Awassa Kenema

Awassa Kenema was put together in 1977 to provide Hawassa, a lakeside provincial capital, with a club of its own standing in the national game. The city has grown into the Sidama Region's capital since, and the club has carried its name through the shift in spelling from Awassa to Hawassa, appearing in records under both, and occasionally as Hawassa City.

The only league title came in the 2003/04 season, when the club was registered as Awassa City and took the Ethiopian Premier League for the first and, so far, only time. The Ethiopian Cup followed a year later, won on penalties after a 2-2 draw with Muger Cement. Cup finals otherwise went the other way: defeats in 2000, 2008, 2015 and again on penalties in 2019, a run that says more about the club's habit of reaching finals than winning them.

Hawassa Kenema Stadium holds 25,000, well beyond what a club with one league title might need, and The Lakers, as they are known locally, have worn blue and white with a pinstriped home shirt through most of that history.

League and cup exposure since 2004 also brought CAF continental football, a rare stretch for a provincial Ethiopian side. Games with Sidama Bunna, sharing the region's name, add a more local rivalry closer to home.