Safa SC

This article is about the men's football club from Beirut, Lebanon. For other uses, see Safa.

Safa Sporting Club (Arabic: نادي الصفاء الرياضي, lit. 'The Purity Sporting Club') is a football club based in Wata El Msaytbeh, a district of Beirut, Lebanon. Competing in the Lebanese Premier League, the club was founded in 1939 and have since won three league titles, three domestic cups, one Super Cup, and two Elite Cups. Safa also finished runners-up in the 2008 AFC Cup.^[2]

Safa

Full name	Safa Sporting Club
Nickname(s)	النسور (The Eagles)[1]
Short name	Safa
Founded	31 March 1939; 86 years ago (31 March 1939)
Ground	Safa Stadium[a]
Capacity	4,000
Chairman	Riad Atallah
Manager	Bassem Marmar
League	Lebanese Premier League
2023–24	Lebanese Premier League, 4th of 12
Website	safasc.com
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Safa is primarily supported by the Druze community,^[3][4][5] and maintains a strong fanbase throughout Mount Lebanon. As Akhaa Ahli Aley is also based in the Mount Lebanon region, specifically in Aley, matches between the two clubs are referred to as the "Mountain derby" due to their shared regional support.

History

Early history (1933–1961)

Founded in 1933 at an amateur level in the Wata El-Museitbeh of Beirut, Safa Sporting Club was officially established in 1939 by seven people: Maher Wahab, Anis Naaim, Hasib Al-Jerdi, Amin Haidar, Chafik Nader, Toufik Al-Zouhairy and Adib Haidar.^[6]

On 23 December 1948, Safa obtained the official membership and license from the government as a private association.^[6] In the same year, the club was affiliated to the Lebanese Football Association and was ranked within the Second Division.^[7] In 1961, Safa was promoted to the First Division.^{[citation needed]}

Recent history (2021–present)

On 4 May 2012, after defeating Nejmeh, Safa were crowned Lebanese Premier League champions for the first time in 2011–12.^[8] They were crowned league champions for the second consecutive time in 2012–13, after defeating Ahed 3–1 on 19 May 2013.^[9] Safa also won the 2012–13 Lebanese FA Cup, following a 2–1 win against Shabab Sahel in the final, achieving a domestic double for the first time.^[10]

After finishing the 2021–22 Lebanese Premier League in 11th place, Safa were due to be relegated to the Second Division for the first time.^[11] However, following Shabab Bourj's withdrawal from the league, they were relegated in place of Safa.^[12] Safa also narrowly avoided relegation the following season, finishing 10th above Salam Zgharta on account of their positive head-to-head record.^[13]

Kit manufacturers

The following is a list of kit manufacturers worn by Safa.

Period	Kit manufacturer
1999–2008	Puma
2008–2010	Adidas
2010–2011	Lotto
2011–2015	Joma
2016–2017	Sportika SA
2017–2018	Jako
2018–2024	Joma
2024-	Kelme

Stadium

Safa Stadium

ملعب نادي الصفاء الرياضي
Location	Wata El-Museitbeh
Coordinates	33°52′29″N 35°29′31″E
Capacity	4,000
Opened	1948

Main article: Safa Stadium

The Safa Stadium opened in 1948, and has a capacity of 4,000 spectators. Located in the Wata El-Museitbeh district of Beirut, the stadium is five minutes from the Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport. While the stadium is of Safa's property, the club plays in various other stadiums around the country.^{[citation needed]}

Club rivalries

Safa has important rivalries with Ansar and Nejmeh, both being based in Beirut. Safa also plays the Mountain derby with Akhaa Ahli,^[14] as Akhaa is based in Aley, a city in Mount Lebanon, and Safa's support comes from the Druze community in Lebanon, who mainly live in Chouf and Aley districts.^{[citation needed]}

Players

Current squad

As of 10 April 2025^[15]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  LBN Ali Hallal 3 DF  LBN Hussein El Dor 4 DF  LBN Mohammed Hayek 5 DF  LBN Khalil Khamis 6 MF  LBN Kassem Hayek 7 MF  LBN Jihad Ayoub 8 MF  LBN Ghazi Honeine 9 FW  MNE Boban Djordjevic 10 MF  SLE Rodney Michael 11 FW  LBN Ali Kassas 14 MF  LBN Karim Jaafar 15 MF  LBN Abdallah Doueik 16 DF  LBN Hassan Chaitou 18 MF  LBN Felix Michel Melki

No. Pos. Nation Player 19 FW  SYR Yassin Samia 20 MF  ALG Issad Lakdja 21 FW  PLE Islam Batran 24 MF  TUN Houssem Louati 26 DF  LBN Hussein Zein 30 DF  LBN Hussein Sharafeddine 33 DF  LBN Andrew Sawaya 43 FW  LBN Ali Haidar 50 FW  LBN Khaled Takaji 70 DF  LBN Abbas Assi 77 FW  LBN Hussein Haydar 81 MF  CIV Inters Gui 95 GK  LBN Mostafa Matar 99 FW  LBN Ali El Fadl

Notable players

See also: Category:Safa SC players

Players in international competitions

Competition	Player	National team
1996 AFC Asian Cup	Yasser Sibai	Syria
2000 AFC Asian Cup	Youssef Mohamad	Lebanon
	Ahmad Naamani	Lebanon
2019 AFC Asian Cup	Ahmad Taktouk	Lebanon
	Mohamed Zein Tahan	Lebanon
2023 AFC Asian Cup	Hassan Chaitou	Lebanon

Honours

Domestic

• Lebanese Premier League
  • Winners (3): 2011–12, 2012–13, 2015–16
• Lebanese FA Cup
  • Winners (3): 1964–65, 1986–87, 2012–13
  • Runners-up (8): 1970–71, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1994–95, 1999–2000, 2007–08, 2010–11, 2016–17
• Lebanese Elite Cup (defunct)
  • Winners (2): 2009, 2012
  • Runners-up (3): 2011, 2014, 2015
• Lebanese Super Cup
  • Winners (1): 2013
  • Runners-up (3): 2011, 2012, 2016
• Lebanese Second Division
  • Winners (1): 1960–61 (Beirut)

Continental

• AFC Cup
  • Runners-up (1): 2008

Other achievements

• Lebanese Challenge Cup (defunct)
  • Runners-up (1): 2022

Performance in AFC competitions

• AFC Cup: 5 appearances

2008: Final

2009: Round of 16

2012: Group stage

2013: Group stage

2014: Round of 16

• Asian Cup Winners' Cup: 2 appearances

1992–93: Withdrew in first round

2000–01: Withdrew in first round

Managerial history

• Walid Zeineddine
• Mahmoud Saad
• Akram Salman
• Ghassan Abou Diab
• Samir Saad
• Emile Rustom
• Valeriu Tița (2013–2014)
• Emile Rustom (2015–2018)
• Valeriu Tița (2018–2019)
• Tarek Jarraya (2019)
• Robert Jaspert (2019–2020)
• Emile Rustom (2020)
• Mohammad Dakka (2020–2021)^[16]
• Fadi Oumari (2021–22)
• Malek Hassoun (2022)
• Youssef Jawhari (2022–2023)
• Moussa Hojeij (2023)
• Johnny Jansen (2023)
• Jan de Jonge (2023)
• Bassem Marmar (2023–present)

See also

• Safa WFC, defunct women's team
• List of football clubs in Lebanon

Notes

1. Only used as a training ground