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Lebanon women's national football team
Lebanon female national association football team From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Lebanon women's national football team,[a] nicknamed "the Lady Cedars" (Arabic: صبايا الأرز), represents Lebanon in international women's football. Established in 2005 and governed by the Lebanese Football Association (LFA), the team has yet to qualify for the FIFA Women's World Cup or the AFC Women's Asian Cup but has achieved notable milestones in regional competitions. These include finishing as runners-up at the 2022 edition of the WAFF Women's Championship and securing third-place finishes in 2007 and 2019.
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Lebanon made their international debut in 2006 at the Arab Women's Cup, suffering a 12–0 defeat to Algeria. Their first qualification campaign came in 2014 for the AFC Women's Asian Cup, where they recorded their largest victory to date, a 12–1 win over Kuwait. The team has since shown steady progress, competing in Olympic qualifiers, the Arab Women's Cup, and unofficial tournaments such as the 2023 SAFF Tournament, which they won.
The Lady Cedars wear a red home kit and a white away kit, reflecting the colors of the Lebanese flag. Since 2011, their FIFA ranking has fluctuated between 102nd (December 2013) and 145th (April – August 2021).
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History
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2005–2018: Early development and establishment
Women's football in Lebanon traces its origins to 1964, when Rose La Sorte, the first women's physical education instructor at the American University of Beirut (AUB), introduced the sport into the university's curriculum.[2] Organized women's football began to take shape in 1998,[3] with AUB forming its first official women's team, which played its inaugural match against Notre Dame University–Louaize (NDU) in February 1999.[4] Other institutions, including the American Community School Beirut (ACS) and the International College (IC),[5] soon followed, leading to the first interscholastic girls' tournament in 2002.[3]
These efforts culminated in the creation of the Lebanese Women's Football (LWF) committee in 2005, which became affiliated with the Lebanese Football Association (LFA).[6] Later that year, the Lebanon women's national team—nicknamed "the Lady Cedars" (Arabic: صبايا الأرز)[7][8]—was established, becoming one of the earliest women's national teams in the West Asian Football Federation.[9] The team made its competitive debut at the 2006 Arab Women's Championship. In their first-ever official match on 19 April 2006, Lebanon suffered a 12–0 defeat to Algeria. The team then fell 8–0 to Morocco in their second and final group-stage fixture. Failing to score across both matches, Lebanon was eliminated in last place.[10]
Lebanon's first appearance at the WAFF Women's Championship in 2007 saw mixed results: after losses to Jordan and Iran (both 3–0), the team secured a decisive 7–0 victory over Syria, with Iman Chaito scoring a hat-trick,[11] and claimed third place.[12] In the 2011 edition, Lebanon faced Iran, Syria, and the host nation the United Arab Emirates (UAE).[13][14] Similarly to 2007, Lebanon lost twice—8–1 to Iran and 5–0 to the UAE—and won once against Syria (1–0), finishing third in their group.[14]
Under coach Farid Nujaim, Lebanon entered qualification for the 2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup—their first official qualifying campaign, eight years from their inception.[15] Drawn against Jordan, Uzbekistan, and Kuwait,[16] the team began with a 5–0 loss to Jordan followed by a 4–0 defeat to Uzbekistan. However, Lebanon concluded the campaign with a historic 12–1 win against Kuwait[17]—a result that remains the national team’s largest-margin victory to date.[18] Lebanon finished in third place and were eliminated.[16]
Lebanon was scheduled to compete in 2018 Asian Cup qualification,[19] but withdrew in protest over the tournament's location in the West Bank in Palestine, citing opposition to "legitimizing Israel's occupation of the territory."[19] Later that year, the team made its Olympic qualifying debut, suffering heavy defeats to Iran (8–0)[20] and Hong Kong (4–0), exiting in the first round.[21]
2019–present: Rising competitiveness
Since 2019, Lebanon has shown steady progress in regional competitions. At the 2019 WAFF Women's Championship, coached by Wael Gharzeddine, the team secured third place with victories over the UAE (2–0)[22] and Palestine (3–0),[7] alongside losses to Jordan (3–1)[23] and Bahrain (3–2).[24]
In August 2021, Lebanon participated in the Arab Women's Cup, achieving their first-ever international draw[18] (0–0 against Tunisia)[25] and a 5–1 win over Sudan.[26] Despite a 4–0 loss to Egypt,[27] the team finished third in its group with four points.[26] Later that year, in the 2022 Asian Cup qualifiers, Lebanon defeated the UAE[28] and Guam[29] but fell short of qualification after a 4–0 loss to Myanmar.[30]
A significant milestone came at the 2022 WAFF Women's Championship under coach Hagop Demirjian,[31] where Lebanon finished as runners-up for the first time.[32] After a 3–0 win over Palestine and a 2–1 loss to hosts Jordan, the team closed with a 5–2 victory over Syria, while midfielder Lili Iskandar was named the tournament's best player.[32]
In April 2023, Lebanon competed in the first round of 2024 Olympic qualifiers, losing 5–1 to Chinese Taipei[33] but defeating Indonesia 5–0—though it failed to advance.[34] Later that year, the team won the friendly 2023 SAFF Tournament, overcoming Laos, Bhutan, and Malaysia (via penalties) before defeating Bhutan 1–0 in extra time during the final, with Iskandar scoring the decisive goal in the 102nd minute. She also finished as the tournament's top scorer with three goals.[35]
At the 2024 WAFF Women's Championship in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon placed second in its group behind Jordan[36] but was eliminated in the semi-finals after a stoppage-time 2–1 loss to Nepal.[37]
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Results and fixtures
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As of 7 April 2025, the complete official match record of the Lebanese women's national team comprises 64 matches: 26 wins, 4 draws, and 34 losses.[18] During these matches, the team scored 112 times and conceded 173 goals. Lebanon's highest winning margin is 11 goals, which has been achieved against Kuwait in 2013 (12–1).[17] Their longest winning streak is 5 wins, and their highest unbeaten record is 11 consecutive official matches.[38]
The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
- Legend
Win Draw Loss Fixture
2025
| 17 February 2025 2025 Vianet Championship | Myanmar  | 3–1 |  Lebanon | Kathmandu, Nepal |
| 13:30 UTC+5:45 |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Dasharath Rangasala Referee: Anjana Rai (Nepal) |
| 20 February 2025 2025 Vianet Championship | Lebanon | 0–1 |  Nepal | Kathmandu, Nepal |
| 17:30 UTC+5:45 | Report |
|
Stadium: Dasharath Rangasala Attendance: 11,473 Referee: Tekcham Ranjita Devi (India) |
| 23 February 2025 2025 Vianet Championship | Kyrgyzstan  | 0–2 | Lebanon | Kathmandu, Nepal |
| 13:30 UTC+5:45 | Report | Stadium: Dasharath Rangasala Referee: Anjana Rai (Nepal) |
| 5 April 2025 Friendly | Lebanon | 1–1 |  Comoros | Beirut, Lebanon |
| 15:00 UTC+3 |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Champville Stadium |
| 7 April 2025 Friendly | Lebanon | 4–0 | Comoros | Jounieh, Lebanon |
| 14:00 UTC+3 | Report | Stadium: Fouad Chehab Stadium |
| 23 June 2025 2026 Asian Cup qualification | Lebanon | v |  Jordan | Amman, Jordan |
| --:-- UTC+3 |
| 26 June 2025 2026 Asian Cup qualification | Bhutan  | v | Lebanon | Amman, Jordan |
| --:-- UTC+3 |
| 2 July 2025 2026 Asian Cup qualification | Lebanon | v |  Iran | Amman, Jordan |
| --:-- UTC+3 |
| 5 July 2025 2026 Asian Cup qualification | Singapore  | v | Lebanon | Amman, Jordan |
| --:-- UTC+3 |
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Players
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Current squad
The following players were called up for the friendly matches against Comoros, on 5 and 7 April 2025.[39]
Recent call-ups
The following footballers were part of a national selection in the past 12 months, but are not part of the current squad.
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Individual records
- As of 7 April 2025[41]
- Players in bold are still active with Lebanon.
Most-capped players
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Nathalie Matar and Syntia Salha are Lebanon's joint most-capped players with 31 appearances.
Top scorers
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Competitive record
FIFA Women's World Cup
Summer Olympics
AFC Women's Asian Cup
Arab Women's Cup
WAFF Women's Championship
Other tournaments
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FIFA world rankings
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Lebanon were first included in the FIFA World Ranking in September 2011, placing in 124th place.[42] Until early 2021, FIFA's ranking criteria required teams to have been active in the previous 18 months to be listed.[c][43] As Lebanon went inactive for 18 months for several periods,[18] they were unranked in various years (2014, 2016, 2017, 2020).[44] Lebanon's best ranking was 102nd in December 2013, and their worst was 145th between April and August 2021.[44]
The table shows the position that Lebanon held in December of each year (and the current position as of 2025), as well as the highest and lowest positions annually.
Best ranking Worst ranking
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See also
Footnotes
- Wellington Phoenix is a New Zealand club playing in the Australian football league system.
References
External links
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