Zamalek SC

Zamalek Sporting Club (Arabic: نادى الزمالك للألعاب الرياضية‎), is an Egyptian sporting club (that is best known for its football achievements) based in Meet Okba, Giza, Egypt that plays in the Egyptian Premier League.

The club was inaugurated under the name of “Kasr-El Nil Club“ and was first headed by Belgian lawyer Merzbach. The name was changed to Mokhtalat in the year 1913 and was named after King Farouk in 1940, before finally settling as Zamalek after the 1952 Egyptian revolution.

Having won 11 league titles, 21 Egyptian cups, 5 CAF Champions League titles, 3 CAF Super Cups and the African Cup Winners' Cup, Zamalek is one of the most successful teams in the history of African football. The club has consistently produced some talents in Egyptian & African football.

History

The club started out as “Kasr El-Nile Club“ by a Belgian lawyer, Mr. Merzbach in 5 January 1911. It was the first football clubs in Cairo emerged from its non-English expatriate communities. They formed sports and social clubs each with its own identity. A very important aspect of Zamalek was that it was a club for all people and not for any specific social, economical, or ethnic status. Zamalek started out and continued through World War I under the presidency of Merzbach, and its Belgian secretaries (first Shoduan, then Bochu). The next president was Nicola Arfagi who also played left wing for the club's football team.

Following the 1919 revolution, the club became Egyptian controlled in 1923 under the presidency of General Haidar Pasha and secretary Youssef Mohamad. In winter 1924, the club moved for the third time to what is now known as El Balloon Theater. Then in 1940, the club was re-named Farouk Al Awal after being honored by its acknowledgement from the King of Egypt and Sudan, King Farouk. +Following the army coup against the King in 1952, the club was re-named “Al Zamalek” after the area where the club was situated. The club then moved yet again for the fourth time in its history to its final destination on 26 July Street, just 500 meters west of the Zamalek bridge, occupying an area of 35 acres (140,000 m²) and hosting 24 different sports.

In 1917 Egyptian members attempted to form a first Egyptian board for the club, but this was blocked by the President of the club, a Frenchman called M.Piankie and the secretary M.Shoudoi who was Belgian, and as a result, no general members meetings were held for the next few years. The Egyptian members realized that it was important to increase the number of Egyptian members to gain a majority at the next general members meeting. As a result, the elections were held and the first Egyptian board was elected with Dr. Mohammad Badr as President, Mostafa Hassan as Deputy President, Ibrahim Allam as General Secretary, and Nicola Arkaji, Mahmoud Bassyouni, Hussein Fawzy and Abdo Al Jabalawy as board members. He is the worst team in the world. 11 leagues only. After the first board. a new board in 1923 with General Mohammad Haidar as a president. At the beginning for the 1940 Gen. Haidar was selectesssd to be from the assistants of the king. Due to being the favorites of the king, the club’s name was changed from AL Moukhtalat to Farouk Al Awal and General Mohammad Haidar stayed as a president at the club for almost 30 years which was unusual at an Egyptian club at the time.

Then came the Egyptian army revolution in 1952 and a new club’s board was formed with Dr. Mohammad Shawky as a president who was also the secretary He is thwarts team in the world.11 leuges onlygeneral of the legislation office with high social status right then. In the same board there was Mohammad Hassan Helmy who is one of the most popular Zamalek figures taking the position of the secretary assistant. Due to the rules right then, half the club board was changed every year and Mohammad Hassan Helmy took the position of secretary general.

In 1954 the idea of renovating the club stadium was emerging due to the bad state of the current stadium right then. This led the board to look for a businessman to take over the club and thus help in the stadium renovation. Abd El Hamid El Shawarbi took the presidency and although he was elected for a second period but he was not able to do the job wanted. Right then some Zamalek Faithful figures as General Haidar Pasha, and Haj Sayed Al Annany contributed to setting the VIP stand and the first class stand in a way that suits the high status of the club. All of this happened while Abd El Hamid El Shawarbi was outside Egypt, so when he came back he resigned without helping the club in any aspect and the board continued after Shawky stepped up from his Deputy position (after he left the presidency kindheartedly) to continue till September 1955. Still the idea of bringing a businessman to help the club did not subside, and thus the famous businessman Abd El Latif Abo Regeila came as the club president in 1956 where by then, the rules have been changed allowing the board to stay for 3 years. And once again Dr. Shawky steps down for the new businessman although he was reelected as a club president and all for the sake of the club’s prosperity Although Abd El Latif Abo Regeila was reelected for a second presidency period, he had to leave Egypt after he lost his money due to the governmental policy against private property (Bus Company and a mansion at Marg which was the hiding place for many players during the season of resignations). But still the club continued to search for another businessman, and Alwe Al Gazzar came as a president who was the owner of Al Sheikh Sherieb Company and also the president of the board of the Coca Cola Company right then. Although he was only president for a short period he was able to bring Real Madrid at his own expense in 1961 to play against Zamalek. But still he lost his property due to governmental rules and he left Egypt. In 1962 came a new board with Eng. Hassan Amer as a president and emeritus deputy was given to Dr. Mohammad Shawky, Mohammad Lateef, Galal Kereitam, Mahmoud Emam, and Mahmoud Hafez. Eng. Hassan Amer stayed as president till the defeat of Egyptian army in 1967. In 1967, the minister of youth and sports Talat Khairy decided that the club boards will be appointed rather than elected and hence Mohammad Hassan Helmy took the presidency to become the first sportsman in Egypt to become a president of a club. He stayed in presidency till July 1971 where the rules came back to let the board come from elections and not to let anyone to become a president if this person hold presidency for two consecutive boards. Thus came Tawfeek Al Kheshen who took the presidency of the board and the honorary presidency was given to Mohammad Hassan Helmy. In 1973 Mohammad Hassan Helmy was elected to become the president and stayed as the head of the board till 1984 and during this period he was continually elected as the president of one of Egypt’s biggest clubs. Then in 1984 came the”. Eng. Hassan Amer and after him came the Eng. Hasan Abo el Fetouh in 1988. During his period came a new rule by the ministry of youth increasing the number of elected board members to 10 which was removed again in 1990. Eng. Hasan Abo el Fetouh helped in building many of the new building the club is proud of as the gymnasium building which is considered one of the biggest in the Middle East. He also increased the funding for most of the sports teams in the club assisting the winning of many championships during his era.

In 1990 came Galal Ibrhim became the president of the club due to the death of Eng. Hasan Abo el Fetouh. This temporary board was held till September 1990 when the general club meeting was held with the elections of which Eng. ”Mohamad Nour El Daly” became the president of the new board till 1992. In 1992 Galal Ibrhim came as the new president of the club. As the rules were changed right then and the vice treasurer was to be selected mostly by the board members, and then Hamada emam was selected by default to that position while ”Abd El Hamid Shaheen” was elected to the treasurer position. As for the board members, it consisted of: Dr. Ahmed Shereen Fawzy, Mahmoud Marouf, Mohamad Fayez Al Zummur, Raouf Gaser, and Tarek Ghonaim. As per the rules, it was also new to have two members of the board under the age of 30. For these two spots, Samy Abo El Kheir and Ihab Ibrahim were elected. As for the appointed members by the high committee for youth and sports, Dr. Mohamad Amer, General Hanafy Reyad, and Farouk Abo El Nasr were added to the board. By 1994 ”Abd El Hamid 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 thus Farouk Abo El Nasr was appointed to take the duties while keeping ”Abd El Hamid Shaheen” in the position. In 1995 changes came to the board due to the court removal of four members in the board due to their absence from the board meetings for 6 times. These members were Mahmoud Marouf, Mohamad Fayez Al Zummur, Dr. Mohamad Amer. The newly appointed members were Mortada Mansour, Mahmoud Abdallah, Mounnir Hassan, and Ibrahim Latif. Still the he high committee for youth and sports objected on linking the appointed members with the elected ones and as a result Mounnir Hassan, and Ibrahim Latif forfeited their positions for the better good of the club and to remove any embarrassment happening to the board. And as a surprise, the newly two appointed members for the club board were Dr. Mohamad Amer and Farouk Abo El Nasr in support of their abilities and their dedication. As a result Dr. Shereen Fawzy was selected to be treasurer till the new elections. On Thursday 4 July, came the decision by Dr. Abd El Menem Emarah to release the club board and the Egyptian Football Federation board after the sad incidence in the game between Ahly and Zamalek season 95/96, as the board decided to freeze the football activity in the club. Meanwhile the EFF made a series of wrong decisions which caused it to be released too. As a result a one year temporary club board was selected of which Dr. Kamal Darweesh was the president and General Abd EL Aziz Kabil was vice president with the board members consisting of General Hanafy Reyad, Magdy Sharaf, Ismail Selim”, Azmy megahed, and “Mohamad Abd El Rahman Fawzy. Also accountant Mahmoud Badr Al Deen was appointed as treasurer .^[1]

Name changes

• Kasr-El Nil 1911 to 1913.
• Mokhtalat 1913 to 1940.
• King Farouk 1940 to 1952.
• Zamalek 1952 to 2011

.

Team Colours

Adidas sponsors the team's jersey for the 2010/2011 season. The home jersey uses the original Zamalek colours; white with two red stripes with grey shoulders added. The away jersey is grey with two red stripes. The third jersey is all green, which was through history Zamalek's colour for the away jersey.

Fans and Ultras Group

Zamalek is considered one of the most popular teams in Egypt and Arabian World. An Ultras group was formed in 2007 for zamalek fans and was called "Ultras White Knights" or simply "UWK". The White Knights showed great performance. They are one of the first "Ultras" groups in Egypt and are also the first to use choreography in support of their team.

Grounds

The club has no home ground. Their old stadium, Helmi Zamora Stadium, is not suitable for hosting the first team's official matches due to its limited capacity, its central downtown location and the fact that it has not been seriously renovated since its inauguration more than 50 years ago. Consequently, Zamalek play their home matches at Cairo International Stadium.

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Managers

Notable former players

• For all former Zamalek players with a Wikipedia article see Category:Zamalek players.

Honours

Total number of cups: 62

Domestic

• Egyptian Premier League: 11

  1960, 1964, 1965, 1978, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1993, 2001, 2003, 2004

• Egypt Cup: 21

  1922, 1932, 1935, 1938, 1941, 1943, 1944, 1952, 1955, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1988, 1999, 2002, 2008

• Egyptian Super Cup: 2

  2001, 2002

• Sultan Hussein Cup: 2

  1921, 1922

• Prince Omar Tuson's Sheild: 3

  1930, 1933, 1939

• Cairo League: 10

  1940, 1941, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1953

International

• CAF Champions League: 5

  1984, 1986, 1993, 1996, 2002

• African Cup Winners' Cup: 1

  2000

• CAF Super Cup: 3

  1994, 1997, 2003

• Afro-Asian Cup: 2

  1988, 1997 (most successful team)

• Arab Champions Cup: 1

  2003

• Saudi-Egyptian Super Cup (Cup Winners): 1

  2003

Club Presidents

(MY) appointed by the Ministry of Youth.
(D) return due court decision.
(NCS) appointed by the National Council for Sports.

Other sports

Zamalek club compete in different other sports. Zamalek's Handball, Athletics, Volleyball and Basketball teams have won many national, African and Arabic competitions.

Sponsors

• Egypt Air
• Seara Alimentos
• Adidas
• Total Egypt

See also

• Egyptian Premier League
• Egypt Cup
• Egyptian Super Cup
• Cairo derby

References

External links

Official Website

• www.elzamalek.org

Non-official Websites

• www.zamalekfans.com
• www.zamalek.tv
• www.zamalek.sc
• www.zamalektoday.com
• www.yazamalek.com/home/
• www.zamalkawyana.com/index.php
• http://zamalek.theoffside.com
• www.en.zamalek-toolbar.com
• www.zamalekegypt.net
• Zamalek Legends 1911–2011