The club was founded on 5 January 1911 as Qasr El Nile Club and was first headed by the Belgian lawyer George Merzbach. The name was changed two years later to Cairo International Sports Club (C.I.S.C.), which was colloquially referred to as El Qāhirah El Mokhtalat Club, or El Mokhtalat Club. The club was named in 1941 after King Farouk of Egypt and became known as Farouk El Awal Club (). After the 1952 Egyptian revolution, the club changed its name to Zamalek.