Dire Dawa City Sport Club (Amharic: ድሬዳዋ ከተማ ስፖርት ክለብ), also known as Dire Dawa Kenema, is a professional Ethiopian football club based in Dire Dawa previously knownas issa and gurgura awraja. They play in the top division of Ethiopian football, the Ethiopian Premier League

Dire Dawa City
Full nameDire Dawa City Sport Club
Nickname(s)ምስራቃውያን (The Easterners)
ቡርትካናማዎቹ (The Orange Ones)
Short nameDire Dawa Kenema
Founded1982 (1975 E.C.)
GroundDire Dawa Stadium
Capacity18,000
ManagerAsrat Abate
LeagueEthiopian Premier League
2023–24Ethiopian Premier League, 12th of 16
Current season

History

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Foundation (1982–2003)

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Dire Dawa Kenema was originally founded in 1982 (1975 E.C.) until the club went defunct.

New beginning (2003–present)

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The club was reestablished in 2003 (1996 EC) with the hopes of restoring Dire Dawa's historic place in Ethiopian football. The following year (2004–05) the club played in a regional league (then considered the third tier of Ethiopian football).[1] In 2005–06 the club entered the second tier of Ethiopian football called the Ethiopian National League (now called the Ethiopian Higher League).[1] The club entered the Ethiopian Premier League for the first time in 2007–08 season.[2]

Dire Dawa Kenema spent the first few season in the top division battling relegation.[1] The club lost its best player from the 2009–10 season, Ashenafi Girma, to Meta Abo Beer F.C. during the 2010–11 season.[1] Dire Dawa Kenema was relegated from the Premier League after the 2011–12 season.

Dire Dawa Kenema was promoted back to the Ethiopian Premier League after the 2014–15 season and managed to finish 11th in the 2015–16 season avoiding relegation. The club battled relegation in the two seasons since then and avoided relegation each time. The club signed Yosef Dengeto to a contract in March 2018.[3] Former coach of the Ethiopian National team Yohannes Sahle signed on to coach the club on August 3, 2018.[4]

Fisseha Teumelisan was sacked as manager of the club on February 12, 2021.[5] After his firing, Fisseha sued the club saying that he hadn't been paid the amount that was owned to him after the termination of his contract.[6]

Stadiums

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The club plays in home matches at the Dire Dawa Stadium.[7]

Departments

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Dire Dawa Sport Club Academy consists of the U20 team. Players from the U20 team are often picked to fill a few roster spots at the senior level from time to time.[8] Dire Dawa Women's Football Club plays in the first division of the Ethiopian Women's Premier League.

Active departments

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  • Boxing Team
  • Women's Football team[9]
  • Football team (U-20)[10]

Players

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First-team squad

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As of 8 January 2021[11]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   ETH Abiyu Kassaye
2 MF   ETH Zenebe Kebede
3 DF   ETH Yasen Jemal
4 DF   ETH Henok Isaias
5 DF   ETH Daniel Demssie
6 MF   ETH Awot Gebremikael
6 DF   ETH Fikadu Deneke
7 MF   ETH Biniam Tesomelisan
8 MF   ETH Surafel Getachew
9 MF   ETH Henok Gemtessa
10 MF   ETH Remeden Nassir
11 MF   ETH Endale Kebede
12 DF   GHA Kweku Andoh
13 FW   NAM Itamunua Kemuine
14 MF   ETH Yared Zewdneh
15 DF   ETH Bereket Samuel
No. Pos. Nation Player
16 MF   ETH Minyamer Petros
17 FW   ETH Aschalew Girma
18 DF   ETH Wondwossen Dereje
20 FW   NAM Junias Nandjebo
21 DF   ETH Frezer Kassa
22 FW   GHA Richmond Adongo
25 GK   ETH Hamdi Tofik
27 MF   ETH Aschenacki Lucas
28 DF   ETH Muluken Aydagn
30 GK   ETH Firew Getahun
33 GK   ETH Mintesinot Yegile
44 MF   ETH Mikias Kassahun
77 FW   ETH Samuel Zerihun
99 FW   ETH Mudin Mussa
GK   ETH Wondwossen Ashenafi

Club officials

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President:  Eng. JEMAL IVRAHIM

Vice President:  Sultan Ali

General Manager:  Fitsum Kinfishe

Coaching and medical staff

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As of 12 March 2021

Team Leader:   Tofek Hassien

Manager/Head Coach:   Zemariam Woldegiorgis

First assistant coach:   Tofek Edris

Second assistant coach:   Ephrem Getahun

First-team goalkeeper coach:   Abaye Befekadu

Team Doctor:   Asrat Legesse

Former players

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  •   Simon Abay

Former coaches

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  •   Yohannes Sahle (2018)
  •   Fisseha Teumelisan (2017–2021) – as assistant & head coach

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "ድሬዳዋ ከነማ". Hattricksport. Archived from the original on September 11, 2019. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  2. ^ "Diredawa City: Team Profile". ethiofootball. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
  3. ^ Takele, Tewodros (March 16, 2018). "ዮሴፍ ድንገቶ ድሬዳዋ ከተማን ተቀላቅሏል". Soccer Ethiopia.
  4. ^ Taddele, Omna (August 3, 2018). "ዮሃንስ ሳህሌ የድሬዳዋ ከተማ አሰልጣኝ ሆነዋል". Soccer Ethiopia.
  5. ^ Mesfin, Daniel (February 12, 2021). "ድሬዳዋ ከተማ ከአሰልጣኙ ጋር ተለያየ". Soccer Ethiopia.
  6. ^ Mesfin, Daniel (April 24, 2021). "አሰልጣኝ ፍስሀ ጥዑመልሳን ወደ ክስ አምርተዋል". Soccer Ethiopia.
  7. ^ "Dire Dawa City". int.soccerway.com/. Retrieved 2013-08-29.
  8. ^ Takele, Tewodros (August 29, 2018). "ድሬ ዳዋ ከተማ ግብ ጠባቂ አስፈርሟል". Soccer Ethiopia.
  9. ^ "Diredawa Ketema [W]". Soccer Ethiopia. Archived from the original on 2021-04-13. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  10. ^ "U-20 Premier League". Soccer Ethiopia. Archived from the original on 2021-02-27. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  11. ^ a b "Dire Dawa Ketema". Soccer Ethiopia. Archived from the original on 2021-01-11.
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