The Lebanese First Division (Arabic: الدوري اللبناني الدرجة الأولى), commonly known as the Lebanese Premier League (Arabic: الدوري اللبناني الممتاز, romanized: ad-dawrī al-lubnānī al-mumtāz), 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.
| Organising body | Lebanese Football Association |
|---|---|
| Founded | May 1934 |
| Country | Lebanon |
| Confederation | AFC |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | Lebanese Second Division |
| Domestic cup(s) | |
| League cup(s) | Lebanese Federation Cup |
| International cup(s) | AFC Challenge League |
| Current champions | Ahed (9th title) (2022–23) |
| Most championships | Ansar (14 titles) |
| Top goalscorer | Fadi Alloush (120)[a] |
| TV partners | MTV Lebanon, FIFA+ |
| Website | the-lfa |
| Current: 2023–24 Lebanese Premier League | |
The league's first season began in May 1934, with Nahda winning the maiden title. Ansar is the most successful club in the league having won 14 titles; they also set a Guinness World Record by winning 11 consecutive league titles between 1988 and 1999.[b] The league has featuted a "split" system since 2020, in which the season is divided in two phases.
History
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] The Lebanese Premier League began in May 1934 as the Edmond Rubeiz Cup, in honour of Nahda player Edmon Rubeiz who died of typhoid the previous year.[3] The competition was held in a knockout format, with Nahda beating DPHB 7–1 in the final to win the inaugural competition.[3][4]
Nahda, AUB, and DPHB shared the titles during the first decade of the league.[4] Between the 1940s and 1960s Armenian clubs, mainly Homenetmen and Homenmen, were the most prominent in the Lebanese footballing scene.[5] The two clubs shared 11 titles in 16 seasons between 1943 and 1969.[4] 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.[4] They set a Guinness World Record for most consecutive league titles, which has been since broken by Skonto of Latvia in 2002.[6]
Nejmeh broke Ansar's streak, winning four out of five league titles between 2000 and 2005.[4] Since the late 2000s, Ahed have emerged as the dominant force in Lebanese football. They won their inaugural league title in 2009 and have since been crowned champions a total of nine times.[4] After having won the league title in 2019, Ahed became the three-time defending champions, a feat accomplished only one other time, by Ansar in 1992.[7] Due to financial and political issues in the country, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, the LFA decided to cancel the ongoing 2019–20 season.[8][9]
Competition format
Competition
There are 12 clubs in the Lebanese Premier League. Prior to the 2020–21 season, each club played the others twice (a double round-robin system), once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents', for 22 games.
Starting from the 2020–21 season, the league has operated on a "split" system.[10] A season is divided in two phases: in the first phase, each club plays each other once for a total of 11 matchdays. After the first phase, the league splits into two halves – a "top six" section and a "bottom six" section. Each club plays a further five matches (once against each club in its own section). Points achieved during the first phase are carried over into the second phase. From the 2022–23 season onwards, the points carried over are halved.[11] The system has been viewed positively by various members of Lebanese football.[12][13]
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:[10]
- Head-to-head points;
- Goal difference;
- Goals scored;
- Decisive match; in case of a draw, a penalty-shootout determines the winner.
If more than two teams are par on points:[10]
- Head-to-head points of the concerned clubs;
- Goal difference in the direct confrontation games;
- Goal difference in the league;
- Goals scored in the league;
- 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.[14] 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.[14] The teams from the First Division had to have at least 7 players from their squad in the previous season.[14]
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.
Video assistant referee
Video assistant referee (VAR), was introduced to the Lebanese Premier League in the second half of the 2023–24 season. It uses technology and officials to assist the referee in making decisions on the pitch. The match between Ahed and Racing Beirut in the first matchday, on 6 August 2023, was the first to test the use of VAR.[15]
Clubs
Champions
| Club | Wins | Winning years |
|---|---|---|
Ansar  | 14 | 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 |
| Ahed | 9 | 2007–08, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2014–15, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2021–22, 2022–23 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| DPHB | 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 |
2023–24 season
The following 12 clubs will compete in the Lebanese Premier League during the 2023–24 season.
| Club | Home city | Position in 2022–23 | Top division titles | Most recent top division title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ahed | Beirut (Ouzai) | 1st | 9 | 2022–23 |
| Ahly Nabatieh | Nabatieh | 2nd in the Second Division | 0 | — |
| Ansar | Beirut (Tariq el-Jdideh) | 3rd | 14 | 2020–21 |
| Bourj | Beirut (Bourj el-Barajneh) | 5th | 0 | — |
| Chabab Ghazieh | Ghazieh | 6th | 0 | — |
| Nejmeh | Beirut (Ras Beirut) | 2nd | 8 | 2013–14 |
| Racing Beirut | Beirut (Achrafieh) | 1st in the Second Division | 0 | — |
| Safa | Beirut (Wata el-Museitbeh) | 10th | 3 | 2015–16 |
| Sagesse | Beirut (Achrafieh) | 9th | 0 | — |
| Shabab Sahel | Beirut (Haret Hreik) | 4th | 0 | — |
| Tadamon Sour | Tyre | 7th | 0 | — |
| Tripoli | Tripoli | 8th | 1 | 2002–03 |
Media coverage
Broadcasting rights for the Lebanese Premier League were distributed to MTV Lebanon starting from the 2016–17 season, on a five-year contract worth $600,000 per season;[16] the contract was renewed in 2022 for a further four seasons.[17] Live coverage of three games is broadcast each week, and weekly highlights of each match are produced once a week.[18] The LFA broadcast the other weekly games on its YouTube channel between 2020 and 2022.[19][20]
In October 2022, the LFA and FIFA signed an agreement to show all matches in the Lebanese Second Division, Lebanese Super Cup and Lebanese Women's Football League through the FIFA+ platform;[21] FIFA+ also replaced the LFA YouTube channel in transmitting the remaining Lebanese Premier League games not covered by MTV.[22]
Stadiums
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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.[23][24] After six years, in 2011, the ban was lifted and fans were allowed to regularly attend matches.[24] 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.[25][26][27] Other teams quickly followed, such as Ansar, Ahed and Bourj.[28][27][29]
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 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.[30]
Players
Foreign players and transfer regulations
Starting from the 2023–24 season, Lebanese clubs are allowed to have four foreign players at their disposal at any time.[31] Two extra Palestinian players born in Lebanon may also be included in a given match sheet (both of whom can not be fielded at the same time in a match).[32] Previously, the limit of foreign players was set to three,[32] and each club competing in an AFC competition was allowed to field one extra foreign player – to be only played in continental matches – as the AFC allowed four foreign players to play in the starting eleven (one of whom from an AFC country).[33] Starting from the 1998–99 season, the Lebanese Football Association has prevented the acquisition of foreign goalkeepers.[34][35]
Players may only be transferred during transfer windows that are set by the Lebanese Football Association. The two transfer windows run from 15 May to 25 July and from 1 January to 30 January.[36] Due to the economic situation in Lebanon, clubs were barred from fielding foreign players in the league in 2020–21 and the first half of 2021–22.[10]
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 both the league and the Lebanese FA Cup.[37] 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.[37] Initially, the quota was set at 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.[37]
As the 2019–20 season was cancelled, the player quota was ultimately implemented for the 2020–21 season, with a few amendments.[38] Each club had to 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 minutes.[38] 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.[38] In the 2022–23 season, the quotas changed to 2,000 combined minutes for two under-21 players and 3,000 combined minuted for three players.[11]
Top scorers
- As of 13 March 2024[39]
| Rank | Name | Years | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Fadi Alloush | 1985–1999 | 120[a] |
| 2 | Vardan Ghazaryan | 1992–2002, 2003–2004, 2006–2009 | 117[c] |
| 3 | Abbas Ahmed Atwi | 1997–2012, 2012–2022 | 113[d] |
| 4 | Hassan Maatouk | 2004–2011, 2017–present | 102[e] |
Italics denotes players still playing football,
Bold denotes players still playing in the Lebanese Premier League.
The Golden Boot is awarded to the top Lebanese Premier League scorer at the end of each season. Fadi Alloush holds the record for most Lebanese Premier League goals with 120.[a][39] Seven players were top scorers more than once: Elhadji Malick Tall three times, and Levon Altonian, Fadi Alloush, Mohammad Kassas, Mohammed Ghaddar, Lucas Galán, and Hassan Maatouk twice.[40] Fadi Alloush holds the record for most goals in a season (32) while playing for Ansar.[41]
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.[42]
- 2019–2020: Jako Match 2.0
- 2020–present: Jako Galaxy Match 2.0
See also
Notes and references
Notes
References
Bibliography
- Sakr, Ali Hamidi (1992). موسوعة كرة القدم اللبنانية 1991–1992 [1991–1992 Lebanese Football Encyclopedia] (PDF) (in Arabic). مؤسسة نوفل للتوزيع. ISBN 0000281247.
External links
- LFA official website (in Arabic)
- Lebanese Premier League at MTV Lebanon (in English and Arabic)
- Lebanese Premier League at Kooora (in Arabic)
- Lebanese Premier League at Soccerway
