| Organising body | Lebanese Football Association |
|---|---|
| Founded | May 1934; 91 years ago (May 1934) |
| Country | Lebanon |
| Confederation | AFC |
| Number of clubs | 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 | Ansar (15th title) (2024–25) |
| Most championships | Ansar (15 titles) |
| Top goalscorer | Vardan Ghazaryan (129)[a] |
| Broadcaster(s) | MTV Lebanon,FIFA+ |
| Website | the-lfa |
| Current:2024–25 Lebanese Premier League | |
TheLebanese First Division (Arabic:الدوري اللبناني الدرجة الأولى), commonly known as theLebanese Premier League (Arabic:الدوري اللبناني الممتاز,romanized: ad-dawrī al-lubnānī al-mumtāz), is the top division of theLebanese football league system. Established in 1934 and organized by theLebanese Football Association (LFA), the Lebanese Premier League is one of the oldest in theMiddle East, originally launched under the name Edmond Rubeiz Cup. Throughout its history, the league has experienced several interruptions due to political instability and conflict.
As of the2024–25 season, the league features 12 clubs and employs a split-season format, with a regular season followed by championship and relegation rounds. The league champion qualifies for theAFC Challenge League, while the bottom two teams are relegated to theLebanese Second Division. The league introducedVideo Assistant Referee (VAR) technology in 2023.
Prominent early clubs includedNahda (who won the first edition),Homenetmen, andHomenmen. In recent years, clubs such asAhed,Ansar, andNejmeh have dominated the competition. Ansar holds the record for most league titles with 15, including a streak of 11 consecutive championships between 1988 and 1999.[b]
On 22 March 1933, representatives of 13 football clubs gathered in the Minet El Hosn district inBeirut to form theLebanese Football Association (LFA).[2][3] The Lebanese Premier League began in May 1934 as the Edmond Rubeiz Cup, in honour ofNahda player Edmond Rubeiz who had died oftyphoid the previous year.[4] The competition was held in aknockout format, with Nahda beatingDPHB 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, mainlyHomenetmen andHomenmen, 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 theLebanese Civil War, Ansar dominated the league winning 11 consecutive league titles between 1988 and 1999.[5] They set aGuinness World Record for most consecutive league titles, which has been since broken bySkonto 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 in2008 and have since been crowned champions a total of nine times.[5] After having won the league title in2019, Ahed became the three-time defending champions, a feat accomplished only one other time, by Ansar in 1992.[8] Due tofinancial and political issues in the country, as well as theCOVID-19 pandemic, the LFA decided to cancel the ongoing2019–20 season.[9][10]
There are 12 clubs in the Lebanese Premier League. Teams receivethree points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss.
Teams areranked by total points, then head-to-head points, and then head-to-headgoal 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]
Prior to the2020–21 season, each club played the others twice (a doubleround-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). From2021–22 to2022–23, clubs faced each team in their section twice (10 additional matchdays). Since2023–24, 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]
A system ofpromotion and relegation exists between the Lebanese Premier League and theLebanese 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 (VAR), was introduced to the Lebanese Premier League in the second half of the2023–24 season. It uses technology and officials to assist thereferee in making decisions on the pitch. The match between Ahed andRacing Beirut in the first matchday, on 6 August 2023, was the first to test the use of VAR.[17]
| Club | Wins | Winning years |
|---|---|---|
Ansar | 15 | 1987–88,1989–90,1990–91,1991–92,1992–93,1993–94,1994–95,1995–96,1996–97,1997–98,1998–99,2005–06,2006–07,2020–21,2024–25 |
| 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 |
The following 12 clubs will compete in the Lebanese Premier League during the2025–26 season.
| Club | Home city | Position in2024–25 | Top division titles | Most recent top division title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ahed | Beirut(Ouzai) | 3rd | 9 | 2022–23 |
| Ansar | Beirut(Tariq el-Jdideh) | 1st | 15 | 2024–25 |
| Bourj | Beirut(Bourj el-Barajneh) | 6th | 0 | — |
| Jwayya | Bint Jbeil | 1st in theSecond Division | 0 | — |
| Mabarra | Beirut(Tariq el-Matar) | 2nd in theSecond Division | 0 | — |
| Nejmeh | Beirut(Ras Beirut) | 4th | 9 | 2023–24 |
| Racing Beirut | Beirut(Achrafieh) | 10th | 3 | 1969–70 |
| Riyadi Abbasiyah | Aabbassiyeh | 9th | 0 | — |
| Safa | Beirut(Wata el-Msaytbeh) | 2nd | 3 | 2015–16 |
| Sagesse | Beirut(Achrafieh) | 5th | 0 | — |
| Shabab Sahel | Beirut(Haret Hreik) | 7th | 0 | — |
| Tadamon Sour | Tyre | 6th | 0 | — |
  Beirut Locations of the 2024–25 Lebanese Premier League teams |
Broadcasting rights for the Lebanese Premier League were distributed toMTV Lebanon starting from the2016–17 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 itsYouTube 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 andLebanese Women's Football League through theFIFA+ platform;[23] FIFA+ also replaced the LFA YouTube channel in transmitting the remaining Lebanese Premier League games not covered by MTV.[24]
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At the start of the2005–06 season, the Lebanese government imposed a ban on spectators due to fears of political andsectarian-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, withNejmeh's "Ultras Supernova" being the first.[27][28][29] Other teams quickly followed, such asAnsar,Ahed andBourj.[30][29][31]
Prior to the2023–24 season, Lebanese clubs were permitted three foreign players on the field simultaneously.[32] Additionally, up to two extraPalestinian 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 anAFC 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 the1998–99 season, theLebanese Football Association has prevented the acquisition of foreign goalkeepers.[36][37] Due to theeconomic situation in Lebanon, clubs were barred from fielding foreign players in the league in2020–21 and the first half of 2021–22.[11]
Players may only betransferred duringtransfer 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]
Starting from the2019–20 season, all teams in the Lebanese Premier League andLebanese Second Division must involve a certain number of under-21 players in both the league and theLebanese 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 the2022–23 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]
Bold indicates a player still active in the Lebanese Premier League.Italics indicates a player still active outside the Lebanese Premier League.
| Rank | Player | Club(s) | Years active | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Vardan Ghazaryan | Homenetmen,Sagesse | 1992–2002, 2003–2004, 2006–2009 | 129[c] |
| 2 | Fadi Alloush | Ansar,Akhaa Ahli Aley,Homenmen | 1985–1999 | 124[d] |
| 3 | Hassan Maatouk[41] | Ahed,Nejmeh,Ansar | 2004–2011, 2017–present | 123[e] |
| 4 | Abbas Ahmad Atwi | Nejmeh,Shabab Arabi,Shabab Sahel,Akhaa Ahli Aley | 1997–2012, 2012–2022 | 114[e] |
| 5 | Mohammad Kassas[42] | Shabab Sahel,Sagesse,Olympic Beirut,Nejmeh,Ahed,Safa | 1999–2005, 2006–2008, 2008–2011, 2016–2017 | 107[f] |
Vardan Ghazaryan holds the record for most Lebanese Premier League goals, with 129.[a][1] Seven players were top scorers more than once:Elhadji Malick Tall four times,Hassan Maatouk three times, andLevon Altonian,Fadi Alloush,Mohammad Kassas,Mohammed Ghaddar, andLucas Galán twice.[43] Fadi Alloush holds the record for most goals in a season (32) while playing forAnsar.[44]
On 30 July 2019, theLebanese Football Association announced a three-year deal with German sportswear companyJako for €120,000, with the Jako Match 2.0 becoming the league's official match ball starting from the2019–20 season.[45]
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