Ethiopian Coffee Sport Club, based in Addis Ababa, is a prominent member of the Ethiopian Football Federation and competes in the top division of Ethiopian Football, the Ethiopian Premier League.
Their home stadium is Addis Ababa Stadium, also known as Yidnekachew Tessema Stadium.
Yidnekachew Tessema Stadium:
- Full name: Yidnekachew Tessema Stadium
- Former names: Haile Selassie Stadium
- Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
- Capacity: 35,000
- Surface: Grass
- Opened: 1940
- Renovated: 1960, 1999, 2022
- Tenants: Ethiopia national football team, Saint George S.C., Ethiopian Coffee S.C., Defence Force S.C.
Origins and Early Years
Ethiopian Coffee Sport Club has its origins in 1976 when the employees of Kefa Coffee Processing decided to establish a football club.
After gathering the required number of players, the club was registered as Coffee Board Sport Club on the kebele level in order to take part in local tournaments.
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The club then moved to playing in the AEWA Factory workers Association level, the third division of Ethiopian football at the time.
Funded largely by the Kefa factory workers at the time, the club offered its players employment at the factory as an incentive to keep them at the club.
As a result, players would work the morning shift at the factory and then play football in the evenings.
Amazing Ethiopian Coffee Sport club (Ethiopian Bunna) Funs Chanting- 2017
Evolution and Promotion
In 1984, the Addis Ababa Sports council was created in an effort to reorganize clubs in the city. As a result, the club officially changed its name to Ethiopian Coffee Sports Club under the management of the National Coffee Trading Corporation, then a government enterprise.
In 1994, with better financial backing, the club was able to sign top talents like Million Begashaw from Maritime and Mengistu Bogale from Berta S.C.
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These new signings helped the club earn promotion to the first division by virtue of winning the second division.
First Division Title and CAF Champions League
The club won the first division title for the first time in its history in the 1996-97 season.
By virtue of winning their first title, the club represented Ethiopia in the 1998 CAF Champions League.
That same year, Aseged Tesfaye became the first player In CAF Champions League history to score five goals in a single match against St. Michel United FC (Seychelles) in an 8-2 preliminary round win.
Ethiopian Coffee were triumphant in their 2010-11 campaign, winning the Ethiopian Premier League Title.
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The club had to defeat Muger Cement F.C.
Challenges and Priorities
In a 2016 meeting with supporters, long time club chairman LT. Fekade Mamo stated the main priority of the club was not competing for a league title, but rather survival in the top division.
At the start of the 2017-18 Season the team hired Serbian manager Kostadin Papic to a two-year contract.
"Though until recently considered arch rival to the nation's oldest, richest and most popular club, Saint George," noted a writer for the Addis Ababa Capital, "Coffee in the past couple of years faced high financial constraints hardly able to sign big name players.
Logo and Identity
The Ethiopian Coffee logo has gone through some changes since the club's inception in the mid 70's.
While the emphasis on the traditional coffee pot is present in previous logos, the vibrant maroon and gold colors in the current logo are what give the club its identity.
Stadium and Supporters
Ethiopian Coffee has historically played at Yidnekachew Tessema Stadium, also known as Addis Ababa Stadium.
The ground has witness many occasions of violence in recent years between different sets of supporters including that of Ethiopian Coffee.
Ethiopian Coffee arguably have Ethiopia's largest football fan base.
The club's supporters have been involved in some incidents of football hooliganism.
Sponsorships
In 2000, Ethiopian Coffee signed a sponsorship deal with a local car dealership, Ultimate Motors.
In December 2008 The Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX) bought a partial stake in the club.
That same year, Meta Abo Brewery signed a three-year sponsorship contract, which was expected to help the struggling football club.
In 2011, the club signed a shirt sponsorship deal with Habesha Brewery, their third ever sponsorship deal following Worbek and Meta Abo Brewery.
