Football in Lebanon

This article is about men's football. For women's football, see Women's football in Lebanon.

Football in Lebanon
The Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium during the Beirut derby in 2018
CountryLebanon
Governing bodyLebanon Football Association (LFA)
National team(s)Lebanon
First played1933
Clubs213 (as of 2022–23)
National competitions
Club competitions
International competitions

Football is the most popular sport in Lebanon.[1][2][3] It was introduced to Lebanon in the late-19th century, becoming particularly popular among teachers and students Christian schools. The Lebanese Football Association (LFA) was formed in 1933 as one of the earliest administrative bodies for association football in the Middle East. The Lebanon national team made its unofficial debut in 1935 against Romanian club CA Timișoara (T.A.C.), while their first official FIFA game was in 1940 against Mandatory Palestine.

Armenian clubs, namely Homenetmen and Homenmen, led the early football scene between the 1940s and the 1960s; the civil war between 1975 and 1990 made it impossible to practice football in Lebanon. Ansar became the dominating force in the country between the 1990s and the early-2000s, winning 11 consecutive league titles. In the 21st century, Ansar, Nejmeh, and Ahed (the latter in particular starting from the 2010s) formed a Lebanese "Big Three", winning the majority of the titles. Indeed, historically, the country's most-supported clubs are Ansar and Nejmeh,[4] with Ahed gaining popularity in recent years.[5]

While the Lebanon national team has never won a major title internationally, Ahed became the first Lebanese club to win the AFC Cup in 2019. The national under-18 team was the first Lebanon men's national team to play in a final, finishing as runners-up in the 2021 WAFF U-18 Championship.

  1. ^ "Lebanon commemorates civil war outbreak through soccer | JPost | Israel News". JPost. 14 April 2010. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  2. ^ "National Team Helps Bring Lebanon Together". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  3. ^ "Theo Bucker, Lebanon hope to qualify for Brazil 2014 World Cup - Soccer - SI.com". Sportsillustrated.cnn.com. 25 September 2012. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  4. ^ "Great Asian Derbies – Al Ansar SC vs Nejmeh SC (Beirut)". GhanaSoccernet. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  5. ^ "The Hezbollah Club". BabaGol. Retrieved 16 February 2019.