For younger followers of Zambian football, City of Lusaka may be better remembered as a historic Lusaka club that has spent much of the modern era outside the Super League. But City Yamoto have a much bigger place in Zambian football history than many realise — they were once champions of Zambia.
City of Lusaka won the national league championship in 1964, finishing ahead of Roan United to claim what remains the club’s only top-flight league title.
The achievement came during the formative years of Zambia’s national football league. Roan United had won the inaugural championship in 1962 before Mufulira Wanderers took the crown in 1963. City of Lusaka then interrupted the early dominance of the Copperbelt clubs by becoming champions in 1964.
That makes City Yamoto an important name on the list of Zambia’s league champions alongside clubs that would later become giants of the domestic game.
One of Zambia’s Oldest Football Clubs
City of Lusaka Football Club traces its history to the mid-1930s, making it one of the country’s oldest football clubs.
The club is based in Woodlands, Lusaka and is popularly known as City Yamoto.
Its home is Woodlands Stadium, now also known as REIZ Arena. The historic ground has a capacity of approximately 10,000 spectators and remains closely associated with the identity of City of Lusaka.
The club traditionally plays in black and white.
City Yamoto’s Super League History
Although City of Lusaka have struggled to reproduce the success of their 1964 championship-winning generation, the club has made several returns to Zambia’s top flight.
City Yamoto competed in the Premier League during the 2002–03 season and again between 2007 and 2010.
Another major moment arrived in 2016 when City of Lusaka earned promotion, returning to the Super League for the 2017 season after several years outside the country’s highest division.
Their history therefore stretches far beyond their recent battles in Zambia’s lower divisions.
City of Lusaka Club Profile
Full name: City of Lusaka Football Club
Nickname: City Yamoto
Founded: Mid-1930s
Based: Lusaka, Zambia
Home ground: Woodlands Stadium / REIZ Arena
Stadium capacity: Approximately 10,000
Club colours: Black and white
Zambian League champions: 1964
City of Lusaka’s 1964 championship may now be more than six decades old, but it gives City Yamoto something many Zambian clubs can never claim: their name is permanently written among the champions of Zambia.
