Al-Karamah SC () is a

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

n professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in the city of

Homs Homs ( ; ), known in pre-Islamic times as Emesa ( ; ), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level, above sea level and is located north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is ...

. Founded in 1928, it is considered to be one of Asia's oldest sporting clubs. The club has won eight Syrian League titles and eight

Syrian Cup The Syrian Cup () is Syria's premier knockout Cup tournament in men's association football, football. It was first contested in 1959. Al-Ittihad SC Aleppo, Al-Ittihad SC have won the competition on 10 occasions. The final was first played in the 1 ...

titles. It also was the first Syrian club to win both the league and cup titles in the same year. The club is based at the Khaled Ibn Al Walid Stadium. In 2008, the club formed Board of Honor comprising businessmen of the city of Homs to support the club activities and Dr Mohammed Rahif Hakmi was elected as the board chairman. The club covers other sports such as

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

table tennis Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

and

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

for both, males and females. In addition to

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling. It is one of two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games, along with Greco-Roman wrestling, Greco-Roman. scholastic wrestling, High school wrestling and men's collegiate wrestling in the U ...

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

weightlifting Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can ...

and

cycling Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

History

Early period (1928–1972)

Khaled bin Al-Walid Club was established in 1928 at the time of

French mandate The Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon (; , also referred to as the Levant States; 1923−1946) was a League of Nations mandate founded in the aftermath of the First World War and the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire, concerning the territori ...

through the city's youth who thought of establishing a sports club that would include them and allow them to practice sports officially. After they founded the club, their first championship was in the game on April 25, 1948, where they won the Qatar championship as representatives of the national team

, and Khaled Club maintained its title the following year and then returned to win the Syria championship in 1952. On February 18, 1971, Syrian President

Hafez al-Assad Hafez al-Assad (6 October 193010 June 2000) was a Syrian politician and military officer who was the president of Syria from 1971 until Death and state funeral of Hafez al-Assad, his death in 2000. He was previously the Prime Minister of Syria ...

issued Legislative Decree No. /38/ regulating the sports movement in the Syrian Arab Republic and the sports clubs were merged by a decision of the Executive Office of the General Sports Federation No. /59 The date of August 18, 1972, and Al-Karama Club is the outcome of the merger of several civil clubs in the city of Homs.

First league and cup titles (1972–2005)

In the 1974–75 season, Al-Karama won the first league championship. Then he took the lead by collecting the

League League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

and the

Cup A cup is an open-top vessel (container) used to hold liquids for drinking, typically with a flattened hemispherical shape, and often with a capacity of about . Cups may be made of pottery (including porcelain), glass, metal, wood, stone, pol ...

for the first time in the season 1982–83, and then, during the 1983–84 season, he wanted to repeat the achievement, so he held the league championship and was not allowed to hold the cup when he was considered a legal loser against

Al-Ittihad Al-Ittihad may refer to: Sports Football Men Teams * Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia * Al Ittihad SCSC (Tripoli), Tripoli, Libya * Al Ittihad Gheryan, Gharyan, Libya * Al Ittihad Misurata SC, Misurata, Libya * Al Ittihad SC ...

despite his progress with the match result due to the rioting of his fans. That meeting was in the semi-finals of the competition, but they returned to carry the Cup of the Republic in the year 1987, and then to repeat their achievement in the 1995–96 season, in which they won the League Championship and then the Republic Cup led, and competed with Al-Jaish in the seasons 1998–99 and 2000–01 and finished as runners-up led by Muhammad Quwaid, as well as in the 2003–04 and 2004–05 seasons.

Domestic doubles and continental success (2005–2010)

In 2006, the club led by Muhammad Quwid participated in the

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club association football, football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's List of top-division football clubs i ...

as the league's runners-up of the previous season, in which they reached the finals, winning most of the major Asian football teams. In the group stage, they had to compete against Al Wahda from the

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

Saba Battery Saba Battery Club (also Saba Battery Physical and Cultural Gym) is an Iranian sports club based in Tehran, Iran. The club was founded in 2002 . Teams * Saba Battery Football Club, competing in the Iran Pro League The Persian Gulf Pro League (, ...

from Iran with the team was led by the international goal scorer

Ali Daei Ali Daei ( ; born 21 March 1969) is an Iranian Association football, football manager and former professional footballer. A Striker (association football), striker, he was the captain (association football), captain of the Iran national footbal ...

and

Al-Gharafa Al-Gharafa Sports Club () is a Qatari multi-sports club based in the Al Gharrafa district of Ar Rayyan, Al Rayyan municipality. The club is best known for its association football, football team, although it also has teams for other sports. The ...

from Qatar. They finished at the top of their group and qualified for the Asian CL quarter-finals with 4 wins and 2 losses. In the quarter-finals, the club caused a tie with an overall aggregate score of 4–2 . The club moved on to play Al-Qadisya of Kuwait in the semi-final. The first leg was in

, Syria, resulting in a 0–0 draw. The return leg was in Kuwait. Al-Karamah won the game. On 1 November 2006, the club played

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC () is a South Korean professional football club based in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province that competes in the K League 1, the top tier of South Korean football. Jeonbuk have won the K League a record nine times, including ...

(

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

) where Al-Karamah lost the first leg 2–0 in South Korea. In the second leg, the final aggregate score was 2–3, making Jeonbuk the 2006 AFC Champion League Winner. However, the club won the league championship in the 2005–06 season, followed by the 2006–07 season, in addition to winning the Republic Cup for the fifth time in their history; hence, collecting the double for the third time. In the 2008–09 season, Al-Karamah started their season faltering. However, the club managed to tie with Al-Ittihad at top spot, so that a play-off match was resorted to in

Al-Assad Stadium Latakia Municipal Stadium () is a multi-purpose stadium in Latakia, Syria. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium has a capacity of 28,000 spectators. The stadium was opened in 1978 and completely renovated in 2004. It is h ...

Latakia Latakia (; ; Syrian Arabic, Syrian pronunciation: ) is the principal port city of Syria and capital city of the Latakia Governorate located on the Mediterranean coast. Historically, it has also been known as Laodicea in Syria or Laodicea ad Mar ...

and Al-Karama won 2–1 to be their 8th title in competition, followed by the title of Cup of the Republic in the same season.

Grounds

Khalid ibn al-Walid Stadium

Khalid ibn al-Walid Stadium Khalid ibn al-Walid Stadium () is a multi-use stadium located in thecity of Homs. It is the third-largest football stadium in Syria and is mostly used for football matches. It serves as the home ground of Al-Karamah SC and Al-Wathba SC and hold ...

is located in the city center of

, Syria. In 2004, the stadium was renovated and expanded to its current capacity of 32,000 spectators. In the same year, the venue was renamed after the

sahabi The Companions of the Prophet () were the Muslim disciples and followers of the Islamic prophet Muhammad who saw or met him during his lifetime. The companions played a major role in Muslim battles, society, hadith narration, and governance ...

Khalid ibn al-Walid Khalid ibn al-Walid ibn al-Mughira al-Makhzumi (; died 642) was a 7th-century Arabs, Arab military commander. He initially led campaigns against Muhammad on behalf of the Quraysh. He later became a Muslim and spent the remainder of his career ...

Bassel al-Assad Stadium

Bassel al-Assad Stadium is located in the centre of Homs, behind the district Baba Amr. The stadium was renovated during 2016 and a new turf was installed.

Supporters and rivalries

The Al-Karamah Fans Association was formed in 1975.

Colours and kits

Shirt sponsor & kit manufacturer

Honours

Domestic

Syrian Premier League The Syrian Premier League () is a professional association football league in Syria and the top division of the Syrian football league system. The league comprises 12 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Syrian Le ...

: 8 **Champions: 1974–75, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1995–96, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09 *

: 8 **Champions: 1982–83, 1986–87, 1994–95, 1995–96, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10 *

Syrian Super Cup The Syrian Super Cup () is a Syrian association football trophy contested in an annual match between the champions of Syrian Premier League and the winners of the Syrian Cup. First played in 1982, the competition has afterwards been played sporadic ...

: 2 **Champions: 1985, 2008

Continental

: **Runners-up:

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

AFC Cup The AFC Champions League Two (abbreviated as the ACL Two or ACL2) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation. It is the second-tier competition of Asian club football, ranked below the AFC C ...

: **Runners-up:

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

Performance in AFC competitions

: 4 appearances ::

: Runners-up ::

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

: Quarter-finals ::

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

: Quarter-finals ::

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

: Qualifying play-off – West semi-finals *

Asian Club Championship The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious cl ...

: 1 appearance ::

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

: First round *

: 3 appearances ::

: Runners-up ::

: Quarter-finals ::

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

: Group Stage

Al-Karamah in Asia

Performance in UAFA competitions

Arab Club Champions Cup The Arab Club Champions Cup (, ) is a club football competition organised by the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA) and contested by top clubs from the Arab world. The tournament is contested by a total of 37 teams from Asia and Africa. F ...

: 1 appearance ::

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

: 1st Round

Records

Current squad

:''As of 14 June 2024''

Notable former players

References

External links

Al-Karamah Fans society website

sda al-karameh
(archived)
al-karameh online
(archived)
al-karameh NEWS
(archived) {{DEFAULTSORT:Karamah Football clubs in Syria Association football clubs established in 1928 Homs 1928 establishments in Mandatory Syria