Dire Dawa
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- Äthiopien - Premier League 136 Äthiopien - Pokal 1
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- Dire Dawa - Frauen
Wikipedia - Dire Dawa City S.C.
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. They play in the top division of Ethiopian football, the Ethiopian Premier League.
History
Foundation (1982-2003)
Dire Dawa Kenema was originally founded in 1982 (1975 E.C.) until the club went defunct.
New Beginning (2003-Present)
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). In 2005–06 the club entered the second tier of Ethiopian football called the Ethiopian National League (now called the Ethiopian Higher League). The club entered the Ethiopian Premier League for the first time in 2007–08 season.
Dire Dawa Kenema spent the first few season in the top division battling relegation. The club lost its best player from the 2009–10 season, Ashenafi Girma, to Meta Abo Beer F.C. during the 2010–11 season. 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. Former coach of the Ethiopian National team Yohannes Sahle signed on to coach the club on August 3, 2018.
Fisseha Teumelisan was sacked as manager of the club on February 12, 2021. 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.
Dire Dawa ist einer der erfolgreichsten Vereine in der Geschichte des äthiopischen Fußballs. Der Verein hat insgesamt vier Meisterschaften gewonnen, zuletzt 2008. Darüber hinaus hat Dire Dawa auch viermal den äthiopischen Pokal gewonnen.
In den letzten Jahren hat Dire Dawa jedoch Schwierigkeiten, an seine früheren Erfolge anzuknüpfen. Der Verein kämpft in der Liga um den Klassenerhalt und hat sich seit 2011 nicht mehr für den afrikanischen Vereinswettbewerb qualifiziert.
Trotz seiner aktuellen Probleme bleibt Dire Dawa ein beliebter Verein in Äthiopien. Der Verein hat eine große Fangemeinde und gilt als ein Symbol für den äthiopischen Fußball.