Smouha SC
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ClubnameSmouha Sporting Club
FullnameSmouha Sporting Club
(Egyptian Pronunciation: سموحة, Semouha)
Founded29 December 1949 (age 76)
ChairmanDr. Mohamed Belal
ManagerAhmed Abdel Aziz
Websitesmouhaclub.com
GroundAlexandria Stadium
Capacity13,660[1]
LeagueEgyptian Premier League
Season2024–25
Position16th
Current2024–25 Smouha SC season
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Smouha Sporting Club (Arabic: نادي سموحة الرياضي), simply known as Smouha, is an Egyptian sports club and social club based in Alexandria. The club is mainly known for its professional football team, which currently plays in the Egyptian Premier League, the top tier of the Egyptian football league system.

It offers a wide range of sports including Basketball, and Modern Pentathlon, the sport where they most achieve medals and trophies.

History and ownership

Smouha SC was founded on 29 December 1949, and was named after the club's first president & founder Joseph Smouha, who was a Jewish textile manufacturer, philanthropist, and property developer and designer.

Joseph Smouha was born on 1 January 1878 in Baghdad. In 1892, he moved to Manchester, England, where he became a successful cotton manufacturer, and in 1912, he became the first President of the St. Annes-on-the-Sea congregation. During World War I, he and his family made their fortune manufacturing army clothing for the British. In 1917, Smouha came to Alexandria at the behest of the British because of his close ties to His Majesty's government and its representatives in the Middle East, as well as his position as one of Lawrence of Arabia's backers. After the War, Smouha bought the marshes of Lake Hadara, some 700 acres of water and marshland. Beginning in 1924, the Smouha family operated a sort of privately owned regional development authority, first draining the marshes, then paving two-lane roads. An industrial zone sprang up near the Ford assembly plant already in the area. For residents' convenience, a golf course was built, along with tennis courts and a race tract. Tracts of land were sold to private investors who wanted to build their homes in the area, which rapidly turned into the most exclusive neighborhood in Alexandria. Mr. Smouha donated much of his property to schools, hospitals and other public institutions. The new suburban garden city became known as "Smouha City". During WWII, Smouha's three sons served in the RAF, and Smouha contributed heavily toward the purchase of Spitfire planes, the aircraft used in the first line of attack to protect Britain's skies. Due to threats from the Germans, the British Embassy ordered Smouha to leave Egypt. The family then moved to Ramallah, Palestine for six months, before returning to Egypt once more. During his negotiations for the swamp region, the Egyptian government initially offered to give the land to Smouha for very little to no money, while Smouha insisted on paying a fair fee.[according to whom?] This fact later served the Smouha family well after the Nasser government confiscated Smouha City after the Sinai Campaign and refused to compensate the family.[according to whom?] Joseph Smouha died on 25 September 1961 in Paris at age 83.[2]

Engineer, millionaire, founder and chief executive of Faragalla Group, as well as parliament member Mohamed Farag Amer led Smouha Club from 1998 to 2021 and Again from 2022 to 2025, lost re-election to Former dean of Sports Sciences Faculty of Alexandria University, Dr. Mohamed Belal on November 28th, 2025.

Smouha Sporting Club

When Joseph Smouha settled in Alexandria in 1923, he became interested in developing a wealthy suburb and turned to the 700 acres of water and marshland used as a garbage dump in Alexandria. Smouha eventually transformed this land into the wealthy neighborhood of Smouha City so nicknamed by suggestion of King Fuad I. Among schools, hospitals, and wealthy neighborhoods with certain royal residents, the Smouha Sporting Club also inhabited Smouha City. The Smouha Sporting Club itself began with the spread of golf across Egypt. As golf became an increasingly played sport through the 1930s, Joseph Smouha planned the construction of an 18-hole golf course in Smouha City at the site of today's Smouha Sporting Club. The golf course was situated within the infield of a racetrack which Smouha had previously constructed. This golf course is renowned for having what is regarded as the best golf grass in the Arab world, as a result of its location above the swampland. The Smouha Sporting Club grew to include tennis courts along with the golf course and race track, and was formally established in 1949. Joseph Smouha was the first chief executive of the sporting club, and today the club remains open under the leadership of Engineer Mohammed Farag Amer. Although the Nasser regime confiscated Smouha City from the Smouha family in 1956, Joseph Smouha had donated much of the property to public institutions and the sporting club remained open. Currently, Smouha Sporting Club provides sportive, social, and cultural services to over 120,000 people—marking it as one of the largest sporting clubs in all of Egypt. The club is particularly famous for its football teams, but supports numerous individual and sports teams.[2]

Sports
  • Athletics
  • Basketball
  • Bowling
  • Chess
  • Croquet
  • Football (first team)
  • Football (juniors)
  • Gymnastics
  • Handball
  • Judo
  • Karate
  • Swimming and water games
  • Squash
  • Table tennis
  • Taekwando
  • Tennis
  • Volleyball[3]

Recent additions and branches

In 2007, the architectural firm Environmental Consulting Group (ECO Group) began designing new properties for Smouha Sporting Club. Established in 1995, ECO Group is a Middle-Eastern firm of about 100 employees led by Professor Amr El-Sherif. Throughout its history, ECO Group has been involved in construction projects totally over US$300 million. ECO Group has developed the Smouha Sporting Club's club house, cafeteria, swimming pools, and facilities for children.[2]

The club operates two branches as of 2023; Smouha branch And the New Borg El Arab branch (under construction).[4]

Football Club

Since reaching the top flight, Smouha SC has generally maintained a mid-table status supported by relative financial stability. The club's ascent began in the 2008–09 Egyptian Second Division season, where they finished in second place; a defeat to Kafr El-Zayat in the final match narrowly cost them promotion, allowing El-Mansoura to advance instead. The following year, during the 2009–10 season, Smouha secured its historic first promotion to the Egyptian Premier League following a 7–1 victory over Abu Qair Semad on April 28, 2010. While the club narrowly avoided relegation during its debut 2010–11 campaign, it rebounded strongly early in the 2012–13 season, recording notable victories against Al Ahly (1–0), Ghazl El Mahalla (5–1), and Wadi Degla (3–0).

Alexandria Derby

As the two primary clubs in Alexandria, Smouha and Al-Ittihad share a competitive local rivalry, with their head-to-head matches serving as a major fixture at the Alexandria Stadium.

Football Club

Domestic

League

Cup

Performance in CAF competitions

  • PR = Preliminary round
  • FR = First round
  • SR = Second round
  • PO = Play-off round
SeasonCompetitionRoundCountryClubHomeAwayAggregate
2015CAF Champions LeaguePRLibyaAl Ahli Tripoli1–00–11–1 (5–3 p)
FRNigeriaEnyimba2–00–12–1
SRCongoAC Léopards2–00–12–1
Group AMoroccoMoghreb Tétouan3–21–24th
SudanAl Hilal1–10–2
DR CongoTP Mazembe0–20–1
2017CAF Confederation CupFRKenyaUlinzi Stars4–00–34–3
POSouth AfricaBidvest Wits1–00–01–0
Group CZambiaZESCO United1–10–14th
AngolaRecreativo do Libolo2–00–0
SudanAl Hilal El Obeid1–11–2

Season records

{|class="wikitable"

! Season ! Div. ! Pos. ! Pl. ! W ! D ! L ! GS ! GA ! Pts. ! style="width:15%;"|Egypt Cup !colspan=2|Continental |- |align=center|2008–09 |align=center rowspan="1"|Second Division |align=center|2 (Group C) |align=center|30 |align=center|20 |align=center|7 |align=center|3 |align=center|59 |align=center|22 |align=center|67 |align=center|Second round |align=center colspan="2"|- |- |align=center|2009–10 |align=center rowspan="1"|Second Division |style="text-align:center; background:#00FF00;"|1 (Group C) |align=center|30 |align=center|19 |align=center|8 |align=center|3 |align=center|60 |align=center|25 |align=center|65 |align=center|Second round |align=center colspan="2"|- |- |align=center|2010–11 |align=center rowspan="1"|Premier League |align=center|15 |align=center|30 |align=center|6 |align=center|10 |align=center|14 |align=center|33 |align=center|45 |align=center|28 |align=center|Round of 16 |align=center colspan="2"|- |- |align=center|2011–12 |style="text-align:center; background:#cd5c5c;" colspan="9"|Not finished |style="text-align:center; background:#cd5c5c;" colspan="1"|Not held |align=center colspan="2"|- |- |align=center|2012–13 |style="text-align:center; background:#cd5c5c;" colspan="9"|Not finished |align=center colspan="1"|Round of 32 |align=center colspan="2"|- |- |align=center|2013–14 |align=center rowspan="1"|Premier League |style="text-align:center; background:#CCCCCC;"|2 |align=center|23 |align=center|12 |align=center|6 |align=center|5 |align=center|30 |align=center|22 |align=center|42 |style="text-align:center; background:#CCCCCC;"|Runner up |align=center colspan="2"|- |- |align=center|2014–15 |align=center rowspan="1"|Premier League |align=center|10 |align=center|38 |align=center|14 |align=center|9 |align=center|15 |align=center|43 |align=center|37 |align=center|51 |align=center|Semi Final |align=center|CL |align=center|Group stage |- |align=center|2015–16 |align=center rowspan="1"|Premier League |align=center|3 |align=center|34 |align=center|13 |align=center|16 |align=center|5 |align=center|45 |align=center|37 |align=center|55 |align=center|Quarter Final |align=center colspan="2"|- |- |align=center|2016–17 |align=center rowspan="1"|Premier League |align=center|5 |align=center|34 |align=center|15 |align=center|12 |align=center|7 |align=center|49 |align=center|40 |align=center|57 |align=center|Semi Final |align=center|CC |align=center|Group stage |- |align=center|2017–18 |align=center rowspan="1"|Premier League |align=center|5 |align=center|34 |align=center|14 |align=center|9 |align=center|11 |align=center|37 |align=center|26 |align=center|51 |style="text-align:center; background:#CCCCCC;"|Runner up |align=center colspan="2"|- |- |align=center|2018–19 |align=center rowspan="1"|Premier League |align=center|12 |align=center|34 |align=center|8 |align=center|14 |align=center|12 |align=center|33 |align=center|41 |align=center|38 |align=center|Round of 16 |align=center colspan="2"|- |- |align=center|2019–20 |align=center rowspan="1"|Premier League |align=center|5 |align=center|34 |align=center|11 |align=center|18 |align=center|5 |align=center|44 |align=center|33 |align=center|51 |align=center|Round of 16 |align=center colspan="2"|- |- |align=center|2020–21 |align=center rowspan="1"|Premier League |align=center|4 |align=center|34 |align=center|12 |align=center|18 |align=center|4 |align=center|54 |align=center|41 |align=center|54 |align=center|Round of 16 |align=center colspan="2"|- |- |}

Managers

References

  1. ^ "ALEXANDRIA STADIUM". footballgroundmap.com. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  2. ^ "Joseph Smouha, Smouha Sports Club, Alexandria Egypt | Archive | Diarna.org". archive.diarna.org. Archived 25 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  3. ^ "Smouha Sporting Club Official Website | Homepage". Archived 25 September 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  4. ^ "فرع سموحة" (in Arabic). smouhaclub.com. Archived 25 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 25 April 2021.

Independent websites