Historical background

The city of Ismailia is situated on the Suez Canal with a population of around 750,000.  Football was introduced to the city by foreign troops on garrison duty and the first local team was formed in 1921. They were called Nahda, which means ‘Resistance’. At first they played on a patch of wasteland and their only asset was a shed that was used as a changing room. With the help of local benefactors Nahda purchased land and in 1947 celebrated the opening of their new grass pitch with a game against the British Army.

The modern Ismaili club, which emerged from these humble beginnings, is considered the third strongest team in the country after Zamalek and El Ahly. They are sometimes referred to as the ‘Samba Boys’ which is partly a reference to their colours but also to their ‘Brazilian’ style of play. They are also referred to as ‘Daraweesh’, because so many members of that family have been involved with the club.

Ismailia has use of an excellent municipal stadium that seats 30,000 people and some of the most passionate fans in the country.

1950-1970

The club was founder members of the Egyptian National league in 1949 but after a promising start was relegated for four seasons.  

When Israeli military forces occupied the Canal Zone, Ismaili temporary relocated to Cairo where they enjoyed the sponsorship of construction millionaire Osman Ahmed Osman who dreamed of turning them into Egypt’s premier club.  Early in the 1967 league campaign he recruited a British coach, Thompson, and after an early defeat to El Ahly the side went undefeated for the rest of the season. Two weeks before the end of the competition they played El Ahly for the second time, winning the vital match with a penalty. Star of the team was striker Abu Greisha who played for Egypt in the 1970 and 1974 Nations Cup and who was runner up in the first African Player of the Year Award.

Ismaili followed this by becoming one of the first Egyptian teams to enter African football, winning the Champions’ Cup in 1969. Having beaten teams from Libya, Kenya and Ghana they faced Englebert of Zaire in the final, winning 5-3 on aggregate. The following year they reach the semi-finals of the competition but lost to Asante, the 0-2 defeat in Ghana being their first defeat in fourteen African games.

1980-2000

In the eighties first Mohamed Hazem, who would also die in a car crash, and then El Soliman continued Ismaili’s tradition of discovering exciting strikers but it was 1986 before they returned to African football, reaching the semi-finals of the African Cup Winners Cup, where they were involved in an all-Egyptian showdown with El Ahly. After a goalless draw in Cairo, Ismaili went ahead at home only to eventually draw 1-1 and go out on the away goal rule.

In 1991 Ismaili won their second league title in a playoff with El Ahly after the two clubs had finished level on points. Mohamed Salah Abougreisha had emerged as an international class striker and 1997 saw Ismaili win the Egyptian Cup for the first time. Ahmed Fekry’s long range extra time winner against Zamalek has become a club legend. Ahmed Hassan had a brief spell in the side before moving on to a long and successful career in Turkey.

2000-

The opening years of the new decade proved to be a great time for Ismaili fans. Nigerian John Otaka, who was to later to play in the English Premier League, topped the 1999/2000 goal scoring table with 18 goals as Ismaili finished runners. The side also reached the final of the CAF Cup, scoring 28 goals in just 7 qualifying games. The final was an anti-climax, Ismaili losing a bad tempered clash with JS Kabylie on the away goal rule.

By then the club were well into the 2001-02 league campaign in which they went undefeated over 26 games. They still had to wait for the final day of the season before a 3-2 win over Masry secured the title from El Ahly. Mohamed Salah Abougreisha, a survivor of the 1991 team, won his 2nd championship medal.

The following season Ismaili reached the final of the African Champions Cup, meeting Enyimba of Nigeria. The final was a controversial affair with the Egyptians complaining of Enyimba using an eligible player and the Ismaili fans rioting at the end of the second leg, which saw their team had lose 1-2 on aggregate. Coach Mohsen Saleh left to take over the national team and many of the best players, such as Mohamed Barakat headed overseas.

Ismaili however continue to produce promising local players, including Hosni Abd Rabou, the 2008 Nation’s Cup Player of the Tournament, and they retain their position as Egypt’s ‘third team’. In 2009 they faced El Ahly in a playoff for the league title, both sides having ended the regular season on 63 points, but El Ahly took the title with a narrow 1-0 victory.