page_title: Ligi Ndogo S.C.
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Ligi Ndogo S.C. / History
caption_attribution_description: English: The first Ligi Ndogo team to the Umbro Cup at State house Nairobi,2005
context_page_description: Ligi Ndogo Soccer Club is a football club and youth academy based in Nairobi, Kenya. The senior team currently competes in the National Super League, the second tier of the Kenyan football league system. The club's name is Swahili for "little league".
  The club's youth academy was founded by current chairman Chris Amimo and Karani Nyamu in February 2002, and in 2005, the first senior team was formed and has played at Ligi Ndogo Grounds along Ngong Road since then. The team briefly used the Nairobi City Stadium in 2012 for its home games while their Ngong Road grounds were undergoing renovations.
context_section_description: The senior football team was formed in 2005 with the initiative of current academy director and former senior team coach, Ibrahim Mbikalo, and club chairman Chris Amimo at the insistence of players Karim Rersa, Mohamed Junaid and Azim Butt. On arrival from a tour of the United Kingdom, the team members found themselves overage and with no category to fill in since the youth academy could only accommodate those below fourteen years of age. Under the guidance of Mbikalo, Ligi Ndogo gained their first honours by winning the Private Secondary Schools' League in 2005. They played in the Kiko Cup towards the end of the year, crashing out through a 3–2 loss to Kibera Combined on spot kicks. The team entered the second division of the Nationwide League in 2006, afterwards gaining promotion to the first division. The original team that was formed during the 2005 season included Junaid, Rersa, Butt and several other players. Genk forward Ayub Masika and former Tusker striker Jesse Were both featured for the team briefly. In its effort to pool talent, the team began to bring in non-academy players in 2006.
  In the Nationwide League Second Division, the team went unbeaten in their first season, winning 20 matches without a loss to gain promotion to the First Division. During the course of the season, the team played several tournaments, most notably the Odiso Cup, in which they reached the semi-finals against Toito.
  Ligi Ndogo claimed their first major honour when they won the Anti-Corruption Cup in 2009, beating Kariobangi Sharks 1–0 in the final at the Nairobi Technical Institute, and in 2010, the team played in the KFF Nationwide League, finishing second behind Dandora Youth. The following season, they again finished second, this time behind Muhoroni Youth, who were promoted to the Premier League under controversial circumstances. Former Kenya Football Federation chairman Mohammed Hatimy termed their promotion as "unconstitutional".
  In 2012, Ligi Ndogo began competing in the newly formed FKF Division One. On 24 May, head coach Ibrahim Mbikalo stepped down to coach the club's under-15, under-16 and under-17 sides, and was replaced by Michael Kamure. Kamure won his first match with the club, as Ligi Ndogo beat Iron Strikers 3–2 away from home on 19 May 2012. The team went on to win 9 more matches that season, culminating in a sixth-place finish, 22 points behind leaders Bandari. The following season, Kamure led Ligi Ndogo to 5 more wins before leaving in September 2013. Bernard Ndichu, his temporary replacement, helped the team finish fourth in the Zone A (Group 1) table, and thus gained promotion to the newly formed National Super League. Former Nairobi City Stars coach Oliver Page, who had joined the club in 2011 as a technical advisor at the academy, took over the senior team in 2014. His first match in charge ended in a 1–1 draw at home against Kariobangi Sharks.
caption: Ligi Ndogo players with former President Mwai Kibaki at State House in 2005
exif: {}