# 2023–24 Ethiopian Premier League

The 2023–24 Ethiopian Premier League (known as the BetKing Ethiopian Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the 25th season of the Ethiopian Premier League, and the 77th season of top-division football in Ethiopia. The season started on 1 October 2023 and ended on 30 June 2024. The league consisted of 16 teams.
CBE were crowned champions for the first time, getting the title in their first attempt after gaining promotion from the 2022–23 Ethiopian Higher League.

## Clubs
### Changes from previous season

| Promoted from 2022–23 Higher League | Relegated to 2023–24 Higher League |
| Commercial Bank of Ethiopia Hambericho Durame Shashemene City | Arba Minch City Legetafo Legedadi Ethio Electric |

## Events

On June 22, Ethiopia Coffee secured its fifth consecutive win, while the Ethiopian Gunners' seven-game winning streak ended. The Gunners made four lineup changes from their previous 2-0 win, substituting Saeed Hassan, Amir Mudesir, Mohammed Aberra, and Jerome Philippe. Ethiopia Coffee made six changes from their 4-0 victory over Wolkite City, including Willemu Alemayehu, Ramquel James, and Wasawa Jeoffrey. Ethiopia Coffee scored first with Abdulkarim finishing a pass from Asrat Tunjo and Mohammednur Nasser. In the second half, Jared Darza equalized for the Gunners after a defensive mistake. The Browns regained the lead in the 68th minute. Coach Gebremedhn Haile mentioned that his team's psychological preparation and tactical errors were issues.
In the evening, International Referee Haile Jesus kicked off the game amidst a lively atmosphere with fans and a marching band. In the 7th minute, Awesome Hagos's shot was saved by goalkeeper Ecclesiastes. The Mets scored unexpectedly in the 14th minute and added a second goal in the 46th minute from a corner kick. In the 52nd minute, Menyulu's brother struck Bola in the box, but Ecclesiastes saved it. Five minutes later, David Mamo's attempt to score was thwarted. In the 65th minute, Berhanu Bekele scored a brilliant goal from outside the box. Coach Forever Shiferawu noted that first-half control was undone by a penalty and a second-half goal. Coach Gebrechrist Birra adjusted his strategy against Sidama Coffee, playing with five defenders and showing confidence in his team's depth.
On June 20, 2024, Fasil Kenema S.C. wom 2-1 to Shashemene ending their unbeaten streak. In Week 28, Shashemenes made four changes from their previous lineup, substituting Ken Saidi, Gegemeh Desalegn, Enoch Delbi, and Winner Tiruneh in place of Abel Mamo, Mentesnot Kebede, Mulugeta Woldegiorgis, and Abdulkadir Nasser. At 9:00 p.m., the Fasil Kenema S.C first against the Eagles. Habib Mohammed, who received a yellow card, was substituted in the 37th minute to avoid a potential red card. The Eagles did not register a shot on target in the first half. In the 76th minute, the Eagles scored from a free kick to take the lead and secure the win.
On June 14, 2024, Dire Dawa City defeated St. George's 1-0 for the first time. Dire Dawa City scored the lone goal in a match of contrasting halves. Dire Dawa made four changes from their Week 26 lineup, substituting Mohammed Abdullatif, Elijah Ahmed, Temesgen Arrived, and Ame Mohammed. The Cavaliers made five changes from their previous game, bringing in Brooke Tareme, Emmanuel Said, David Tefera, and Frimpong. Dire Dawa City had a chance in the 47th minute when Emmanuel Surfu's shot was saved by goalkeeper Bahiru Negash. In the 48th minute, Shahid Mustafa scored from an Ame Mohammed cross. This marked Mustafa's second goal of the season. Despite late efforts by the Cavaliers, including shots by Emmanuel Erbo and Teshome, Dire Dawa City held on for a 1-0 victory. St. George's coach Dereje Tesfaye noted their improved performance in the second half but admitted they didn't play well overall.

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | CBE SA (C, Q) | 30 | 19 | 7 | 4 | 57 | 27 | +30 | 64 | Qualification for CAF Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Defence Force (X) | 30 | 19 | 6 | 5 | 47 | 27 | +20 | 63 | Qualification for Confederation Cup first qualifying round |
| 3 | Ethiopian Coffee | 30 | 14 | 9 | 7 | 51 | 32 | +19 | 51 | |
| 4 | Bahir Dar Kenema | 30 | 13 | 11 | 6 | 36 | 26 | +10 | 50 | |
| 5 | Saint George | 30 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 43 | 26 | +17 | 48 | |
| 6 | Fasil City | 30 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 35 | 30 | +5 | 44 | |
| 7 | Adama City | 30 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 40 | 37 | +3 | 44 | |
| 8 | Hadiya Hossana | 30 | 9 | 14 | 7 | 30 | 25 | +5 | 41 | |
| 9 | Hawassa City | 30 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 42 | 46 | −4 | 41 | |
| 10 | Ethiopian Insurance | 30 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 37 | 34 | +3 | 40 | |
| 11 | Sidama Coffee | 30 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 30 | 31 | −1 | 40 | |
| 12 | Dire Dawa City | 30 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 32 | 38 | −6 | 40 | |
| 13 | Wolaitta Dicha | 30 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 25 | 35 | −10 | 34 | |
| 14 | Wolkite City (R) | 30 | 5 | 8 | 17 | 15 | 41 | −26 | 23 | Relegation to Higher League |
| 15 | Shashemene City (R) | 30 | 3 | 8 | 19 | 22 | 42 | −20 | 17 | Relegation to Higher League |
| 16 | Hambericho Durame (R) | 30 | 1 | 6 | 23 | 12 | 57 | −45 | 9 | Relegation to Higher League |

## Results

| Home \ Away | ADC | BDC | CBE | DDC | ETC | ETI | FSC | HAD | HAM | HWC | MEC | STG | SHC | SDC | WLD | WKC |
| Adama City | | 2–3 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 |
| Bahir Dar City | 1–2 | | 1–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 |
| Commercial Bank of Ethiopia | 4–1 | 2–2 | | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 5–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 |
| Dire Dawa City | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–3 | | 0–1 | 0–5 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Ethiopian Coffee | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 6–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 |
| Ethiopian Insurance | 4–1 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 |
| Fasil City | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–4 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 |
| Hadiya Hossana | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 |
| Hamberico Durame | 0–3 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 0–0 | | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 |
| Hawassa City | 0–5 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 | | 2–3 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 |
| Mechal | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 2–1 | | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 |
| Saint George | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 |
| Shashemene City | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | | 1–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| Sidama Coffee | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 1–0 | | 2–1 | 0–0 |
| Wolaitta Dicha | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–5 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–4 | | 2–1 |
| Wolkite City | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–4 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | |

## Attendances

| # | Football club | Average attendance |
| 1 | Ethiopian Coffee | 4,036 |
| 2 | St. George | 2,795 |
| 3 | Dire Dawa City | 870 |
| 4 | Hawassa City | 667 |
| 5 | Sidama Coffee | 590 |
| 6 | Ethiopian Insurance | 404 |
| 7 | Wolaitta Dicha | 364 |
| 8 | Adama City | 317 |
| 9 | Hadiya Hossana | 282 |
| 10 | Fasil City | 243 |
| 11 | Shashemene City | 240 |
| 12 | CBE SA | 234 |
| 13 | Hambericho Durame | 229 |
| 14 | Wolkite City | 170 |
| 15 | Bahir Dar City | 140 |
| 16 | Defence Force | 139 |