Étoile Sportive du Sahel

Did You Know?

• Hamed Karoui was the longest-serving president, holding the role for twenty years from 1961 to 1981.
• The club's colors, red and white, were chosen from the Tunisian flag; the French colonial authorities initially prevented their use.

History

The club began at a public gathering held at the French-Tunisian school on Laroussi Zarrouk Street in Sousse. Chedli Boujemla was chosen as the first president of this multi-sport organization. Proposed names like La Soussienne and La Musulmane were turned down, with Etoile Sportive selected instead; it later became Étoile Sportive du Sahel to show the club aimed to cover a wider area than just Sousse. Official recognition from the Protectorate came on 17 July 1925.

In March 1926, Ali Larbi took over as head of the football section, which then joined the Tunisian Football Federation. The original squad featured Mohamed Bouraoui, Abdelkader Ben Amor, Abdelhamid Baddaï, Sadok Zmentar, Ali Guermachi, Mohamed Mtir, Benaïssa Hicheri, Béchir Dardour, and Tahar Kenani. After a season of friendlies, the team moved into the Honor Promotion Division Center. ESS reached the national championship final against the North Champion.

During 1930–1931, the club claimed the regional title and then faced champions from the Southwest and South, earning promotion to the honor division without ever being relegated. On 25 June 1931, an early general meeting elected a new committee led by Ali Laâdhari, with Abdelhamid Baddai as coach. The side won the district championship but lost the national final to Italia after leading 2–0 at halftime.

Rivalries

The Tunisian classico refers to matches between Étoile Sportive du Sahel and other major Tunisian clubs: Espérance Sportive de Tunis, Club Africain, and Club Sportif Sfaxien. Games against US Monastir are considered local derbies due to ESS's relative isolation. The first league meeting with Espérance occurred during the 1944–1945 criterium, ending 0–0. Before independence, the teams met 16 times, with Espérance winning 7, Étoile 5, and 4 draws.

In the post-independence national championship, Espérance has 46 wins, Étoile 38, and 42 draws. In the Tunisian Cup, Espérance leads 12 wins to ESS's 11, with 3 draws. In African competitions, ESS has 5 wins to Espérance's 4 in the CAF Confederation Cup and Champions League, with 3 draws. Against Club Africain in the national championship, Club Africain has 45 wins, ESS 42, with 38 draws.

In the Tunisian Cup, ESS leads 10 wins to 7, with 3 draws. The only Tunisian Super Cup match between them ended in a 5–2 ESS victory. The first league meeting with CS Sfaxien in December 1955 ended 3–1 for Sfaxien.

Infrastructure

The home stadium is the Olympic Stadium of Sousse, a multi-purpose venue inaugurated in 1973. Initially with clay surfaces, it had a capacity of 10,000. An expansion in 1999 raised capacity to 28,000 for the 2001 Mediterranean Games, and the gallery of honor was reorganized from 70 to 217 places. The stadium hosted the 1977 FIFA World Youth Championship, 1994 African Cup of Nations, 2001 Mediterranean Games, and 2004 African Cup of Nations.

The total cost was estimated at 32 million dinars, with contributions from the Municipality of Sousse and the club. During construction, local matches were played at Stade Municipal Bou Ali-Lahouar in Hammam Sousse, which hosted the 1965 African Cup of Nations and seats 6,500; continental matches were played at Stade 7 November in Radès. The expansion finished in late April 2022, and the first game back was on 4 May 2022 against Club Sportif Sfaxien.

The club also has a training center in Sousse with six football fields, a restaurant, a weight room, a 3-star hotel called Star's Sport Residence, and a thalassotherapy center.

Supporters

Several supporter groups provide pre-match and halftime shows, known as dakhla. Brigade Rouge, created in 2001, belongs to the barra brava movement. Other groups include Fanatics (2003), Saheliano (April 2007), Hools Squad and Red Fans (2009), and No Fear (2010). Funding comes from sales of by-products and donations from businessmen and fans.