Lebanese Premier League

The Lebanese Premier League (Arabic: الدوري اللبناني الممتاز‎) is the top division of the Lebanese football league system. There are 12 teams competing in the league, which operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Lebanese Second Division.

Lebanese Premier League

Organising body	Lebanese Football Association (LFA)
Founded	May 1934 (May 1934)
Country	Lebanon
Confederation	AFC
Number of teams	12
Level on pyramid	1
Relegation to	Lebanese Second Division
Domestic cup(s)	Lebanese FA Cup Lebanese Super Cup
League cup(s)	Lebanese Elite Cup Lebanese Challenge Cup
International cup(s)	AFC Champions League AFC Cup
Current champions	Ahed (7th title) (2018–19)
Most championships	Ansar (13 titles)
Top goalscorer	Vartan Ghazarian[lower-alpha 1] Fadi Alloush (118)
TV partners	MTV Lebanon (TV broadcasting) Mycujoo (Online streaming)
Website	lebanesefootballassociation.com
2020–21 Lebanese Premier League

The league's first season began in May 1934, with Nahda winning the first title. The most successful club in the league is Ansar, with 13 league titles. They have set a Guinness World Record by winning 11 consecutive league titles between 1988 and 1999, a record that has since been surpassed. Seasons run from September to April with each team playing 22 games (playing all 11 other teams both home and away). Most games are played on Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

History

Nahda holding the Lebanese Premier League cup in the 1940s.

On 22 March 1933, representatives of 13 football clubs gathered in the Minet El Hosn district in Beirut to form the Lebanese Football Association (LFA).[1][2] Hussein Sejaan was the LFA's first president.[3] It joined FIFA in 1935 and the AFC in 1964.[4][5] The Lebanese Premier League began on May 1934 as the Edmond Rubeiz Cup, in honour of Nahda player Edmon Rubeiz who died of typhoid the previous year.[6] The competition was held in a knockout format, with Nahda beating Sika 7–1 in the final to win the inaugural competition.[6][7]

Most clubs were formed on the basis of sectarianism, such as Sagesse being a Christian club and Ansar having a Sunni fanbase.[8][9] Nahda, AUB, and Sika shared the titles during the first decade of the league.[7] Between the 1940s and 1960s Armenian clubs, mainly Homenetmen and Homenmen, were the most prominent in the Lebanese footballing scene.[8] The two clubs shared 11 titles in 16 seasons between 1943 and 1969.[7]

Following a 12-year interruption of the league due to the Lebanese Civil War, Ansar dominated the league winning 11 consecutive league titles between 1988 and 1999.[7] They set a Guinness World Record for most consecutive league titles, which has been since broken by Skonto of Latvia in 2002.[10] From 2000, Nejmeh were the dominating force in Lebanon, winning five out of nine league titles until 2009.[7]

During the 2010s Ahed, who had only won one league title prior, won six league titles.[7] After winning the 2018–19 Lebanese Premier League Ahed became the three-time defending champions, a feat accomplished only one other time, by Ansar in 1992.[11] The 2018–19 season was one of the worst in Lebanese football since the end of the Lebanese Civil War, with poor preparations by teams, match-fixing, and tensions between clubs and the Federation being the hot-topics of the season.[12]

Due to financial and political issues in the country, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia, the LFA decided to cancel the ongoing 2019–20 season.[13][14] As a result of the financial crisis in Lebanon, foreign players were excluded from participating in the 2020–21 season.[15]

Competition format

Competition

There are 12 clubs in the Lebanese Premier League. During the course of a season each club plays the others twice (a double round-robin system), once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents', for 22 games. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss.

Teams are ranked by total points; in case two teams are par on points, the following rules for classification apply:[15]

1. Head-to-head points;
2. Goal difference;
3. Goals scored;
4. Decisive match; in case of a draw, a penalty-shootout will determine the winner.

If more than two teams are par on points:[15]

1. Head-to-head points of the concerned clubs;
2. Goal difference in the direct confrontation games;
3. Goal difference in the league;
4. Goals scored in the league;
5. Mini-league between the involved teams, which play each other once.

Promotion and relegation

A system of promotion and relegation exists between the Lebanese Premier League and the Lebanese Second Division since 1935. In April 1935, Second Division clubs requested a promotion system to be implemented.[16] It was proposed that, at the end of the season, every Second Division team that wanted to be promoted to the First Division had to play against three teams from the First Division, winning all three.[16] The teams from the First Division had to have at least 7 players from their squad in the previous season.[16]

The two lowest placed teams in the Lebanese Premier League are relegated to the Second Division, and the top two teams from the Second Division promoted to the Lebanese Premier League.

Clubs

Main article: List of football clubs in Lebanon

Champions

Wins by year

No. Season Champion 1 1933–34 Nahda 2 1934–35 AUB 3 1935–36 Sika 4 1936–37 AUB 5 1937–38 AUB 6 1938–39 Sika 1939–40 Canceled 7 1940–41 Sika 8 1941–42 Nahda 9 1942–43 Nahda 10 1943–44 Homenetmen 11 1944–45 Homenmen 12 1945–46 Homenetmen 13 1946–47 Nahda 14 1947–48 Homenetmen 15 1948–49 Nahda 1949–50 Canceled 16 1950–51 Homenetmen

No. Season Champion 1951 to 1953 Not in operation 17 1953–54 Homenmen 18 1954–55 Homenetmen 19 1955–56 Racing Beirut 20 1956–57 Homenmen 1957 to 1960 Not in operation 21 1960–61 Homenmen 1961–62 Not contested 22 1962–63 Homenetmen 1963–64 Not contested 23 1964–65 Racing Beirut 1965–66 Not contested 24 1966–67 Shabiba Mazraa 1967–68 Not contested 25 1968–69 Homenetmen 26 1969–70 Racing Beirut 1970 to 1972 Not in operation 27 1972–73 Nejmeh

No. Season Champion 1973–74 Canceled 28 1974–75 Nejmeh 1975 to 1987 Not in operation 29 1987–88 Ansar 1988–89 Canceled 30 1989–90 Ansar 31 1990–91 Ansar 32 1991–92 Ansar 33 1992–93 Ansar 34 1993–94 Ansar 35 1994–95 Ansar 36 1995–96 Ansar 37 1996–97 Ansar 38 1997–98 Ansar 39 1998–99 Ansar 40 1999–2000 Nejmeh 41 2000–01 Not awarded 42 2001–02 Nejmeh

No. Season Champion 43 2002–03 Olympic Beirut 44 2003–04 Nejmeh 45 2004–05 Nejmeh 46 2005–06 Ansar 47 2006–07 Ansar 48 2007–08 Ahed 49 2008–09 Nejmeh 50 2009–10 Ahed 51 2010–11 Ahed 52 2011–12 Safa 53 2012–13 Safa 54 2013–14 Nejmeh 55 2014–15 Ahed 56 2015–16 Safa 57 2016–17 Ahed 58 2017–18 Ahed 59 2018–19 Ahed 60 2019–20 Not awarded

Wins by club

Club	Wins	Winning years
Ansar	13	1987–88, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2005–06, 2006–07
Nejmeh	8	1972–73, 1974–75, 1999–00, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2008–09, 2013–14
Homenetmen	7	1943–44, 1945–46, 1947–48, 1950–51, 1954–55, 1962–63, 1968–69
Ahed		2007–08, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2014–15, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19
Nahda	5	1933–34, 1941–42, 1942–43, 1946–47, 1948–49
Homenmen	4	1944–45, 1953–54, 1956–57, 1960–61
AUB	3	1934–35, 1936–37, 1937–38
Sika		1935–36, 1938–39, 1940–41
Racing Beirut		1955–56, 1964–65, 1969–70
Safa		2011–12, 2012–13, 2015–16
Shabiba Mazraa	1	1966–67
Olympic Beirut		2002–03

2019–20 season

Clubs

The following 20 clubs are competing in the Lebanese Premier League during the current 2019–20 season.

Club	Home city	Position in 2018–19	Top division titles	Last top division title
Ahed	Beirut (Ouzai)	1st in the Lebanese Premier League	7	2018–19
Akhaa Ahli	Aley	4th in the Lebanese Premier League	0	N/A
Ansar	Beirut (Tariq el-Jdideh)	2nd in the Lebanese Premier League	13	2006–07
Bourj	Beirut (Bourj el-Barajneh)	1st in the Lebanese Second Division	0	N/A
Chabab Ghazieh	Ghazieh	6th in the Lebanese Premier League	0	N/A
Nejmeh	Beirut (Ras Beirut)	3rd in the Lebanese Premier League	8	2013–14
Safa	Beirut (Wata el-Museitbeh)	9th in the Lebanese Premier League	3	2015–16
Salam Zgharta	Zgharta	10th in the Lebanese Premier League	0	N/A
Shabab Bourj	Beirut (Bourj el-Barajneh)	2nd in the Lebanese Second Division	0	N/A
Shabab Sahel	Beirut (Haret Hreik)	5th in the Lebanese Premier League	0	N/A
Tadamon Sour	Tyre	7th in the Lebanese Premier League	0	N/A
Tripoli	Tripoli	8th in the Lebanese Premier League	1	2002–03

Maps

Beirut Akhaa Ghazieh Salam Tadamon Tripoli Beirut teams: Ahed Ansar Bourj Nejmeh Safa Shabab Bourj Shabab Sahel Locations of the 2019–20 Lebanese Premier League teams

🌍 Beirut Lebanese Premier League clubs

Media coverage

The Lebanese Premier League broadcasting rights were distributed to MTV Lebanon starting from the 2016–17 season, on a five-year contract worth $600,000 per season.[17] Live coverage of selected games is broadcast each week, and weekly highlights of each match are produced once a week.[18]

MyCujoo broadcasts some of the remaining matches online.[19] They also stream a selection of Lebanese Second Division and Lebanese Futsal League games weekly.

• MTV Lebanon (TV broadcasting)
• MyCujoo (Online streaming)

Stadiums

Main article: List of football stadiums in Lebanon

At the start of the 2005–06 season, the Lebanese government imposed a ban on spectators due to fears of political and sectarian-inspired violence in the stadiums.[20][21] After six years, in 2011, the ban was lifted and fans were allowed to regularly attend matches.[21] While attendance was initially scarce, spectators started to show up more regularly season after season. Indeed, in 2018 ultras groups started to form, with Nejmeh's "Ultras Supernova" being the first.[22][23][24] Other teams quickly followed, such as Ansar, Ahed and Bourj.[25][26][27]

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. While teams such as Nejmeh and Ahed have their own stadiums, respectively Rafic El-Hariri Stadium and Ahed Stadium, they prefer to use bigger stadiums in Lebanon such as the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium and the Beirut Municipal Stadium.[28]

Players

Foreign players and transfer regulations

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.[29] 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).[30] Starting from the 1998–99 season, the Lebanese Football Association has prevented the acquisition of foreign goalkeepers.[31][32]

Players may only be transferred during transfer windows that are set by the Lebanese Football Association. The two transfer windows run from 1 July to 15 September and from 20 December to 19 January.[33] During the 2020–21 season, due to the economic situation in Lebanon, foreign players were barred from participating in the league.[15]

Homegrown players

Starting from the 2019–20 season, all teams in the Lebanese Premier League and Lebanese Second Division must 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.[34] In case a club were to not meet the required number of minutes at the end of the season, they would have three points deducted from their total in the league.[34]

As the 2019–20 season was cancelled, the player quota would be ultimately implemented for the 2020–21 season, with a few amendments.[35] Each club must involve one player for at least 600 minutes, two players for at least 800 combined minutes, and three players for at least 1,200 combined players.[35] Also, each club is allowed a maximum of eight players over the age of 30, with only five being able to be fielded in a game.[35]

Top scorers

See also: List of Lebanese Premier League top scorers and Lebanese Premier League Golden Boot

Vartan Ghazarian is the joint-highest goalscorer in Lebanese Premier League history with 118 goals

The Golden Boot is awarded to the top Lebanese Premier League scorer at the end of each season. Vartan Ghazarian and Fadi Alloush both hold the record for most Lebanese Premier League goals with 118. Six players were top scorers more than once: Levon Altonian, Fadi Alloush, Mohammad Kassas, Mohammed Ghaddar, Lucas Galán and El Hadji Malick Tall have all been top scorers twice. Fadi Alloush holds the record for most goals in a season (32) while playing for Ansar.

Official match ball

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.[36]

• 2019–present: Jako Match 2.0

See also

• Lebanese football league system
• Lebanon national football team
• Lebanese Women's Football League
• Al-Manar Football Festival
• Football in Lebanon

Notes and references

Notes

1. Ghazarian scored a total of 130 goals, however his 12 goals scored during the 2000–01 season were not counted as the season was canceled.

References

1. الإعلام الرياضي في لبنان بين شباك السياسة والإهمال [Sports media in Lebanon between politics and neglect]. الأخبار (in Arabic). Retrieved 20 December 2018.
2. لمحة عن الإتحاد [About the Federation]. الاتحاد اللبناني لكرة القدم (in Arabic). Retrieved 20 December 2018.
3. Sakr 1995, p. 17.
4. عساف, فراس ابو. لمحة عن الإتحاد [Lebanese Football Federation]. الاتحاد اللبناني لكرة القدم (in Arabic). Retrieved 20 December 2018.
5. تاريخ تاسيس الاتحاد اللبناني لكرة القدم؟ [The date of the establishment of the Lebanese Football Federation?]. Elsport News (in Arabic). Retrieved 20 December 2018.
6. Sakr 1992, p. 21. sfn error: no target: CITEREFSakr1992 (help)
7. "Lebanon - List of Champions". www.rsssf.com. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
8. Mouawad, Jamil (2018). "Lebanese Football: Imagining a Defiant and United Lebanon". Middle East Critique. 27 (3): 289–302. doi:10.1080/19436149.2018.1485301. Retrieved 14 March 2019 – via www.academia.edu.
9. "The Birth, Death and Re-Birth of Lebanese Football - Ahdaaf". Retrieved 14 March 2019.
10. terrythetourist (29 June 2013). "Lebanese Football: From Beirut to Buecker". Terry The Tourist. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
11. الميادين, شبكة (7 April 2019). نادي العهد... قصة طموح ومثابرة نحو المجد. شبكة الميادين (in Arabic). Retrieved 8 April 2019.
12. Afiouni, Nadim (1 June 2019). "Poor preparations, match-fixing and tensions between clubs and the FA result in worst domestic season in recent years". FA Lebanon. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
13. "القرار المرّ: نشاط الفوتبول معلّق حتى إشعار آخر". الأخبار (in Arabic). Retrieved 27 January 2020.
14. "رسميا.. إلغاء الموسم الكروي في لبنان". كووورة. 28 May 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
15. Abou Diab, Rami (25 June 2020). "The new regulations for the Lebanese Premier League". FA Lebanon. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
16. Sakr 1992, p. 25. sfn error: no target: CITEREFSakr1992 (help)
17. "كووورة يكشف مصير النقل التلفزيوني للدوري اللبناني". كووورة. 31 May 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
18. "MTV Lebanon - Program - ALFA Lebanese Football League - 2019". www.mtv.com.lb. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
19. mycujoo.tv. "mycujoo live football streaming: Watch Football Online". mycujoo.tv. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
20. Lebanon, Zeina Khodr in Beirut. "Lebanon's empty football stadiums". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
21. Neumann, Jeff (1 March 2012). "Sectarian Violence Makes Getting in to Lebanese Soccer Games a Real Bitch". Vice. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
22. "المدرجات لا تعترف إلا بالشجعان". lebanonfg.com. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
23. COPA90. "Ultras Supernova: Lebanon's First Ultras Group". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
24. مباريات قويّة في الجولة العاشرة. الأخبار (in Arabic). Retrieved 23 February 2019.
25. البداية من «المدينة» والختام فيها. الأخبار (in Arabic). Retrieved 21 April 2019.
26. مباريات قويّة في الجولة العاشرة. الأخبار (in Arabic). Retrieved 23 February 2019.
27. ""معركة" في جونية و"ألتراس" في برج البراجنة". موقع ياصور. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
28. LebanonFG
29. "2018/2019 Lebanese Premier League Squads confirmed". FaLebanon. 21 September 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
30. Gineprini, Nicholas (20 March 2019). "Is a limit on foreign players, a limit for the development of Asian Football?". Calcio8Cina. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
31. "أزمة الحراسة اللبنانية.. حاضر لا يمت بصلة للماضي". كووورة. 8 July 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
32. "القفاز الذهبي: 22 عاما على منع الحراس الأجانب في لبنان.. والنتيجة مبهمة". كووورة. 11 June 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
33. "الاتحاد اللبناني يعلن توقيت الانتقالات ويفصح عن الجهاز الفني للمنتخب". Elsport News (in Arabic). Retrieved 17 June 2020.
34. "Circular No. 2019/38". Lebanese Football Association. 17 July 2019.
35. "الاتحاد اللبناني يعلن عن قرارات حاسمة". كووورة. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
36. "توقيع عقد رعاية JAKO للدوري اللبناني لكرة القدم". football-lebanon.com. 30 July 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019.

Bibliography

• Sakr, Ali Hamidi (1995). موسوعة كرة القدم اللبنانية 1991–1992 [1991–1992 Lebanese Football Encyclopedia] (PDF) (in Arabic). مؤسسة نوفل للتوزيع‎. ISBN 0000281247.

External links

• Official website (in Arabic)
• Lebanese Premier League at MTV Lebanon (in English and Arabic)
• Lebanese Premier League at Kooora (in Arabic)