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 | Nejmeh (9th title) (2023–24) |
| Most championships | Ansar (14 titles) |
| Top goalscorer | Fadi Alloush (120)[a] |
| TV partners | MTV Lebanon, FIFA+ |
| Website | the-lfa |
| Current: 2024–25 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 featured a "split" system since 2020, in which the season is divided in two phases.
The country's most followed football club, Nejmeh's supporters are predominantly from the Lebanese Shia community.
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).[2][3] The Lebanese Premier League began in May 1934 as the Edmond Rubeiz Cup, in honour of Nahda player Edmond Rubeiz who had died of typhoid the previous year.[4] The competition was held in a knockout format, with Nahda beating DPHB 7–1 in the final to win the inaugural competition.[4][5]
Nahda, AUB, and DPHB shared the titles during the first decade of the league.[5] Between the 1940s and 1960s Armenian clubs, mainly Homenetmen and Homenmen, were the most prominent in the Lebanese footballing scene.[6] The two clubs shared 11 titles in 16 seasons between 1943 and 1969.[5] 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.[5] They set a Guinness World Record for most consecutive league titles, which has been since broken by Skonto of Latvia in 2002.[7]
Nejmeh broke Ansar's streak, winning four out of five league titles between 2000 and 2005.[5] Since the late 2000s, Ahed have emerged as the dominant force in Lebanese football. They won their inaugural league title in 2008 and have since been crowned champions a total of nine times.[5] 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.[8] 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.[9][10]
Competition format
There are 12 clubs in the Lebanese Premier League. 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, then head-to-head points, and then head-to-head goal difference. If still equal, the overall goal difference and then the overall goals scored are taken into consideration. If teams are still tied, disciplinary points are considered.[11]
Split
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 adopted a "split" system where each season is divided into two phases.[11] In the initial phase, each club plays each other once, totaling 11 matchdays. Following this, the league splits into a "top six" and a "bottom six" section. In the 2020–21 season, clubs faced each team in their respective sections once more (5 additional matchdays). From 2021–22 to 2022–23, clubs faced each team in their section twice (10 additional matchdays). Since 2023–24, they play three times against each team in their section (15 additional matchdays).[12] Points from the first phase carry over to the second, but from the 2022–23 season onward, the carried-over points are halved.[13] The system has been viewed positively by various members of Lebanese football.[14][15]
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.
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.[17]
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 | 1972–73, 1974–75, 1999–00, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2008–09, 2013–14, 2023–24 | |
| 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 |
2024–25 season
The following 12 clubs competed in the Lebanese Premier League during the 2024–25 season.
| Club | Home city | Position in 2023–24 | Top division titles | Most recent top division title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ahed | Beirut (Ouzai) | 3rd | 9 | 2023–24 |
| Ansar | Beirut (Tariq el-Jdideh) | 2nd | 14 | 2020–21 |
| Bourj | Beirut (Bourj el-Barajneh) | 4th | 0 | — |
| Chabab Ghazieh | Ghazieh | 10th | 0 | — |
| Nejmeh | Beirut (Ras Beirut) | 1st | 9 | 2023–24 |
| Racing Beirut | Beirut (Achrafieh) | 6th | 3 | 1969–70 |
| Riyadi Abbasiyah | Aabbassiyeh | 1st in the Second Division | 0 | — |
| Safa | Beirut (Wata el-Museitbeh) | 5th | 3 | 2015–16 |
| Sagesse | Beirut (Achrafieh) | 9th | 0 | — |
| Shabab Baalbeck | Baalbeck | 2nd in the Second Division | 0 | — |
| Shabab Sahel | Beirut (Haret Hreik) | 7th | 0 | — |
| Tadamon Sour | Tyre | 8th | 0 | — |
  Beirut Locations of the 2023–24 Lebanese Premier League teams |
|
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;[18] the contract was renewed in 2022 for a further four seasons.[19] Live coverage of three games is broadcast each week, and weekly highlights of each match are produced once a week.[20] The LFA broadcast the other weekly games on its YouTube channel between 2020 and 2022.[21][22]
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;[23] FIFA+ also replaced the LFA YouTube channel in transmitting the remaining Lebanese Premier League games not covered by MTV.[24]
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.[25][26] After six years, in 2011, the ban was lifted and fans were allowed to regularly attend matches.[26] 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.[27][28][29] Other teams quickly followed, such as Ansar, Ahed and Bourj.[30][29][31]
Players
Foreign players and transfer regulations
Prior to the 2023–24 season, Lebanese clubs were permitted three foreign players on the field simultaneously.[32] Additionally, up to two extra Palestinian players born in Lebanon could be listed on a match sheet, but only one Palestinian player was allowed among the eleven players on the field.[32] Furthermore, each club competing in an AFC competition could field one additional foreign player exclusively for continental matches, as the AFC permitted four foreign players in the starting eleven, one of whom from an AFC country.[33]
Starting from 2023–24, the foreign player limit increased to four,[34] and Palestinian players on a team sheet became unlimited, with the field restriction remaining.[12] Following an alteration in AFC regulations, allowing six foreign players in the starting eleven, including one from an AFC country, clubs in AFC competitions are now allowed two extra foreign players to be only fielded in continental competitions.[35]
Since the 1998–99 season, the Lebanese Football Association has prevented the acquisition of foreign goalkeepers.[36][37] 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.[11]
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.[38]
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-21 players in both the league and the Lebanese FA Cup.[39] 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.[12][39] Initially, the quota was set at a minimum of 1,000 minutes for one under-22 player, a minimum of 1,500 aggregate minutes for two players and a minimum of 2,000 aggregate minutes for three players.[39]
As the 2019–20 season was cancelled, the player quota was ultimately implemented for the 2020–21 season, with a few amendments.[40] 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.[40] 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.[40] 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.[13] In 2023–24, the quotas changed once again, to 750 minutes for one under-21 player and 1,000 combined minutes for two players.[12]
Top scorers
- As of 22 September 2024[1]
| Rank | Name | Years | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Fadi Alloush |
1985–1999 | 120[c] |
| 2 | Vardan Ghazaryan |
1992–2002, 2003–2004, 2006–2009 | 117[d] |
| 3 | Abbas Ahmed Atwi |
1997–2012, 2012–2022 | 113[e] |
| 4 | Hassan Maatouk[41] |
2004–2011, 2017–present | 106[f] |
| 5 | Mohammad Kassas[42] |
1999–2005, 2006–2008, 2008–2011, 2016–2017 | 104[g] |
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][1] 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.[43] Fadi Alloush holds the record for most goals in a season (32) while playing for Ansar.[44]
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.[45]
- 2019–2020: Jako Match 2.0
- 2020–present: Jako Galaxy Match 2.0
See also
Notes and references
External links
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