Real Kakamora

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 church-based 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 HFA Rothmans 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 finalized an agreement to form Kakamora Football Club. KAMP’s top young players, such as captain John Wheatley and goalkeeper Patterson 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 narrowly 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 Rothmans 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 popularize the sport in the country and introducing a more modernized 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 David Oli 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 clubs from the National Fiji 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 one. They defeated league champions Ba 5-1 on aggregate over two legs, thrashed both Nadroga and Suva by a score of 7-0,

The precursor club enjoyed a great bit of success in the 1980s, placing as high as third in the Honiara Super League in 1988, in which they beat Uncles FC (now known as Solomon Warriors) 2-0 in the third-place match. During this time, Kakamora became a “household name” in Solomon football, as they were well-regarded for helping introduce a more modernized style of play to their contemporaries, helping the Solomon Islands earn the nickname of “Brazil of the South Pacific.”

The foundation of the Makira-Ulawa Football Association (MUFA) in 1998 by former longtime captain John Wheatley is widely accepted as the official beginning of the football club. Immediately upon the MUFA's founding, the association had absorbed complete control of Kakamora FC's assets and football operations. However, during this period, the club's relegation from the top flight of the Honiara FA League caused them to remain in relative obscurity for the next decade.

Originally founded in January of 1998 as an amateur team, the club has alternated between a dark blue and white kit since its inception.

Real Kakamora remained relatively unknown until 2011, when they joined the Telekom S-League as last-minute replacements for Makuru FC, who had refused to play in the league on religious grounds, and one of the league's eight founding members.

Most notably, Real Kakamora preceded to record two additional seasons without a win. They finished 0-0-22 in the 2023 season, conceding an average of 5.27 goals per match and with a goal difference of -102 despite playing in only 22 matches.

Their season ended with a 14-0 loss to Solomon Warriors, with striker Tigi Molea tallying 10 goals in the match to clinch the league title for the Warriors, the 2nd-highest total in league history.

In 2024, Real Kakamora got their first victory in 2 years against Marist FC. Moreover, in the next match, they beat Kossa FC 2-0, starting a two match win streak, their first since 2021.

Spurred by their unprecedented online success, Kakamora shared their S-League license with the management of Honiara FA League club Green Shield FC, and used their new source of funding to target young, high-potential players, including Waneagu United striker Paul Francis and Central Coast U19 player Gordon Iro, amongst others.

The club's 2024 season resulted in a massive improvement, as Kakamora unexpectedly spent much of the early season leading the championship before ending in third place, their best finish in club history. Kakamora firmly established themselves as one of the most popular clubs in the OFC, and won 130,000 SBD in prize money from the SIFF following the end of the season.