Elijah Lidonde
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | November 1927 | ||
| Place of birth | Kakamega, Kenya | ||
| Date of death | September 1987 (aged 59) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Nakuru | |||
| –1952 | Idakho Location | ||
| North Nyanza | |||
| International career | |||
| 1949–1961 | Kenya | 26 | (33) |
| Managerial career | |||
| Abaluhya Léopards | |||
| 1967 | Kenya | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Elijah Lidonde (November 1927–September 1987) is a Kenyan former footballer. He was capped 26 times for the Kenya national football team between 1949 and 1961, scoring 33 goals.[1]
Career
Born in November 1927 in Kakamega, Kenya, Lidonde was raised in the village of Sikokho.[2] Educated at the Kakamega School, he began working at the Nakuru County Council in 1948, also starting his football career in the city.[2] He was first called up to the Kenya national football team for the first time the following year, representing the nation at the Gossage Cup.[2] In 1953 he won the Gossage Cup for the first time, scoring a hattrick in the final as Kenya beat Uganda 6–2.[2]
He served as a community development assistant at the Jeanes School and in 1952 moved to North Nyanza to work as the district's first sports supervisor.[2] Before the move he had played for Idakho Location, and while in North Nyanza he represented the local football team, winning the Remington Cup on a number of occasions.[2]
Following his retirement as a player, he served as chairman of the Nairobi Open Soccer League.[2] Having helped to form the club in 1964, he was the first coach of Abaluhya Léopards, winning the title in 1966 and 1967 and helping the side to the semi-finals of the 1968 African Cup of Champions Clubs.[2] In 1966 he studied football coaching at Loughborough University in England for six months, before returning to Kenya and being named manager of the national team, winning the 1967 East African Challenge Cup.[2]
Personal life and death
Lidonde also represented Kenya at shot put, throwing 39 ft 1 inch at an international athletics meeting in Ndola, Zambia.[2]
His son, Wellington "Tony" Lidonde, was also a footballer.[2] Another son, Armstrong, went on to be a pastor in the United States.[3]
Lidonde died in September 1987, following a long-term illness.[2]
Career statistics
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya | 1950 | 3 | 2 |
| 1951 | 2 | 2 | |
| 1952 | 2 | 5 | |
| 1953 | 2 | 4 | |
| 1954 | 3 | 3 | |
| 1955 | 2 | 4 | |
| 1956 | 2 | 2 | |
| 1957 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1958 | 3 | 2 | |
| 1959 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1960 | 3 | 6 | |
| 1961 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 26 | 33 | |
International goals
- Scores and results list Kenya's goal tally first.
| No | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 11 October 1950 | Nairobi, Kenya | Uganda | ?–? | 3–1 | Gossage Cup |
| 2. | ?–? | |||||
| 3. | 25 September 1951 | Dar-es-Salaam, Tanganyika | ?–? | 2–1 | ||
| 4. | 29 September 1951 | Tanganyika | ?–? | 2–3 | ||
| 5. | 24 September 1952 | Kampala, Uganda | Zanzibar | ?–? | 7–1 | |
| 6. | ?–? | |||||
| 7. | ?–? | |||||
| 8. | 27 September 1952 | Uganda | ?–? | 3–6 | ||
| 9. | ?–? | |||||
| 10. | 30 September 1953 | Tanganyika | ?–? | 7–1 | ||
| 11. | ?–? | |||||
| 12. | 3 October 1953 | Nairobi, Kenya | Uganda | ?–? | 6–2 | |
| 13. | ?–? | |||||
| 14. | 5 October 1954 | Zanzibar | ?–0 | 5–0 | ||
| 15. | ?–0 | |||||
| 16. | 9 October 1954 | Uganda | ?–? | 2–2 | ||
| 17. | 13 October 1955 | Dar-es-Salaam, Tanganyika | Zanzibar | ?–0 | 8–0 | |
| 18. | ?–0 | |||||
| 19. | ?–0 | |||||
| 20. | ?–0 | |||||
| 21. | 27 November 1956 | Kampala, Uganda | Tanganyika | ?–0 | 9–0 | |
| 22. | ?–0 | |||||
| 23. | 4 September 1957 | Zanzibar City, Zanzibar | Zanzibar | ?–? | 5–1 | |
| 24. | ?–? | |||||
| 25. | ?–? | |||||
| 26. | 8 October 1958 | Nairobi, Kenya | ?–0 | 4–0 | ||
| 27. | ?–0 | |||||
| 28. | 10 October 1960 | Kampala, Uganda | ?–? | 4–1 | ||
| 29. | ?–? | |||||
| 30. | 12 October 1960 | Tanganyika | ?–0 | 5–0 | ||
| 31. | ?–0 | |||||
| 32. | ?–0 | |||||
| 33. | 15 October 1960 | Uganda | ?–? | 1–1 |
References
- ^ "Elijah Lidonde – Goals in International Matches". RSSSF. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Wepukhulu, Hezekiah (22 September 1987). "Remembering Elijah Lidonde — a soccer legend". Kenya Times. Retrieved 3 January 2026.
- ^ "From a Village Boy in Ikolomani to a U.S. Pastor: The Remarkable Journey of Armstrong Lidonde". Shahidi TV. 22 February 2025. Retrieved 3 January 2026.