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 haven't won a major title internationally, Ahed became the first Lebanese club to win the AFC Cup in 2019. The national under-18 team were the first Lebanon men's national team to play in a final, finishing as runners-up in the 2021 WAFF U-18 Championship.
Football in Lebanon was introduced by the educated class in Lebanon.[6] First played by foreign teachers at the American University of Beirut (AUB) in the late-1800s, football quickly grew in popularity with the immigration of Armenians to Lebanon during the French Mandate.[6] Football was seen as an elite activity, and was mainly played in Christian schools.[6]
In 1931 Khalil Hilmi, a member of Riyadi, attempted to form a Federation.[7] However, the proposal failed as Nahda opposed the formation.[7] On 22 March 1933, representatives of thirteen football clubs gathered in the Minet El Hosn district in Beirut to form the Lebanese Football Association (LFA).[8] Hussein Sejaan was the LFA's first president.[9] Lebanon was one of the first nations in the Middle East to establish an administrative body for association football.[a][10] The Lebanese Premier League began in May 1934, with Nahda winning the first title.[11] The LFA joined FIFA in 1936.[12]
Between the 1940s and 1960s,[6] Armenian clubs, most notably Homenetmen and Homenmen, were the most prominent in the early Lebanese footballing scene.[19] The two clubs shared 11 league titles in 16 seasons between 1943 and 1969.[11] In 1964 the LFA joined the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).[12]
Between the 1960s and 1975 Lebanese football was at its peak, with Nejmeh even beating USSR champions Ararat Yerevan in 1974.[20] In 1975, one week before the Lebanese Civil War, Brazilian player Pelé played a friendly game for Nejmeh against a team of Lebanese Premier League stars.[21] On the day of the game, 40,000 spectators were at the stadium from early morning to watch the match.[21] From 1975 to 1990, the civil war made it impossible to practice football.[22]
Following the civil war, players from lower-income families began to join football clubs, specifically from impoverished Sunni and Shia areas.[18] Ansar set a Guinness World Record by winning 11 consecutive national titles between 1988 and 1999.[23]
Lebanon hosted the 2000 AFC Asian Cup, with the national team finishing last in the group with only two points.[24] In 2001, the LFA joined the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) as one of its founding members.[25] From 2000, Nejmeh were the dominating force in Lebanon, winning five out of nine league titles until 2009. In 2005 they reached the final of the AFC Cup, becoming the first Lebanese side to do so.[26] However they lost to Al-Faisaly 4–2 on aggregate.[27] During the 2010s Ahed, who had only won one league title prior, won six league titles. In the 2010–11 season Ahed won the league, cup, Super Cup and Elite Cup, becoming the first team in Lebanon to accomplish both a treble and a quadruple.[28]
After winning the 2018–19 Lebanese Premier League Ahed became the three-time defending champions, a feat accomplished only one other time, by Ansar in 1992.[citation needed] In 2018 the national team qualified for their first ever major tournament: the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. They won their first game in the tournament on 17 January 2019, against North Korea 4–1 in the group stage; however, they narrowly missed out on the knock-out stage on the fair play rule.[29] On 4 November 2019, Ahed became the first Lebanese side to win the AFC Cup after defeating April 25 in the 2019 final.[30] The 2019–20 season was cancelled due to financial reasons amid the then-impending coronavirus pandemic.[31][32]
The Lebanese Super Cup (1996–present) is a single match played between the winners of the Lebanese Premier League and the Lebanese FA Cup.
The Lebanese Elite Cup (1996–2023) was an annual cup competition contested by the top six teams of the previous Lebanese Premier League season.
The Lebanese Challenge Cup (1913–2023) was an annual cup competition contested by the teams placed between 7th and 10th in the previous Lebanese Premier League season and the two promoted teams from the Lebanese Second Division.
Lebanon hosted the 2000 AFC Asian Cup and were eliminated from the group stage.[2] They participated in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, their first through regular qualification,[36] winning their first game in the competition against North Korea in the group stage. However, Lebanon narrowly missed out on the knock-out stages by the fair-play rule.[29]
Women's football in Lebanon, while initially not very popular due to the social stigma attached to it,[40][41] has seen a rise in popularity in the late-2010s.[42] It is mainly played in the affluent areas of the country.[43] The Lebanese Women's Football League was founded in 2008, with Sadaka winning the first title.[44] Safa became the first Lebanese women's team to win an international competition, after winning the 2022 edition of the WAFF Women's Clubs Championship.[45]
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