Elijah Lidonde


Elijah Lidonde is a Kenyan former footballer. He was capped 26 times for the Kenya national football team between 1949 and 1961, scoring 33 goals.

Career

Born in November 1927 in Kakamega, Kenya, Lidonde was raised in the village of Sikokho. Educated at the Kakamega School, he began working at the Nakuru County Council in 1948, also starting his football career in the city. 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. In 1953 he won the Gossage Cup for the first time, scoring a hattrick in the final as Kenya beat Uganda 6–2.
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. 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.
Following his retirement as a player, he served as chairman of the Nairobi Open Soccer League. 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. 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.

Personal life and death

Lidonde also represented Kenya at shot put, throwing 39 ft 1 inch at an international athletics meeting in Ndola, Zambia.
His son, Wellington "Tony" Lidonde, was also a footballer. Another son, Armstrong, went on to be a pastor in the United States.
Lidonde died in September 1987, following a long-term illness.

Career statistics

International

International goals

NoDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.11 October 1950Nairobi, Kenya?–?3–1Gossage Cup
2.11 October 1950Nairobi, Kenya?–?3–1Gossage Cup
3.25 September 1951Dar-es-Salaam, Tanganyika?–?2–1Gossage Cup
4.29 September 1951Dar-es-Salaam, Tanganyika?–?2–3Gossage Cup
5.24 September 1952Kampala, Uganda?–?7–1Gossage Cup
6.24 September 1952Kampala, Uganda?–?7–1Gossage Cup
7.24 September 1952Kampala, Uganda?–?7–1Gossage Cup
8.27 September 1952Kampala, Uganda?–?3–6Gossage Cup
9.27 September 1952Kampala, Uganda?–?3–6Gossage Cup
10.30 September 1953Kampala, Uganda?–?7–1Gossage Cup
11.30 September 1953Kampala, Uganda?–?7–1Gossage Cup
12.3 October 1953Nairobi, Kenya?–?6–2Gossage Cup
13.3 October 1953Nairobi, Kenya?–?6–2Gossage Cup
14.5 October 1954Nairobi, Kenya?–05–0Gossage Cup
15.5 October 1954Nairobi, Kenya?–05–0Gossage Cup
16.9 October 1954Nairobi, Kenya?–?2–2Gossage Cup
17.13 October 1955Dar-es-Salaam, Tanganyika?–08–0Gossage Cup
18.13 October 1955Dar-es-Salaam, Tanganyika?–08–0Gossage Cup
19.13 October 1955Dar-es-Salaam, Tanganyika?–08–0Gossage Cup
20.13 October 1955Dar-es-Salaam, Tanganyika?–08–0Gossage Cup
21.27 November 1956Kampala, Uganda?–09–0Gossage Cup
22.27 November 1956Kampala, Uganda?–09–0Gossage Cup
23.4 September 1957Zanzibar City, Zanzibar?–?5–1Gossage Cup
24.4 September 1957Zanzibar City, Zanzibar?–?5–1Gossage Cup
25.4 September 1957Zanzibar City, Zanzibar?–?5–1Gossage Cup
26.8 October 1958Nairobi, Kenya?–04–0Gossage Cup
27.8 October 1958Nairobi, Kenya?–04–0Gossage Cup
28.10 October 1960Kampala, Uganda?–?4–1Gossage Cup
29.10 October 1960Kampala, Uganda?–?4–1Gossage Cup
30.12 October 1960Kampala, Uganda?–05–0Gossage Cup
31.12 October 1960Kampala, Uganda?–05–0Gossage Cup
32.12 October 1960Kampala, Uganda?–05–0Gossage Cup
33.15 October 1960Kampala, Uganda?–?1–1Gossage Cup