2019–20 Lebanese Premier League

The 2019–20 Lebanese Premier League was the 60th season of the Lebanese Premier League, the top Lebanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1934.

Lebanese Premier League
Season2019–20
Dates20 September 2019 – 17 October 2019
ChampionsNone

Ahed were the three-time defending champions.[1] Bourj and Shabab Bourj joined as the promoted clubs from the 2018–19 Lebanese Premier League. They replaced Bekaa and Racing, who were relegated to the 2019–20 Lebanese Second Division.

On 21 January 2020, the LFA decided to suspend all football leagues until further notice, and cancelled the three match days that were previously played (the last one being on 17 October 2019). The season was officially cancelled on 28 May 2020.

Summary

Starting from the 2019–20 season, all teams in the Lebanese Premier League and Lebanese Second Division had to involve a certain number of under-22 players in the both the league and the Lebanese FA Cup, with a minimum of 1,000 minutes for one player, a minimum of 1,500 aggregate minutes for two players and a minimum of 2,000 aggregate minutes for three players. In case a club were to not meet the required number of minutes at the end of the season, they would have had three points deducted from their total in the league.[2]

On 30 July 2019, the Lebanese Football Association announced a three-year deal with German sportswear company Jako for €120,000, with the Jako Match 2.0 becoming the league's official match ball starting from the 2019–20 season.[3]

Due to political and financial issues in the country, on 21 January 2020, the LFA decided to suspend all football leagues until further notice, and cancelled the three match days that were previously played (the last one being on 17 October 2019).[4] With the COVID-19 pandemic also stopping sporting activities globally, the season was officially cancelled on 28 May 2020.[5]

Teams
See also: List of football clubs in Lebanon

Twelve teams were due to compete in the league – the top ten teams from the previous season and the two teams promoted from the Second Division. The promoted teams were Bourj (returning to the top flight after a 16-year absence) and Shabab Bourj (promoted for the first time in their history).[6][7] They replaced Bekaa and Racing, ending their top flight spells of five and eleven years respectively.[8][9]

Stadiums and locations
Locations of the 2019–20 Lebanese Premier League teams
Beirut Lebanese Premier League clubs

Prior to the start of each season, every team chooses two stadiums as their home venues. In case both stadiums are unavailable for a certain matchday, another venue is used.

Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.
Team Location Stadium Capacity
Ahed Beirut (Ouzai) Ahed Stadium[lower-alpha 1] 2,000
Akhaa Ahli Aley Aley Amin AbdelNour Stadium 3,500
Ansar Beirut (Tariq El Jdideh) Ansar Stadium[lower-alpha 1] N/A
Bourj Beirut (Bourj el-Barajneh) Bourj el-Barajneh Stadium[lower-alpha 1] 1,500
Chabab Ghazieh Ghazieh Kfarjoz Stadium 2,000
Nejmeh Beirut (Ras Beirut) Rafic El-Hariri Stadium[lower-alpha 1] 5,000
Safa Beirut (Wata El-Museitbeh) Safa Stadium[lower-alpha 1] 4,000
Salam Zgharta Zgharta Zgharta Sports Complex 5,000
Shabab Bourj Beirut (Bourj el-Barajneh) Bourj el-Barajneh Stadium[lower-alpha 1] 1,500
Shabab Sahel Beirut (Haret Hreik) Shabab Al Sahel Stadium[lower-alpha 1] N/A
Tadamon Sour Tyre Sour Municipal Stadium 6,500
Tripoli Tripoli Tripoli Municipal Stadium 22,000

Personnel and kits
Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor(s)
Ahed Bassem Marmar Haytham Faour 14Fourteen ORCA Limited
Akhaa Ahli Aley Abdul-Wahab Abu Al-Hail Mohamad Abou Atik Jako N/A
Ansar Nizar Mahrous Mootaz Jounaidi 14Fourteen Green Glory
Bourj Mohamad Dakka Walid Ismail Jako Hareb Chiken / Home Depot of Lebanon
Chabab Ghazieh Hassan Hassoun Ali Leila P4 N/A
Nejmeh Mohamed Abdel Azim Ali Hamam Capelli Sport alfa / Nexen Tire
Safa Robert Jaspert Mohamed Zein Tahan Jako N/A
Salam Zgharta Ahmed Kadhim Jean Jaques Yammine Capelli Sport SGBL
Shabab Bourj Ibrahim Itani Alaa Hamieh 14Fourteen Al Aman Trust Insurance / Lancaster Hotels & Suites
Shabab Sahel Mahmoud Hammoud Zoheir Abdallah Jako XGLOBAL Markets / Sahel General Hospital
Tadamon Sour Mohamad Zoheir Bilal Hajjo 14Fourteen Credit Libanais
Tripoli Ahmad Hafez Ahmad Moghrabi Joma Azm & Saade Association

Foreign players

Lebanese clubs are allowed to have three foreign players at their disposal at any time, as well as one extra Palestinian player born in Lebanon.[10] Moreover, each club competing in an AFC competition is allowed to field one extra foreign player, to be only played in continental matches, as the AFC allows four foreign players to play in the starting eleven (one of whom from an AFC country).[11]

  • Players in bold have been registered during the mid-season transfer window.
  • Players in italics have left the club during the mid-season transfer window,.
Team Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Palestinian player AFC Cup player Former players
Ahed Ahmad Al Salih Issah Yakubu Ahmed Akaïchi —
Akhaa Ahli Aley Carlos Lomba Carlos Alberto Christopher Munthali Mohamad Abou Atik — —
Ansar El Hadji Malick Tall Houssem Louati Aboubacar Leo Camara —
Bourj Stephen Sarfo Malik Ismaila Antiri Thiago Amaral Mohamad Kassem — —
Chabab Ghazieh Stephen Essaw Kennedy Koranteng Ernest Barfo — —
Nejmeh Idrissa Niang Mourad Hedhli Issaka Abudu Diarra — —
Safa Fallou Sarr El Hadji Abdou Karim Samb Amady Diop — —
Salam Zgharta Vinícius Calamari Cosmos Dauda Mostafa Sall Ali Hamam — —
Shabab Bourj Lorougnon Christ Remi Sadick Adams Agostinho Cá — —
Shabab Sahel Bakary Coulibaly Abdou Aziz Ndiaye Daouda Guèye Diémé — —
Tadamon Sour Kofi Yeboah Abdul Basit Musa Kabiru — —
Tripoli Mamadou Sylla Issouf Ouattara Hael Al Badri Ahmad Yassine — —

League table at abandonment
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Ansar 3 2 0 1 7 3 +4 6 Qualification for AFC Cup group stage
2 Bourj 2 2 0 0 3 0 +3 6
3 Nejmeh 2 2 0 0 3 1 +2 6
4 Shabab Sahel 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 4
5 Akhaa Ahli Aley 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4
6 Safa 3 1 1 1 3 4 −1 4
7 Ahed 1 1 0 0 3 1 +2 3
8 Salam Zgharta 2 1 0 1 2 2 0 3
9 Tripoli 2 1 0 1 2 3 −1 3
10 Shabab Bourj 3 1 0 2 3 5 −2 3
11 Tadamon Sour 3 0 1 2 2 4 −2 1 Relegation to Lebanese Second Division
12 Chabab Ghazieh 3 0 0 3 2 7 −5 0
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Goal difference; 5) Goals scored; 6) Draw.

Notes
  1. Only used as a training ground.
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References
  1. الميادين, شبكة (7 April 2019). "نادي العهد... قصة طموح ومثابرة نحو المجد". شبكة الميادين (in Arabic). Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  2. "Circular No. 2019/38". Lebanese Football Association. 17 July 2019.
  3. "توقيع عقد رعاية JAKO للدوري اللبناني لكرة القدم". football-lebanon.com. 30 July 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  4. "القرار المرّ: نشاط الفوتبول معلّق حتى إشعار آخر". الأخبار (in Arabic). Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  5. "رسميا.. إلغاء الموسم الكروي في لبنان". كووورة. 28 May 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  6. "«زعيم الضاحية» يعود". lebanonfg.com. Archived from the original on 8 April 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  7. "شباب البرج يتأهل لأول مرة في تاريخه إلى دوري الأضواء". كووورة. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  8. للإعلام, الوكالة الوطنية. "بطولة كرة القدم: البقاع إلى الدرجة الثانية ومعركة مفتوحة على هوية ثاني الهابطين". الوكالة الوطنية للإعلام (in Arabic). Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  9. للإعلام, الوكالة الوطنية. "هبوط الراسينغ بيروت الى الدرجة الثانية والأنصار يقترب من مركز الوصيف". الوكالة الوطنية للإعلام (in Arabic). Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  10. "2018/2019 Lebanese Premier League Squads confirmed". FA Lebanon. 21 September 2018. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  11. Gineprini, Nicholas (20 March 2019). "Is a limit on foreign players, a limit for the development of Asian Football?". Calcio8Cina. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
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