| Season | 2019–20 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 20 September 2019 – 17 October 2019 |
| Champions | None |
2020–21 → | |
The2019–20 Lebanese Premier League was intended to be the 59th season of theLebanese Premier League, the top Lebanese professional league forassociation football clubs, since its establishment in 1934.
Ahed were the three-time defending champions.[citation needed]Bourj andShabab Bourj joined as the promoted clubs from the2018–19 Lebanese Premier League. They replacedBekaa andRacing, who were relegated to the2019–20 Lebanese Second Division.
On 21 January 2020, the LFA decided to suspend all football leagues until further notice, and cancelled the three match days that were previously played (the last one being on 17 October 2019), due to the ongoingeconomic crisis and the impending arrival of thecoronavirus pandemic. The season was officially cancelled on 28 May 2020.
Starting from the 2019–20 season, all teams in the Lebanese Premier League andLebanese Second Division had to involve a certain number of under-22 players in both the league and theLebanese FA Cup, with a minimum of 1,000 minutes for one player, a minimum of 1,500 aggregate minutes for two players and a minimum of 2,000 aggregate minutes for three players. In case a club were to not meet the required number of minutes at the end of the season, they would have had three points deducted from their total in the league.[1]
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 the 2019–20 season.[2]
Due to political and financial issues in the country, the LFA decided to suspend all football leagues until further notice on 21 January 2020, and cancelled the three match days that were previously played (the last one being on 17 October 2019).[3] With theCOVID-19 pandemic also stopping sporting activities globally, the season was officially cancelled on 28 May 2020.[4]
Twelve teams were due to compete in the league – the top ten teams from the previous season and the two teams promoted from theSecond Division. The promoted teams wereBourj (returning to the top flight after a 16-year absence) andShabab Bourj (promoted for the first time in their history).[5][6] They replacedBekaa andRacing, ending their top flight spells of five and eleven years respectively.[7][8]
Prior to the start of each season, every team chooses two stadiums as their home venues. In case both stadiums are unavailable for a certain matchday, another venue is used.
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ahed | Beirut(Ouzai) | Ahed Stadium[a] | 2,000 |
| Akhaa Ahli Aley | Aley | Amin AbdelNour Stadium | 3,500 |
| Ansar | Beirut(Tariq El Jdideh) | Ansar Stadium[a] | — |
| Bourj | Beirut(Bourj el-Barajneh) | Bourj el-Barajneh Stadium[a] | 1,500 |
| Chabab Ghazieh | Ghazieh | Kfarjoz Stadium | 2,000 |
| Nejmeh | Beirut(Ras Beirut) | Rafic El-Hariri Stadium[a] | 5,000 |
| Safa | Beirut(Wata El-Museitbeh) | Safa Stadium[a] | 4,000 |
| Salam Zgharta | Zgharta | Zgharta Sports Complex | 5,000 |
| Shabab Bourj | Beirut(Bourj el-Barajneh) | Bourj el-Barajneh Stadium[a] | 1,500 |
| Shabab Sahel | Beirut(Haret Hreik) | Shabab Al Sahel Stadium[a] | — |
| Tadamon Sour | Tyre | Sour Municipal Stadium | 6,500 |
| Tripoli | Tripoli | Tripoli Municipal Stadium | 22,000 |
Lebanese clubs are allowed to have three foreign players at their disposal at any time, as well as one extraPalestinian player born in Lebanon.[9] Moreover, each club competing in anAFC competition is allowed to field one extra foreign player, to be only played in continental matches, as the AFC allows four foreign players to play in the starting eleven (one of whom from an AFC country).[10]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ansar | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 6 | Qualification forAFC Cup group stage |
| 2 | Bourj | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 6 | |
| 3 | Nejmeh | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 6 | |
| 4 | Shabab Sahel | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | |
| 5 | Akhaa Ahli Aley | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | |
| 6 | Safa | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 4 | |
| 7 | Ahed | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 3 | |
| 8 | Salam Zgharta | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
| 9 | Tripoli | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 3 | |
| 10 | Shabab Bourj | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 3 | |
| 11 | Tadamon Sour | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 1 | Relegation toLebanese Second Division |
| 12 | Chabab Ghazieh | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 0 |
