Al Ansar FC

Early history

In 1948, a group of young Beirutis set up the first administrative board at the club headed by Mustafa Al-Shami. Three years Misbah Dougan, then head of the administrative board, formally requested an official licence for the club allowing them to play football on all Lebanese grounds.^[6] They were to be called "Al-Intisar", Arabic for "Victory", however a club with that name was already present. Mustafa Al-Shami proposed "Ansar" in remembrance of the supporters of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.^[6]

Initially, Ansar was known as a Mount Lebanon team, rather than a team from Beirut. This is because, as Beirut had already too many clubs, the Federation decided to relocate Ansar to Ghobeiry.^[6] In 1965, Ansar moved to Beirut and won the 1966 Lebanese Second Division promotion play-offs, gaining promotion to the Lebanese Premier League for the following season.^[6]

Recent history

Ansar were crowned champions of the 2020–21 Lebanese Premier League by beating Nejmeh 2–1 in the Beirut derby in the last matchday;^[7] they won their 14th title, their first since 2007.^[8] They made the season a double, after beating Nejmeh in the Lebanese FA Cup final.^[9]

Although the club's roots lie in the Sunni community in Beirut,^[10] Ansar's support comes from all areas and religions in Lebanon.^[7] The club has been associated with the Hariri family from the early 1990s till 2005.^[10] In 2018, following the introduction of ultras groups in Lebanon, "Ultras Ansari 18" (UA18) was formed.^[11]

The Beirut derby with Nejmeh has historically been the most anticipated game in Lebanon: both located in Beirut, Nejmeh and Ansar have shared the majority of titles. While Nejmeh has been more successful in Asia, Ansar holds the most league titles and FA Cups.^[12]

Another important rivalry is with Ahed: located in Beirut, they are affiliated with Hezbollah, with their fan base mostly coming from the Shia community in Beirut.^[13] In addition Ansar has a rivalry with Safa, also based in Beirut.

Current squad

As of 1 January 2024^[14]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
21	MF	PLE	Mohamad Bou Saleh
22	DF	LBN	Robert Alexander Melki
23	MF	EGY	Abdallah Yaisien
24	DF	LBN	Hassan Kaafarani
25	FW	LBN	Ali Alaaeddine
27	FW	LBN	Mohammad Al Massri
30	MF	PLE	Mohamad Hebous
31	FW	ALG	Hichem Khalfallah
42	MF	LBN	Hassan Nasser
66	DF	LBN	Alex El Rattel
88	MF	LBN	Omar Bahlawan
91	GK	LBN	Nazih Assaad
99	MF	LBN	Nabil El Ayssi

Notable players

Players in international competitions

Competition	Player	National team
1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup	David Nakhid	Trinidad and Tobago
2000 AFC Asian Cup	Jadir	Lebanon
	Newton	Lebanon
	Jamal Taha	Lebanon
2007 AFC Asian Cup	Ahmad Mnajed	Iraq
	Salih Sadir	Iraq
2019 AFC Asian Cup	Hassan Chaito	Lebanon
	Hassan Chaitou	Lebanon
	Adnan Haidar	Lebanon
	Mootaz Jounaidi	Lebanon
2023 AFC Asian Cup	Mouhammed-Ali Dhaini	Lebanon
	Yahya El Hindi	Lebanon
	Hassan Maatouk	Lebanon
	Robert Alexander Melki	Lebanon
	Nassar Nassar	Lebanon
	Ali Tneich	Lebanon

• Lebanese Premier League
  • Winners (14; record): 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, 2020–21
• Lebanese FA Cup
  • Winners (15; record): 1987–88, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2001–02, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2009–10, 2011–12, 2016–17, 2020–21
  • Runners-up (5): 1985–86, 1996–97, 2000–01, 2018–19, 2021–22
• Lebanese Federation Cup
  • Winners (2; joint record): 1999, 2000
• Lebanese Elite Cup (defunct)
  • Winners (2): 1997, 2000
  • Runners-up (8): 1996, 1998, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2016, 2019, 2022
• Lebanese Super Cup
  • Winners (6): 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2012, 2021
  • Runners-up (4): 2002, 2010, 2017, 2019

• Mustafa El-Shami (1948–1950)
• Ameen Itani (1950–1954)
• Fouad Rustom (1954–1956)
• Abdul Jalil Al-Sabra (1956–1963)
• Jamil Hasbeeny (1963–1965)
• Abed El-Jamil Ramadan (1965–1967)
• Khaled Kabbani (1967–1975)
• Said Wanid (1975–1977)
• Salim Diab (1977–2008)
• Karim Diab (2008–2012)
• Nabil Badr (2012–present)

• Al Ansar FC (women), defunct women's team
• List of football clubs in Lebanon

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Al Ansar FC.

• Al Ansar FC at the AFC
• Al Ansar FC at LebanonFG