Who has won the most Ethiopian Premier League titles - A look at the history of the Ethiopian Premier League

Brad Newcomb

Editor

Last updated: 07 Aug 2024

Brad Newcomb 07 Aug 2024

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Ethiopian Premier League founded in 1943 by Ethiopian Football Federation.
Saint George has won 21 titles in the last 32 seasons.
Current format: 16 teams, winner competes in the CAF Champions League.

Ethiopian Premier League founded in 1943 by Ethiopian Football Federation (Getty Images)

The BetKing Ethiopian Premier League is the fourth oldest league on the African continent, defined by passionate rivalries and intense matches each season to find out who is the best club in the land.

In 1943 the Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF) was founded, and a year later, the inaugural Ethiopian Championship was held in Addis Ababa.

Only five teams competed for the title: Ararat (Armenian), BMME (British), Fortitudo (Italian), Olympiakos (Greek), and Saint George (Ethiopian), representing various communities in the capital city. British Military Mission in Ethiopia (BMME) defeated Fortitudo in the final.

Defence Force became the first club to win the title four consecutive times between 1951 and 1954.

The Ethiopian Premier League was established at the beginning of the 1997/98 season, with EEPCO (Ethio Electric) clinching the title.

EEPCO forward Yordanos Abay scored a record 24 goals in the 2000/01 season, helping his side win their third Ethiopian Premier League title before Getaneh Kebede claimed the record for himself with 25 goals in a season 16 years later playing for Dedebit.

Hawassa became the first team outside the capital, Addis Ababa, to lift the Ethiopian Premier League title in the 2003/04 season.

Jimma Aba Jifar made history in the 2017/18 season by becoming the first team to win the Ethiopian Premier League on debut.

Saint George has been the dominant force in the Ethiopian Premier League since the 1990s, racking up an impressive 21 titles in the last 32 seasons.

In its current format, the Ethiopian Premier League comprises 16 teams, playing each other twice during the season, with three points for a win and a point for a draw.

The winner of the Ethiopian Premier League competes in the CAF Champions League at the start of the following season, and the runner-up qualifies for the CAF Confederation Cup.

The teams that finish in the bottom three places in the standings are relegated to the Ethiopian Higher League at the end of the season. The top three teams that earned promotion will play in the Ethiopian Premier League.

Below is the list of the most successful teams to have won the BetKing Ethiopian Premier League.