Real Kakamora Football Club, commonly referred to colloquially as Real Kaks or simply RK, is a professional Solomon Islands football club based in the province of Makira-Ulawa, and play their matches in Honiara. The club last competed in the Telekom S-League, the top flight of football in the Solomon Islands.
Founded in 1969, Kakamora are considered to be the oldest continuously-operating football club in the country, dominating in their early years by winning nine league titles in the then-top-flight Honiara FA League. In 2011, they were one of the eight founding members of the S-League's inaugural season, being selected as last-second replacements after the ownership of Makuru objected to playing in the league on religious grounds.
Since joining the competition, Kakamora's performance has greatly fluctuated depending on their financial condition, recording four top-half finishes but also failing to record a single win in the 2010/11, 2019/20, and 2023 seasons. Despite their newfound popularity and having achieved their best-ever league finish in 2024, the club had their license renewal application denied by the league board without clear explanation, preventing them from playing again until 2028. They share a rivalry with Honiara side Solomon Warriors, who now also are on hiatus as of date.
After failing to win or draw a single match in 2023 while facing significant financial uncertainty, Kakamora launched a social media presence and quickly rose to popularity by drawing attention to the club's story on Instagram. They have since cultivated an international fanbase, becoming one of the most popular clubs in the Oceania Football Confederation after a third-place finish the following season. Their efforts are widely credited with helping provide worldwide interest to football in Solomon Islands and Oceania in general.
History Founding and early success (1969-1997)
Real Kakamora's origins go back to when football was introduced to Makira-Ulawa by the officials and missionaries of the Church of Melanesia as part of physical education programs. By the 1950s and 60s, the sport had become incredibly popular within the province, prompting missionary C.E. Fox to found his own club, which he named Flying Fox FC. Like many clubs at the time, they began competing in the top division of the recently-created Honiara FA League, which at the time served as the premier football competition in the Solomon Islands.
In 1968, KAMP United, a club composed of former students from prominent Honiara secondary schools, won the Rothmans HFA Cup, an FA Cup-like competition featuring clubs of all divisions from the Honiara FA League. Following their victory and the conclusion of the league season, members of both Flying Fox and KAMP United approached each other regarding a potential merger of the two sides, and before the start of the 1969 season, Fox finalised an agreement to form Kakamora Football Club. KAMP’s top young players, such as captain John Wheatley and goalkeeper Patteson Seda, joined Kakamora as a result of the merger.
In their very first season, Kakamora topped the Honiara FA League table to win their first title. After missing out on retaining it the following year, Kakamora proceeded to embark on a run of unprecedented dominance, capturing six consecutive league titles from 1971 to 1976. Despite failing to secure a seventh in 1977, they managed to win the HFA Cup, defeating Sunbeam 5-3 in the final. During this time, Kakamora and its players became “household names” in Solomon football, as they were well-regarded for helping popularise the sport in the country and introducing a more modernised style of play to their contemporaries, helping the Solomon Islands earn the nickname of “Brazil of the South Pacific”. Wheatley was named as captain of the national team, while Seda served as its goalkeeper. Other young Kakamora stars, such as Wilson Maelaua, Henry Suri, Nelson Boso, and Donald Bennett also became key contributors for the national team during this period, and were integral to Kakamora's success during the decade.
Kakamora returned to winning form in 1978 and 1979, capturing two more league titles, having won nine out of possible eleven league titles since their inception. Following their league triumph in 1979, Kakamora embarked on a tour of Fiji in August to play against top district sides from the Fiji National League ahead of the South Pacific Games, which were set to be hosted in Suva later that month. In their first matches against international competition, Kakamora largely dominated their Fijian opposition, winning every match but two. They defeated league champions Ba 5-1 on aggregate over two legs, thrashed Nadroga by a score of 7-0, and scored four goals each in victories against Suva, Nadi, and Lautoka. They drew with second-division Tavua 0-0 after an impressive goalkeeping performance, and suffered their only defeat in a narrow 2-1 contest against Labasa.
However, by the start of the 1980s, the rise of clubs such as Honiara Rangers and Sunbeam had loosened Kakamora's grip on the Honiara League. With star players such as Maelaua departing to Australian side Grange Thistle, the team were no longer able to control play as they had the previous decade. Despite their diminished success, Kakamora remained a consistent presence in the competition, placing third in 1985 and 1988, defeating Uncles FC (now known as Solomon Warriors) to win the third-place match in the latter year.
In their first opportunity to win a league title in 15 years, Kakamora suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat to Honiara Police in the 1994 HFA Grand Final. After a fourth-place finish in 1996, the club began to experience difficulties, and were relegated to the second tier for the first time in their history after an underwhelming campaign the following season.
Decline and fall to the third tier (1998–2010) Following Kakamora’s relegation, longtime former captain John Wheatley founded the Makira-Ulawa Football Association (MUFA) in 1998, which was responsible for managing and developing the growth of football in the province. The MUFA also established a Makira-Ulawa provincial football team to play in Solomon Cup competitions, which was originally named Real Kakamora to differentiate themselves from the league club. However, the MUFA had no involvement in Kakamora’s football operations during this time.
The team was relegated again to the third division by the start of the 2006 season, and had fared poorly in their few matches against top-division clubs in cup matches, notably losing 9-0 to Marist Fire in the group stage of the 2003 HFA Cup. They performed slightly better under the cup's new format in 2005, but failed to make it to the tournament's second stage. In 2009, the MUFA launched an alternate side named Sokamora, who were composed entirely of Makiran-born players. Sokamora and Kakamora both competed in the third division.
During this time, Kakamora were operated and managed by club legend Wilson Maelaua. Following the announcement from the Solomon Islands Football Federation that a new top-flight national league would be created next season, former MUFA president and current Hekari United assistant coach Tommy Mana approached Maelaua about the provincial federation taking control of the club in order to apply for the new league. Maelaua agreed, and by the start of 2011, the MUFA had become the primary owners of Kakamora. After the end of the 2010 FIFA Club World Cup, Mana left his position at Hekari and was subsequently re-elected as president of the association.
The S-League era (2011–2024) The team applied to play in the Telekom S-League in late 2010, but were initially not selected as one of the league's eight founding members in January. Joining two other Honiara-based clubs in a reserve list, Kakamora were only picked in an emergency board meeting as last-minute replacements for Makuru FC, being chosen due to the league's stated objectives of including more clubs based in other provinces. Makuru, whose owners were devout Seventh-day Adventists, were removed by way of improper conduct after refusing to play on Saturdays under any circumstances and threatening to boycott their fixtures in a press statement. The team was rebranded to Real Kakamora in accordance with the name of the provincial team to reflect the club's ownership under the MUFA.
Despite just being re-elected as MUFA president, Mana was appointed as the team's interim coach. Kakamora were forced to assemble a squad within 24 hours in order to be ready to play for the league's first-ever match, which was scheduled for the next afternoon against Malaita Kingz. They struggled in their inaugural campaign as a result, losing their first seven matches. Despite the mid-season transfer of former Hekari defender Cyril Muta from Papua New Guinea side Eastern Stars, Kakamora failed to secure a single win all season, finishing in last place with 2 draws and 12 losses. They then proceeded to exit the post-season S-League Knockout Championship in the first round after losing to league winners Koloale 8-2 on aggregate.
Kakamora's second season in the league saw the club completely overhaul its coaching staff, appointing Peter Konata as the team's first permanent head coach while hiring assistant Sam Wa'aria and tactical analyst Barnabas Loloito to serve alongside him. Aided by the signings of Makiran strikers Nicholas Muri and Johan Doiwale in addition to a breakout campaign from midfielder Paul Hiri, the much-improved squad finished in fourth with seven wins, including a surprise 3-2 victory over defending champions Koloale on 7 December. In August, they narrowly missed out on qualifying for the 2012–13 OFC Champions League through the Knockout Championship, losing to Western United in the semi-finals and defeating Kossa 6-0 in the third-place match.
However, they failed to replicate their success in 2013/14, finishing in last place. In their final match of the season, Kakamora suffered a league record 11-0 defeat to X-Beam, prompting the club to sack Konata and promote assistant coach Wa'aria as his successor. Under Wa'aria, Kakamora returned to strong form in the 2014/15 S-League. They finished the season in fourth place again with seven victories, led by the performances of Hiri and newly-signed striker Tony Otini. They defeated Kossa to reach the semi-finals of the Knockout Championship once again in March but ultimately lost across two legs to Solomon Warriors, ending their 2014–15 OFC Champions League qualification hopes.
The club's next few seasons were defined by coaching upheaval and financial uncertainty. Two matches into the 2015/16 season, Wa'aria unexpectedly stepped down as Kakamora's head coach, citing a desire to take time off from football duties. Former Solomon Islands international Eddie Rukumana was chosen as his replacement. With multiple players departing the squad in the off-season, they finished in seventh place out of nine clubs. After the club only won two of its first eight matches in 2016/17, Rukumana was sacked at the mid-season break as Barnabas Loloito was selected as caretaker for the remainder of the year. Despite minor improvements, Kakamora remained in seventh place. The club confirmed Loloito would not return as head coach after a 4-1 loss to champions Marist on the final matchday, with Hiri scoring Kakamora’s lone goal in the defeat.