Karketu Dili F.C.

Last updated
Karketu Dili
Karketu Dili logo.png
Full nameKarketu Dili Futebol Clube
Founded2015;10 years ago (2015)
Ground Municipal Stadium
Capacity5,000
ChairmanLuis Oliveira
Manager Bernard Taye
League Liga Futebol Timor-Leste
2023Champions

Karketu Dili Futebol Clube is a Timorese professional football club based in Dili, [1] that competes in the Liga Futebol Timor-Leste, the top tier domestic league since its inception in 2016. The club are the current reigning champions of Timor-Leste, winning the league title in 2025. Karketu is also the most successful club in the nation, having won the Premeira Divisão league title a record 4 times, alongside 1 LFA Super Taça. [2]

Contents

The club wins the Premeira Divisão in 2017, finishing with a total of 28 points, 3 above runners up AS Ponte Leste. [3] They also finished runner-up in the competition in both the 2018 Premeira Divisão to champions Boavista. The club have won a record of 4 league titles and 1 LFA Super Taça.

History

2016-2017 Team formation and first title

In the inaugural season of the Liga Futebol Timor-Leste in 2016, Karketu Dili finished in 2nd place. Coached by manager Arcan Iurie, the club finished with an equal record to SLB Laulara, having the both the same record and the same goal difference. They however lost the league title on goals scored, scoring 4 less goals during the season.

In 2017 the club signed up manager Simón Elissetche for the season, alongside 3 foriegn players, including his compatriot Antonio Vega. [4] In this season Karketu won their first Premeira Divisão title finishing with a total of 28 points, 3 above runners up AS Ponte Leste. They also managed to win the LFA Super Taça, beating Taça 12 de Novembro cup winners Atlético Ultramar 4-0. After the 2017 season, Simón Elissetche would leave the team to coach the Timor-Leste national team.

2018-2020 Inconsistent performances

In 2018, following the depature of Simón Elissetche, Karketu resigned their old coach Arcan Iurie. Led by Ghanaian striker Daniel Adadi and Timorese internationals Rufino Gama and Boavida Olegario, the team had a strong start to the season, only losing 1 of their first 10 games. However, they then only achieved 2 points in their last 4 matches, finishing in 2nd place behind champions Boavista.

In 2019, Karketu Dili hired former Persiba Balikpapan coach Haryadi as the team's new manager. Replacing Timorese manager Antonio Timotio after Karketu's slow start to the season, Hayardi stated that his main target is to bring the team to achieve better results. [5] The team however struggled, finishing in 4th place, their lowest ever finish in the league.

In 2020, the Liga Futebol Timor-Leste was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In it's place, the league was replaced by the cup competition, the Copa FFTL. Karketu finished 1st in their 5 team group, progressing to the knockout stages of the competition. They would however lose their quarter final match to Boavista.

2021-2025 Becoming multi-time Timorese champions

In 2021 Karketu would win their 2nd league title, being undefeated in a shortened 6 game season and finishing 3 points ahead of Copa FFTL winners Lalenok United. The league would however not run in 2022, due to further difficulties following the COVID pandemic.

In 2023 with the return of the league, Karketu would defend their previous victory to win their 3rd league title. Heading into the final match of the season Karketu was in 2nd place, 2 points behind league leaders Sport Laulara e Benfica. Both teams were scheduled to play against each other on the final match day, with Karketu requiring a win in order to win the title.

Prior to the match taking place however, SLB raised a dispute with the league due to five of their first team players being unavailable due to being called up to play for Timor-Leste U23 national team at the SEA games. SLB requested that the game either be postponed to a later date, or be allowed to sign replacement players to reinforce their team, however the club claimed to never receive a response to their request from the Liga Futebol Timor-Leste governing body. In retaliation, SLB decided to not show up to the final match of the season against Karketu, leading to the match being forfieted and awarding Karketu Dili the title. [6]

In 2024, the Liga Futebol Timor-Leste again did not run, with it being announced that it would be replaced again by the Copa FFTL. [7] After the competition had been announced however multiple teams were reported as disagreeing with the FFTL's organisation of the tournament, noting that there was a lack of any formal consultation between clubs and the football federation taking place before the competition was announced. Karketu Dili initially showed support to the federation, expressing support in the cup, however later decided to not compete alongside the majority of Premier and Segunda division sides. [8]

In 2025, led by manager Bernard Taye, Karketu won their 4th Primeira division title. The team lost only 1 match across the season, and finished 3 points ahead of 2nd place finisher Emmanual FC, despite Emmanual FC ending the season undefeated.

Competitive record

Competitive records from RSSSF [9]

SeasonCompetitionPldWDLGFGAGDPtsPositionNational Cup:

Taça 12 de Novembro

Super Cup:

LFA Super Taça

2016 Primeira Divisão 145631814+4212nd3rd Round
2017 Primeira Divisão 148424315+28281stFirst RoundWinners
2018 Primeira Divisão 147433216+16252ndQuarter Finals
2019 Primeira Divisão 146262427−3204thRound of 16
2020 Copa FFTL 430172+591st in Group C

Quarter Finals

2021 Primeira Divisão 642062+4141st
2023 Primeira Divisão 8602167+9181st
2025 Primeira Divisão 9621182+16201st

Honours

League

Cup

Former coaches

Former Chairmen

References

  1. ↑ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Karketu Dili (2016)". www.national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  2. ↑ "East Timor - List of Champions". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 2025-09-28.
  3. ↑ "East Timor 2017". RSSSF . Retrieved 2019-07-08.
  4. ↑ "EyN: La historia de los chilenos campeones en Timor Oriental". www.economiaynegocios.cl. Retrieved 2025-09-28.
  5. ↑ "JPNN". www.jpnn.com (in Indonesian). 2019-06-02. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
  6. ↑ News, S. A. P. (2023-04-21). "LFTL La Responde Karta Ba Opsaun Rua Husi SLB, Karketu Fo WO". SAP News TL. Retrieved 2025-09-28.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  7. ↑ "FFTL Cup 2024: A Call to Action for Timor-Leste Football Clubs – FFTL Blog". 2025-07-12. Retrieved 2025-09-28.
  8. ↑ Sanches, Hortencio (2024-03-23). "SLB-Assalam la konkorda FFTL realiza kopa". TATOLI Agência Noticiosa de Timor-Leste. Retrieved 2025-09-28.
  9. ↑ "East Timor 2015/16". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
  10. ↑ "Ini Rencana Eks Pelatih Persita Setelah Juarai Liga Timor Leste". bola.com (in Indonesian). 2017-09-18. Retrieved 2019-07-16.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.