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Football in Ethiopia

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Football in Ethiopia
International competitions

Footballis the most popular sport inEthiopia.Although not one of the leading footballing nations inAfrica,Ethiopia has produced some outstanding teams at both club and international level as well as some talented individual players.[1][2][3]

History

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The Italians were the first to promote the football inEthiopia,after 1937. No overall Ethiopian championship was played in 1938 and 1939, but there were regional leagues in the provinces of Amhara (capital Gondar), Harar (capital Harar), Scioa (capital Addis Ababa).

The "Campo Sportivo" Littorio "[4]was the first football stadium of Addis Abeba: successively it was enlarged in 1940 with tribune and athletic lanes and afterWW2was renamedAddis Ababa Stadium.In 1944 the first Ethiopian Championship was held in Addis Abeba underHaile Selassierule, with 5 teams representing the various communities in the capital conquered by the Allies. In the final match the BMME of the British Army won the Fortitudo of the remaining Italian colonists. Participants: St. George (Ethiopian); BMME (British); Fortitudo (Italian); Ararat (Armenian); Olympiakos (Greek).[5]

Early years

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Football in Ethiopia came under the control of theEthiopian Football Federation(EFF) when that organisation was founded in 1943. The EFF affiliated toFIFAin 1953 and to theConfederation of African Footballin 1957. League football was in existence before the formation of the EFF with regional leagues contested during the 1938/39 and 1939/40 seasons in the provinces ofEritrea,Harar,Amhara, Scioa and Galla-Sidamo as part of theItalian occupation.[6]

The first recognised version of theEthiopian Premier Leaguewas contested in 1944 when five teams representing the various communities ofAddis Ababacompeted for a title won by the British Military Mission-BMME.[7]TheEthiopian Cupwas added the following year and has been contested regularly since (albeit with some gaps, notably in the 1960s).[8]

Contemporary football

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TheEthiopian Premier Leaguehas been an annual competition since 1948 withSaint Georgeemerging as the country's leading club with 24 titles.[9]

Ethiopia was suspended by FIFA in 2008 after theFederal Parliamentary Assemblysacked Ashebir Woldegiorgis from his position as EFF President and replaced him with their candidate Ahmed Yasin. As a result, FIFA, who opposed government interference in football, suspended the country in July 2008.[10]The suspension was lifted in July 2009 following the election of new EFF leaders.[11]

International

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TheEthiopia national football teammade its first appearance in 1947 and since then have enjoyed both highs and lows. As one of the few independent African states in the immediate aftermath of theSecond World WarEthiopia were an important team in the development of the international football in the continent.

Africa Cup of Nations

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Ethiopia was one of the pioneers of theAfrica Cup of Nationsand were one of only three teams to enter the inaugural1957 tournament,finishing as runners-up toEgypt.[12]They were also present at the1959 tournament[13]As hosts of the1962 tournamentand led by goalscorerMengistu Worku,Ethiopia defeatedTunisiaand the United Arab Republic (Egypt) to be crowned African champions for the only time in their history.[14]

They hosted the tournament again in1968and1976but by then decline had set in and their next appearance in a finals tournament came in1982.They returned in the2013 African Cup of Nationsbut got knocked-out in the group stages with only one point and finished bottom of their group.

World Cup

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Ethiopia has never qualified for theFIFA World Cup.

CECAFA

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Ethiopia are also members of theCouncil for East and Central Africa Football Associations(CECAFA) and take part in its competitions. They first won theCECAFA Cupin 1987 as hosts and repeated the same triumph in 2001 and 2004 before adding a fourth title inRwandain 2005.[15]

Other teams

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In 2005 the Under-20s team won its soleCECAFA U-20 Championship.[16]

Club football

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No Ethiopian club side has ever won theCAF Champions Leagueor any other international club competitions. The best performances were the semi-final places achieved by theCotton Factory Clubin1964and Saint George in1967.

Largest football stadiums in Ethiopia

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# Stadium Location Capacity Home Team(s) Notes
1 Bahir Dar Stadium Bahir Dar 60,000 National team
2 Tigray Stadium Mekelle 60,000 Mekelle City FC,Dedebit FC,Guna Trading FC,Trans Ethiopia
3 Awassa Kenema Stadium Hawassa 60,000 Hawassa City F.C.

See also

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References

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  1. ^"Ethiopia rising by Firdose Moonda".Espn Fc.Retrieved2013-12-03.
  2. ^"Ethiopia Reclaiming Their Status As A Football Power | Daily Times Nigeria".Dailytimes.ng. 2013-06-06.Retrieved2013-12-03.
  3. ^"A Sleeping Giant in African Soccer Is Starting to Stir".The New York Times.October 10, 2013.Retrieved2013-12-13.
  4. ^video of Littorio's inauguration:http://senato.archivioluce.it/senato-luce/scheda/video/IL5000027374/2/Impero-Italiano-Addis-Abeba.html
  5. ^Italian Addisd Abeba
  6. ^"Ethiopia - list of champions".Rsssf. 2013-10-31.Retrieved2013-12-03.
  7. ^"Ethiopia 1944".Rsssf. 2013-03-22.Retrieved2013-12-03.
  8. ^"Ethiopia - List of Cup Winners".Rsssf. 2011-12-12.Retrieved2013-12-03.
  9. ^"Ethiopia - ions".Rsssf. 2013-10-31.Retrieved2013-12-03.
  10. ^Ethiopia suspended by Fifafrombbc.co.uk
  11. ^"FIFA lifts suspension of Ethiopia".Ethiopianreview. 2009-07-23.Retrieved2013-12-03.
  12. ^"African Nations Cup 1957".Rsssf. 2013-10-03.Retrieved2013-12-03.
  13. ^"African Nations Cup 1959".Rsssf. 2013-10-03.Retrieved2013-12-03.
  14. ^"African Nations Cup 1962".Rsssf.Retrieved2013-12-03.
  15. ^"East and Central African Championship (CECAFA)".Rsssf.Retrieved2013-12-03.
  16. ^"CECAFA U-20 Competition".CECAFA.net. Archived fromthe originalon 23 July 2011.Retrieved18 April2010.
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