997) and most titles after winning it a second time in
1997.Zamalek is also the first
Egyptian team to ever qualify to the FIFA Club World Cup
when it qualified in 2000 to the 2001 championship,
despite the cancellation of the championship later on.
History
Early years, Qasr El Nile Club (1911–1913)
Little is known about the very early years of the club. According to historians, the club was established by Belgian lawyer
George Merzbach
George Sigismond Charles Stanislas Merzbach Bey (25 September 1874 – 17 February 1928) was a Belgian lawyer and sports pioneer. He was the head of one of the Mixed Courts of Egypt. In 1911, he founded and became the first president of Egyptian ...
. On the 25 December 1910, Merzbach realized that the
Cairo Tramways Company’s guest house hosting the celebration on the
Nile
The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...
banks was suitable as a sports club headquarters while attending the company's Christmas celebration. Merzbach decided to establish a new club for Belgians, Egyptians, and foreigners. At the time,
Gezira Sporting Club
The Gezira Sporting Club ( ar, نادى الجزيرة الرياضى, transliteration:''nādī al-ǧazyrah al-reyādī'') is the largest multi-sport facility in Egypt. It was founded in 1882 and was originally called Khedivial Sporting Club. I ...
, the main sporting club in Cairo, was exclusively for the British Army and unavailable for non-British foreigners and Egyptians. For the new club, he chose the name Qasr El Nile (). He did not have difficulties in establishing the club, as he enjoyed strong ties within the Palace of
Khedive Abbas II, as well as many friendships with senior officials of Egyptian society. He was also the private lawyer for both
Baron Empain and the
Cairo Tramways Company. On 5 January 1911 the club was established, and it was officially opened on February 6 of the same year.
The first board of directors consisted of Merzbach as president, archaeologist
Howard Carter as vice president, and Noah Amin Abdullah, Ahmed Mahmoud Azzam, Khoury Chalhoub (Lebanese, Representative of the Cairo Tramways Company), and Paolo Esposito (Italian, Representative of the Khedivial Palace) as board members. It was the first club in Cairo to emerge from non-English expatriate communities. They formed sports and social clubs, each with its own identity. An essential aspect of the club was that it was for all people and not for any specific social, economic, or ethnic community. It started out and continued through World War I under Merzbach's presidency.
Cairo International Sports Club (C.I.S.C.), El Mokhtalat Club (1913–1941)
In 1913, the club moved to what is currently known as the High Court and changed its name to Cairo International Sports Club (C.I.S.C.), colloquially referred to as the El Qāhirah El Mokhtalat Club or El Mokhtalat Club. The second president of the club was Nicolas Arfagi Bianchi, who played as a left winger for the club's football team. In 1915, Ibrahim Allam "Juhainah" moved to the club with his football team, coming from
EL Sekka EL Hadid SC
El Sekka El Hadid Sporting Club ( ar, نادي السكة الحديد للألعاب الرياضية), is an Egyptian football club based in Cairo, Egypt. The club is currently playing in the Egyptian Second Division, the second-highest leagu ...
. In 1917, Zamalek had the legacy of participating as the first and only Egyptian football club in
Sultan Hussein Cup, the first official football competition in Egypt. Zamalek played great matches and reached the final match against the English GHQ Signals team, the first champion of the competition. The championship was managed by the Egyptian Ibrahim Allam and was organized under the auspices of the
Sultan of Egypt Hussein Kamel. After Zamalek's historic first season, many Egyptian cubs announced their desire to participate in the competition as they found it serious, official, bearing the name of the country's sultan, and includes a trophy for the winning team. Also in 1917, Ibrahim Allam and the Egyptian members of the club began their revolution to nationalize the club and remove the foreigners from the club's board of directors which mainly consisted of members of the Belgian and French communities. It started with informing the authorities that the club did not have a general assembly for 3 years, the club records are illegally kept with the club secretary, and have not been legally audited. Allam also put the club under the protection of 17-20 men from
Bulaq
Boulaq ( ar, بولاق, Būlāq from "guard, customs post"), is a district of Cairo, in Egypt. It neighbours Downtown Cairo, Azbakeya, and the River Nile.
History
The westward shift of the Nile, especially between 1050 and 1350, made land ava ...
, to preserve it and protect its Egyptian members. The Ministry of the Interior and some foreign embassies in Cairo interfered, but non-Egyptians were not allowed to enter the club. Finally Allam agreed to turn in the club to Mr. Bianchi in the presence of an official force from the police. The Egyptian members realized that it was important to gain a majority at the general members meeting. Accordingly, Allam and the Egyptian members called for an extraordinary general assembly for the club at Al-Shawarby Street. A decision was made by the general assembly to withdraw confidence from the club's foreign board of directors and elect a new Egyptian board of directors. When the elections were held, the first Egyptian board was elected with Mohammad Badr as president, Mostafa Hassan as treasurer, Ibrahim Allam as General Secretary, and Nicola Arkaji, Mahmoud Bassyouni, Hussein Fawzy, and Abdo El Jabalawy as board members. After the first board, a new saif in 1923 was formed with Mohamed Heidar as president and Youssef Mohamad as secretary. The new board of directors held its first meeting and decided to continue the fight. They informed the authorities of the missing club records. As a result, no general members' meetings were held for the next few years and later, Mr. Shoudoi, the Belgian club secretary was summoned and agreed to turn in the club records.
Around that time Zamalek received the moniker "Qahir-al-Aganib" (the conqueror of foreigners) due to their many wins against renowned foreign teams. In 1921, Zamalek won the
Sultan Hussein Cup, becoming the first Egyptian team to ever win a title, after its victory over Britain's
Sherwood Foresters
The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for just under 90 years, from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Worcestershire Regiment to ...
(2–1). In 1922, Zamalek won the first Egyptian Cup and two weeks later won the Sultan Hussein Cup for the second time. Also in 1922, the Cairo Region League was launched, and the club won twice (1922 and 1940).In the winter of 1924, the club moved to a location on the west bank of the
River Nile
The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest rive ...
, and west of
Gezira island, and became known as the Cairo International Sports Club (C.I.S.C.)-Zamalek.
The 1924 location is occupied by El Balloon Theater today. Among the impressive results during that period was the famous victories against Al Ahly 6-0 which happened twice; in 1940 and 1942.
Farouk El Awal Club (1941–1952)
In the 1940s, Zamalek won the King's Cup, and the Cairo Region League Championship in its 1940–41 season. After a year, Zamalek lost the final of the cup to Al-Ahly. In 1941,
Farouk I
Farouk I (; ar, فاروق الأول ''Fārūq al-Awwal''; 11 February 1920 – 18 March 1965) was the tenth ruler of Egypt from the Muhammad Ali dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and the Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I, in 1 ...
, King of Egypt and Sudan, bestowed the royal sponsorship on the club, and the club name was renamed to Nady Farouk El Awal (). Ismail Bak Shirin of Mohammed Ali's family took the post of vice president.
This period witnessed the biggest victories in the history of the
Cairo derby (contested with
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 ...
), a pair of 6–0 wins for Zamalek in
1941–42 and
1943–1944.This record scoreline in the Cairo derby has not been broken since then.
Zamalek Sporting Club and the post-1952 period (1952–1960)
After the
army coup in 1952, the club was renamed Zamalek after the area where the club was situated. The club later moved for the last time to 26 July Street, and occupied an area of 35 acres (140,000 m
2) and hosted 24 different sports. A new board was formed with Mohammad Shawky as president and secretary and
Mohammad Hassan Helmy as assistant secretary. At the time, the rules required that half the club board be changed every year, and Helmy took the position of secretary-general. In 1954, the stadium needed renovations, so the board sought a businessman to take over the club and guide the renovation. Abd El Hamid El Shawarbi became the president, and although he was elected for a second period, he was not able to do the job he wanted. Heidar Pasha and Haj Sayed El Annany contributed to forming the VIP stands and the first-class stands, which happened while El Shawarbi was outside Egypt. When he returned, he resigned and the board continued after Shawky stepped up from his deputy position to continue till September 1955. Businessman Abd El Latif Abo Regeila became the club president in 1956; by then, the rules had been changed allowing the board to stay for three years. Shawky stepped down for Regeila, although he was re-elected as a club president. Although Regeila was re-elected for a second term, he had to leave Egypt after he lost money from the governmental policy against private property. The club continued to search for another businessman, and chose Alwe El Gazzar, the owner of El Sheikh Sherieb Company and the president of the board of the Coca-Cola Company at this time.
First league championship and the start of local glittering (1960–1983)
Abu Regeila was an Egyptian businessman and pioneer of public transport buses in Cairo. During his reign, the construction of the Zamalek Stadium was established, as well as the social building continued as the club's official president until 1961. In 1961, Zamalek paid
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid.
Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
to play against Zamalek.
Hamada Emam
A hamada ( ar, حمادة, ) is a type of desert landscape consisting of high, largely barren, hard rocky plateaus, where most of the sand has been removed by deflation. The majority of the Sahara is in fact hamada. Other examples are Negev de ...
was a popular player on the club who helped raise the club's profile. In 1962, there was a new board with Hassan Amer as a president, emeritus deputy Shawky, Mohammad Lateef, Galal Kereitam, Mahmoud Emam, and Mahmoud Hafez. Amer stayed as president until the Egyptian army's defeat in 1967.
After the Egyptian army's defeat in the 1967 Six Day War Zamalek hosted
Ismaily SC
Ismaily Sporting Club ( ar, نادي الإسماعيلي الرياضي) is an Egyptian professional football club, established on 20 March 1921 as El Nahda Sporting Club ( ar, جمعية نهضة الشباب المصري ) ( Egyptian pronunci ...
and
Al Masry SC
Al Masry Sporting Club ( ar, النادي المصري للألعاب الرياضية) is an Egyptian sports club based in Port Said, Egypt. The club is mainly known for its professional football team, that competes in the Egyptian Premier Leag ...
clubs, as well as the other Suez Canal teams at its grounds.
In 1967, Minister of Youth and Sports Talat Khairy decided that the club boards would be appointed rather than elected, and Helmy took the presidency and was the first Egyptian sportsman in Egypt to become a president of a club. He remained as president until July 1971 where the rules were changed to allow board elections again and to forbid anyone from being president if they had already held to presidency for two consecutive terms. Tawfeek El Kheshen took over the presidency and the honorary presidency was given to Helmy.The 1970s generation was one of the best generations of football in Zamalek, and it included legendary players in the history of Egyptian and Arab football.
In 1973, Helmy was elected president and stayed as the head of the board till 1984.
Zamalek won the Egyptian Premier League in its 1959–60 season. Zamalek won the Egyptian Premier League five times (1959–60, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1977–78, and 1983–84) and the Egyptian Cup in 1960, 1962, 1975, 1977, and 1979. The club also won the October Cup, which is the tournament that was held as an alternative to the Egyptian Premier League because of Egypt hosting the 1974 African Nations Cup.
African Uprising (1984–2004)
Zamalek won the first African title against Nigeria's Shooting Stars after beating them in Cairo (2–0) and in Nigeria (0–1).
In 1984, Amer became president, followed by Hasan Abo el Fetouh in 1988. In 1990,
Galal Ibrahim became the temporary president of the club after Fetouh died until September 1990, when the general club meeting was held and Mohamad Nour El Daly was elected president. In 1992, Galal Ibrahim became the new president. The club's president from 1992 to 1996 was Jalal Ibrahim, and the rules were changed to require that the vice treasurer be selected mostly by the board members; Hamada Emam was selected by default to that position while
Abdel Hamid Shaheen was elected treasurer. The board members were Ahmed Shereen Fawzy, Mahmoud Marouf, Mohamad Fayez El Zummur, Raouf Gaser, and Tarek Ghonaim. The new rules required the board to have two members under the age of 30; for these two spots, Samy Abo El Kheir and Ihab Ibrahim were elected. The members appointed by the high committee for youth and sports were Mohamad Amer, General Hanafy Reyad, and Farouk Abo El Nasr.
In 1993, Zamalek won the
CAF Champions League. By 1994, Shaheen was not able to continue his duties due to his sickness, but the board chose to keep him in the position in honor of his devotion to the club, and Farouk Abo El Nasr was appointed to take over his duties while Shaheen stayed in his position. In 1995, four members in the board were removed due to their six absences from board meetings: Mahmoud Marouf, Mohamad Fayez El Zummur, and Amer. They were replaced with
Mortada Mansour
Mortada Ahmed Mohamed Mansour ( ar, مرتضى أحمد محمد منصور; born 17 June 1952 in Cairo) is an Egyptian lawyer who serves as president of Zamalek SC since 2014. Mansour announced his intention on 6 April 2014 to pursue the preside ...
, Mahmoud Abdallah, Mounnir Hassan, and Ibrahim Latif. The high committee for youth and sports objected on linking the appointed members with the elected ones, so Hassan and Ibrahim Latif forfeited their positions. The newly two appointed members for the club board were Amer and El Nasr in support of their abilities and dedication. Fawzy was selected to be treasurer till the new elections. On 4 July, Abd El Menem Emarah decided to release the club board and the Egyptian Football Federation board after the game between Al-Ahly and Zamalek in 1995–96, and the board froze football activities in the club. A one-year temporary club board was selected with Kamal Darweesh as president, Abd EL Aziz Kabil as vice president, and board members Hanafy Reyad, Magdy Sharaf, Ismail Selim, Azmy Megahed, and Mohamad Abd El Rahman Fawzy. Accountant Mahmoud Badr El Deen was appointed as treasurer.
Kamal Darwish's Era
Kamal Darwish was the president of Zamalek club for two terms from 1996 to 2005. Zamalek won 16 football championships during his reign, but overall he achieved 1186 championships in 24 games and he assumed the chairmanship of the Board of Directors in 2013 on a temporary board for the second time. He is the president with the most achievements in the history of Zamalek.
In 2000, there was a friendly match between Zamalek and
Palestine national football team
The Palestine national football team ( ar, منتخب فلسطين لكرة القدم), controlled by the Palestinian Football Association, represents Palestine in association football. The squad is governed by the Asian Football Confederation ...
in Gaza after breaking the Zionist siege. Zamalek was named the best club in the world by the IFFHS in February 2003. It was also the first Egyptian team to qualify for the 2001 FIFA Club World Cup in Spain, though that competition did not happen because of funding problems. Zamalek won the African Champions League in 2002, two African Super Cups in 1996 and 2003, and the first two championships in the Egyptian Super Cup in 2001 and 2002.
Zamalek FC is the only team to achieve seven championships between the 2002–03 and 2003–04 seasons, surpassing
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football.
Founded ...
, who won six championships in one year.
Zamalek also won the Egyptian Premier League three times (2000–01, 2002–03 and 2003–04), and the Egypt Cup in 1999 and 2002.
Hazem emam is the icon of the Zamalek club, which won 14 championships with Zamalek club and the Egyptian national team, and he was called the imam of the talented players .
Regression (2005–2013)
In 2005, many boards were dismissed by the Minister of Sport, which led to organizational uncertainty from 2005 to 2013, and changed the form of competition in Egypt for years. The football team only won two championships: the
Egypt Cup
The Egypt Cup (also known as Egyptian FA Cup, formerly King Farouk Cup) is the main knockout football cup competition in Egypt.
List of finals
The following table provides a summary of seasons:
Notes:
* The Winner and Runner-up of 1960–61 Eg ...
in 2008 and 2013. The level of Zamalek continued to decline, and its administration destabilized since Mortada Mansour assumed the presidency of the club in 2005. The council did not last long and was dissolved, and a council headed by Morsi Atallah came to run the club before Mansour returned to head the council. Mansour dissolved the board of directors before restoring it, and the National Sports Council intervened to appoint a council headed by Muhammad Amir for a year before elections were held in May 2009, which resulted in the election of Mamdouh Abbas as the club's president; Abbas' council was dissolved in 2010 after Mansour obtained a court ruling stating that the elections were rigged. The administrative authority appointed an interim council to manage the club headed by Jalal Ibrahim, before Abbas' council returned when Mansour abandoned his lawsuit. Taher Abu Zaid disbanded Abbas' council, and formed an interim council headed by Kamal Darwish to head Zamalek, but by appointment.
Mahmoud Shikabala was one of the most prominent talents in the history of Egyptian football, who carried the banner of Zamalek and preserved the popularity of Zamalek in that difficult period.
Reconstruction and reform
Mortada Mansour's era (2014–2020; 2021–present)
In 2014,
Mortada Mansour
Mortada Ahmed Mohamed Mansour ( ar, مرتضى أحمد محمد منصور; born 17 June 1952 in Cairo) is an Egyptian lawyer who serves as president of Zamalek SC since 2014. Mansour announced his intention on 6 April 2014 to pursue the preside ...
took over the club. Zamalek won the
Egypt Cup
The Egypt Cup (also known as Egyptian FA Cup, formerly King Farouk Cup) is the main knockout football cup competition in Egypt.
List of finals
The following table provides a summary of seasons:
Notes:
* The Winner and Runner-up of 1960–61 Eg ...
in 2014 against Smouha (1–0). In the next season 2014–15 season, Zamalek won the
Egyptian Premier League, and broke the record in obtaining the largest number of points in the league. The team won the
Egypt Cup
The Egypt Cup (also known as Egyptian FA Cup, formerly King Farouk Cup) is the main knockout football cup competition in Egypt.
List of finals
The following table provides a summary of seasons:
Notes:
* The Winner and Runner-up of 1960–61 Eg ...
championship at the end of the year against Al-Ahly team (2–0), and reached the semifinals of the African
CAF Confederation Cup in 2015.
In 2016, Zamalek reached the finals in the
CAF Champions League and won the Egypt Cup and the
Egypt Super Cup. In 2018, the Zamalek football team won the Egypt Cup again.
In 2019 Zamalek won the
CAF Confederation Cup, the Egypt Cup, the
Saudi-Egyptian Super Cup, the Egypt Super Cup, and the
CAF Super Cup. Since 2014, the football team won 11 championships, the last of which was the Egyptian Super Cup and the African Super Cup that were achieved in the span of one week. Mansour announced that "The trademark 'Real Football Club of the Century' is registered in the Ministry of Supply and Trade in Egypt." Zamalek sent a complaint to the
Egyptian Football Association in preparation for escalating the case of the Century Club to
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
and the International Sports Court.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports suspended Zamalek's board of directors due to financial violations on Sunday 29 November 2020. The Egyptian Ministry of Sports and Youth named Emad Abdel-Aziz as Zamalek's new president to succeed Ahmed Bakry, who died due to
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. Then Hussein Labib has been appointed the new Zamalek president of normalization committee. And the football team was able to obtain the Egyptian Premier League championship after the absence of six years from achieving the championship and The club was also able to win the Egypt Cup in the same year , despite the difficult conditions that the club was going through in 2021.
On 22 November 2021, Mansour and his board of directors officially returned back to Zamalek SC management, following the departure of the normalization committee until the club's elections. On 12 February 2022, Mansour became the president of Zamalek club for the third time, after the elections held by the club through the general assembly.
In the 2021-2022 season,the football team managed to achieve the Egyptian League for the second year in a row, despite the penalty of the International Football Association (FIFA) to suspend the players’ registration.
Names
* Qasr El Nile Club (The Nile Palace) (1911–1913)
* Cairo International Sports Club (C.I.S.C.), a.k.a. El Mokhtalat Club (Mixed Courts) (1913–1941)
* Farouk El Awal Club (Farouk I Club) (1941–1952)
* Zamalek Sporting Club (ZSC) (1952–Present)
Renamed after Egypt's Zamalek
Nile Island, one of the most prestigious areas of the capital and the word itself is an Egyptian-slang of the classical and standard Arabic word, ( ar, ذو ملك, ), meaning ''Preciously owned''.
Crest and colors
File:Coat of arms of Egypt (1922–1953).svg, 1941–1952
File:ZamalekSC.png, 1952-Present
In 1941, the royal emblem of the Kingdom of Egypt and Sudan was the official emblem of the club at the time; when the club's name changed from "Mixed Club" to "Farouk Club" by royal order from Farouk I. After the revolution on the royal rule in Egypt, the club's name and logo changed after the revolution of July 23, 1952; the logo became a mixture of the sporting model and the ancient Egyptian civilization. The logo's main colors express peace and struggle and have not changed since its establishment. The home jersey uses the original Zamalek colours. In the upper half of the logo, the arrow that points towards the target appears in a pharaonic uniform as an indication of the common goal between it and Zamalek.
Zamalek is famous for the stability of its basic colors, which have not changed throughout the club's history, which extends since 1911, as it is distinguished by the white dress with two parallel red lines in the middle. The team shirt is displayed on the chest, and the color symbolizes.
Kits
Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors
Kit evolution
Source:
Grounds
Cairo International Stadium
The club does not have a
home ground. Their old stadium,
Abdel-Latif Abu-Rajelha Stadium
Abdel-Latif Abu-Rajelha Stadium, formerly known as Zamalek Stadium then Mohammed Hassan Helmy "Zamora" Stadium, is a multi-use stadium in Cairo, Egypt. The stadium was initially named in honor of Mohammed Hassan Helmy, the former player and presi ...
was not suitable for hosting the first team's official matches due to its limited capacity, its central downtown location, and need for renovations. The players train in Abdel-Latif Abo Regeila but play their home matches in
Cairo International Stadium
The Cairo International Stadium ( ar, ستاد القاهرة الدولي), formerly known as Nasser Stadium, is an Olympic-standard, multi-use stadium with an all-seated capacity of 75,000. The architect of the stadium is the German Werner March ...
for local matches and continental matches.
Abdel-Latif Abu-Rajelha Stadium
Abdel-Latif Abu-Rajelha Stadium, formerly known as Zamalek Stadium, then Mohammed Hassan Helmy "Zamora" Stadium, is a multi-use stadium in Cairo, Egypt. The stadium was initially named in honor of Helmy. It was renamed in 2014 to Abdel-Latif Abu-Rajelha Stadium after the former president of Zamalek, Abdel-Latif Abu-Rajelha. It is mostly used for football matches and was the home of Zamalek before they moved to Cairo International Stadium because of its small capacity. The stadium could hold 40,000 spectators before the capacity was reduced to 20,000 .
Supporters
Zamalek has an
ultras
Ultras are a type of association football fans who are renowned for their fanatical support. The term originated in Italy, but is used worldwide to describe predominantly organised fans of association football teams. The behavioural tende ...
group named the
Ultras White Knights that was founded on 17 March 2007 and is known for its pyrotechnic displays. Their motto is "Brotherhood in blood and fans of the free public Club". They were involved in clashes on 8 February 2015 before the league match between Zamalek and ENPI Club at the Cairo Air Defense Stadium, where 20 people were killed.
Stadiums Disasters
Helmy Zamora Stadium disaster 1974
At least 48 people died in a stampede at a friendly game against Czechoslovak club
Dukla Prague
Dukla Prague ( cz, Dukla Praha) was a Czechoslovakia, Czech association football, football club from the city of Prague. Established in 1948 as ATK Praha, the club won a total of 11 Czechoslovak league titles and eight Czechoslovak Cups, and in ...
at the
Helmy Zamora Stadium
Abdel-Latif Abu-Rajelha Stadium, formerly known as Zamalek Stadium then Mohammed Hassan Helmy "Zamora" Stadium, is a multi-use stadium in Cairo, Egypt. The stadium was initially named in honor of Mohammed Hassan Helmy, the former player and presi ...
in 1974.
30 June Stadium stampede 2015
On 8 February 2015, 20 supporters were killed by policemen outside the
30 June Stadium
The 30 June Stadium is a stadium used mostly for football matches and also sometimes for athletics located in Cairo. It was built by the Egyptian Air Defense Forces
The Egyptian Air Defence Forces or EADF ( ar, قوات الدفاع الجو ...
.
Club of the Century
In February 2014 administration of Zamalek announced the nickname of the club as the Club of the Century, as the most successful club of the 20th century in Africa (gaining 9 titles versus 7 for its closest rival).
CAF ranking of African Clubs titles at the end of 20th century
Zamalek SC is the most crowned continental championships in Africa in the twentieth century
Statistics and records
Appearances
Source:
Goalscorers
*Most goals scored in all competitions: 138 –
Abdel Halim Ali
*Most goals scored in the League: 80 –
Abdel Halim Ali
*Most goals scored in October League Cup: 9 –
Hassan Shehata
*Most goals scored in Egypt Cup: 23 –
Alaa El-Hamouly
Alaa El-Din Hassanin El-Hamouly ( ar, علاء الدين حسنين الحامولي) (4 July 1930 – 13 January 1984) was an Egyptian former footballer who played as a forward for Zamalek. He also played for the Egyptian national team. H ...
*Most goals scored in all African competitions: 23 –
Abdel Halim Ali
*Most goals scored in all Arabian competitions: 13 –
Abdel Halim Ali
Awards winners
;African Footballer of The Year
The following players won
African Footballer of the Year
African or Africans may refer to:
* Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa:
** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa
*** Ethn ...
while playing for Zamalek:
*
Emmanuel Amuneke
Emmanuel Amunike (born 25 December 1970) is a Nigerian professional football manager and former professional football player who played as a winger. and is currently the assistant coach of Nigeria national team.
Playing career
He played fo ...
– 1994
Matches
*First
League
League or The League may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band
* ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football
Sports
* Sports league
* Rugby league, full contact footba ...
match: Farouk (Zamalek) 5–1
El-Masry
Al Masry Sporting Club ( ar, النادي المصري للألعاب الرياضية) is an Egyptian sports club based in Port Said, Egypt. The club is mainly known for its professional football team, that competes in the Egyptian Premier Leag ...
, Week 1, 22 October 1948.
*First
Egypt Cup
The Egypt Cup (also known as Egyptian FA Cup, formerly King Farouk Cup) is the main knockout football cup competition in Egypt.
List of finals
The following table provides a summary of seasons:
Notes:
* The Winner and Runner-up of 1960–61 Eg ...
match: Mokhtalat (Zamalek) 4–0
Tersana SC
Tersana Sporting Club ( ar, نادي الترسانة للألعاب الرياضية) is an Egyptian sports club based in Meet Okba, Giza, Egypt. It is best known for its professional football team, which plays in the Egyptian Second Divisi ...
, first round, 3 March 1922.
*First
African Cup Winners' Cup match: Zamalek 3–0
Al Ahly (Tripoli), first round, 7 May 1976.
*First
CAF Champions League match: Zamalek 2–1
Simba S.C.
Simba Sports Club is a football club based in Kariakoo, Dar es Salaam Tanzania,
Founded in 1936, the club, which broke away from another Tanzania Giants, Dar Young Africans was named Queens, in honor of her Majesty, the Queen of England. The C ...
, first round, 16 March 1979.
*First
CAF Cup
The CAF Cup was an annual competition organised by the CAF for domestic leagues runners-up of member associations who have not qualified to the pre-existing CAF international club competition the African Cup of Champions Clubs.
History
The tou ...
match: Zamalek 0–1
Gor Mahia
Gor Mahia Football Club (), commonly also known as ''K'Ogalo'' (), is a football club based in Nairobi, Kenya. They have won the Kenyan Premier League a record 19 times, and have also won the FKF President's Cup a record 11 times. They are the o ...
, first round, 21 March 1998.
*First
CAF Confederation Cup match:
Rayon Sports
Rayon Sports Football Club is an association football club from Nyanza, Southern province, Rwanda, now based in Kigali. The team currently competes in the Rwanda National Football League, and plays its home games at the Stade Amahoro in Kigal ...
3–1, 2nd round, 15 March 2015.
*Longest Winning Streak: 10 matches (2012/2013).
*Longest
Clean sheet: 7 matches (2014–15 Egyptian Premier League).
*Longest Unbeaten Streak in Egypt Cup (Egyptian Record): 22 matches (2013–2017).
*Longest Unbeaten Home Streak in African Cups (African Record): 70 matches (1976–2005).
Individual
League
*
Ayman Younes scored the fastest goal in 1990 against Souss after 13 seconds.
* Mohamed Amin scored the first goal in the Egyptian League against
El Masry.
* Saad Rostom scored the first hat trick for Zamalek in the league against
El Masry.
The following players have won the top scorer award in the league while playing with Zamalek:
Cup
*
Hussein Yasser
Hussein Yasser Mohamady Abdelrahman (Arabic: حسين ياسر محمدي عبد الرحمن; born 9 January 1984) is a Qatari footballer who plays as a midfielder and winger for Egyptian side Wadi Degla.
Personal life
Yasser was born in Doh ...
scored the fastest goal in the cup against Al Ahly in 2010 after 46 seconds.
Rivalries
Cairo Derby
The Cairo Derby is a
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
match between Zamalek and Al Ahly. The derby is played twice each season with two matches in the
Egyptian Premier League, but it is not uncommon to find the teams meeting each other in the Egypt Cup, especially in the finals, and in the
CAF Champions League.
Mit Okba Derby
The Mit Okba derby is a football match between Zamalek and
Tersana SC
Tersana Sporting Club ( ar, نادي الترسانة للألعاب الرياضية) is an Egyptian sports club based in Meet Okba, Giza, Egypt. It is best known for its professional football team, which plays in the Egyptian Second Divisi ...
. Both teams are located in the
Mit Okba
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the mo ...
region in Giza. The derby was one of the most important matches of the Egyptian Premier League during the sixties and seventies of the twentieth century, but it gradually lost its value after Tersana SC's performance started to deteriorate and the club has been relegated more than once to the
Egyptian Second Division where it currently plays after being relegated for the sixth time in the
2008–09 season.
Finances and ownership
In 2018, Presentation Sports obtained a contract that increased from 100 million Egyptian pounds to 120 million annually to sponsor the club increased This increase in the sponsorship contract will be other than 20% over the amount mentioned in each year including broadcasting rights.
The financial cost of the new team uniform reached 9 million Egyptian pounds.
The Board of Directors of the
National Bank of Egypt signed a contract with Zamalek's management to rent three stores in the club wall on the League of Arab States Street with a
usufruct
Usufruct () is a limited real right (or ''in rem'' right) found in civil-law and mixed jurisdictions that unites the two property interests of ''usus'' and ''fructus'':
* ''Usus'' (''use'') is the right to use or enjoy a thing possessed, direct ...
for 25 years, with a rent for two years in advance.
Zamalek Club signed a cooperation protocol with
Banque Misr
Banque Misr ( ar, بنك مصر) is an Egyptian bank co-founded by industrialist Joseph Aslan Cattaui Pasha and economist Talaat Harb Pasha in 1920. The government of the United Arab Republic nationalized the bank in 1960. The bank has branch ...
, from which it obtains immediate returns of 10 million pounds under the protocol. In return, Banque Misr has the right to use two local walls of the Zamalek Club wall for 20 years in exchange for 5 million pounds and an annual rent of 1.560 million pounds.
The report of the Controller at the Zamalek Club revealed that the budget surplus for the fiscal year 2018–2019 reached 170 million Egyptian pounds.
The temporary committee that runs the Zamalek club has signed a cooperation protocol with the
Ministry of Military Production (Egypt)
The Egyptian Ministry of Military Production is responsible for managing the development and operation of military factories in the Arab Republic of Egypt and now chaired by Major General Engineer Ibrahim Younis, who took over the ministry within ...
for a construction and sports boom.
Imad Abdel Aziz, head of the temporary committee at Zamalek Club, stated that this protocol will contribute to building the 6th of October branch.
Zamalek Club and Aerosport Sports Club of the Ministry of Civil Aviation signed a protocol of joint cooperation aimed at benefiting from the expertise of Zamalek.
Zamalek SC has signed a cooperation protocol with the “I-Friends Sports” company, to establish a branch of the club in the United Arab Emirates.
Popular culture
Zamalek TV
Zamalek Club owns a TV channel known as Zamalek TV, which broadcasts on Nilesat in SD quality. The broadcast began experimentally on 31 December 2019 before the channel launched on 22 January 2020. The channel focuses on news about the club.
Zamalek Magazine
Zamalek SC Magazine is an official Zamalek weekly magazine that is issued every Thursday, and contains news and reviews about the club and interviews with the players.
Documentaries
In 2015, a documentary entitled ''Zamalek, O Engineering, playing, Art and Engineering'', was produced by
Abu Dhabi Sports. It was presented in two parts, and presents the history of the club since its foundation.
Another documentary film produced in 2016, ''The Story is Mpethanish''(we don't forget ), covers the club's history in the five championships in the African Champions League, and was produced by DMC Sport channel.
Another documentary film was produced by the
CBC network in 2017, entitled ''Helmy Zamora''. It covers the story of Helmy or Zamora the icon of Zamalek club.
Another documentary film was produced in 2019 with the title ''Zamalek Club, the National and Dignity Club''. It was produced by the club, and shows the history of the club since its establishment.
Another documentary film produced in 2020 entitled ''Zamalek Legends: A long history of stars who inhabited the memory'', produced by Abu Dhabi Sports channel, covers the highlight of the club's most prominent stars from different generations.
Another documentary film produced in 2020 entitled ''Zamalek – The Road to the African Super 2020'', produced by
beIN SPORTS
beIN Sports ( ) is a global network of sports channels owned and operated by the Qatari media group beIN. It has played a major role in the increased commercialization of Qatari sports. Its chairman is Nasser Al-Khelaifi, and its CEO is Yousef O ...
Arabia channel, documents Zamalek's journey in winning the 2019
CAF Confederation Cup.
Another documentary film produced in 2020 entitled ''Zamalek, the Road to the Semi-finals 2020'', produced by
beIN SPORTS
beIN Sports ( ) is a global network of sports channels owned and operated by the Qatari media group beIN. It has played a major role in the increased commercialization of Qatari sports. Its chairman is Nasser Al-Khelaifi, and its CEO is Yousef O ...
Arabia channel, describes Zamalek won the African Super Cup championship against