Zamalek SC

History

The club started out as Qasr El-Neel Club by a Belgian lawyer, Mr. Merzbach on 5 January 1911. It was the first football club 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 the winter of 1924, the club moved for the third time to what is now known as El Balloon Theater. Then in 1940, the club was renamed Farouk El Awal Club 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 renamed "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 El Jabalawy as board members.

After the first board, a new board in 1923 was formed with General Mohammad Haidar as a president. At the beginning of 1941, General Haidar was selected 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 thirty years which was unusual at an Egyptian club at the time.

Then in 1952, the Egyptian army revolution came 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 leagues only general 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, he was not able to do the job he wanted. Right then, some Zamalek Faithful figures as General Haidar Pasha, and Haj Sayed El 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 El Gazzar came as a president who was the owner of El 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 El 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 ten 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 Abdel Hamid Shaheen was elected to the treasurer position. As for the board members, it consisted of: Dr. Ahmed Shereen Fawzy, Mahmoud Marouf, Mohamad Fayez El 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, Abdel 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 Abdel 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 El Zummur, Dr. Mohamad Amer. The newly appointed members were Mortada Mansour, Mahmoud Abdallah, Mounnir Hassan, and Ibrahim Latif. Still the 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 El Deen was appointed as treasurer.

Zamalek Rivalry

Zamalek has had a rivalry with El Ahly since playing their first league derby in 1948.

Zamalek Disasters

The year 1974 saw a deadly crush at a Zamalek game, as at least forty-eight people attending the friendly game against Czechoslovak club Dukla Prague were killed in a stampede at the Helmi Zamora Stadium.

The second disaster was in 2015, 8 February, twenty supporters were killed by policemen outside the stadium of 30 June Stadium.

Name changes

Team colors

The home jersey uses the original Zamalek colors: White jersey with two horizontal red stripes and White shorts. The away jersey is blue. Zamalek chose white because it symbolizes peace and red color because it is symbolized for fighting for win.

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, the fact that it has not been seriously renovated since its inauguration more than 50 years ago and the terrace is threatened to fall. Zamalek train in Helmi Zamora until today. Consequently, Zamalek play their home matches at Cairo International Stadium and Petro Sport Stadium.

Mortada Mansour announced on 31 May 2015 that El-Zamalek received an offer from a Spanish company to build a stadium in 6th of October City with seating capacity of 40,000.

Ultras

Zamalek has an ultras named Ultras White Knights (UWK) that was founded on 17 March 2007 which is known for its pyro displays. Their motto is "Brotherhood in blood".

Worldwide / Intercontinental

African

UAFA competitions

League

Cup

Other Titles

Records

Individual

League

The following players have won the top scorer award in the league while playing with Zamalek:

Cup

Current first team squad

Egyptian Football Association (EFA) rules are that a team may only have 3 foreign born players in the squad.

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

Out on loan

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

Youth academy squad

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

Notable players

Note: this list includes players that have appeared in at least 100 league games and/or have reached international status.

see also List of Zamalek SC players

Managers

See More: List of Zamalek SC managers

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