Lebanese FA Cup
Organizing bodyLebanese Football Association
Founded1937; 87 years ago (1937)
RegionLebanon
Number of teams28
Qualifier forAFC Cup
Domestic cup(s)Lebanese Super Cup
Current champion(s)Nejmeh (8th title)
Most successful club(s)Ansar (15 titles)
Television broadcastersMTV Lebanon
2022–23 Lebanese FA Cup

The Lebanon Cup (Arabic: كأس لبنان), commonly known as the Lebanese FA Cup, is a Lebanese football annual cup competition. The first edition, held in 1937, was won by Nahda. The most successful club in the competition is Ansar with 15 titles, followed by Nejmeh with eight. Ansar have also contested the most finals with 20, followed by Nejmeh with 17.[1]

In the first FA Cup final, held on 26 June 1938, Nahda beat Hilmi-Sport 3–2 in the replay (after drawing 1–1 the first match).[2]

Format

As well as being presented with the trophy, the winning team also qualifies for the AFC Cup. If the winners have already qualified for the AFC Cup via Lebanese Premier League, or are not entitled to play in AFC competitions for any reason, the place goes to the next highest placed finisher in the league table.

There are a total of six rounds in the competition. The competition begins in September with the first round and is contested only by 14 clubs: all 12 Lebanese Second Division clubs and two Lebanese Third Division clubs. Six winners of the first round go on to play the second round in November, with the three winners of the second round qualifying to the round of 16, as well as one winner from the first round. In this phase, played in January, all the 12 current Lebanese Premier League teams enter, bringing the total to 16 teams. Between April and May, the quarter-finals and the semi-finals are disputed, with final being contested at the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium in May.

Phase Round Clubs
remaining		 Clubs
involved		 Winners from
previous round		 New entries
this round		 Leagues entering
at this round
First phase First round 26 14 none 14 12 Second Division teams
2 Third Division teams
Second round 19 6 6 none none
Second phase Round of 16 16 16 3 13 12 Lebanese Premier League teams
1 First round team
Quarter-finals 8 8 8 none none
Semi-finals 4 4 4 none none
Final 2 2 2 none none

Winners and finalists

Winners by year

Lebanese FA Cup finals[1]
No. Season Winners Score Runners–up
1st 1937–38 Nahda 1–1 Hilmi-Sport
1st (R) 3–2
2nd 1938–39 Hilmi-Sport 2–1 Homenetmen
3rd 1939–40 Hilmi-Sport 3–2 DPHB
4th 1940–41 Nahda 4–2 Homenetmen
5th 1942–43 Homenetmen 3–2 Nahda
6th 1944–45 Nahda 2–2 Racing Beirut
6th (R) 3–2
7th 1946–47 Nahda 2–1 Pagramian
8th 1947–48 Homenetmen 1–0 Racing Beirut
9th 1950–51 Shabiba Mazraa 4–2 Nejmeh
10th 1951–52 Shabiba Mazraa 8–1 Homenetmen
11th 1961–62 Homenetmen 4–2 Shabiba Mazraa
12th 1963–64 Safa 1–0 Nejmeh
13th 1970–71 Nejmeh 3–1 Safa
14th 1985–86 Safa 1–0 Ansar
15th 1986–87 Nejmeh 2–0 Tadamon Beirut
16th 1987–88 Ansar 1–0 Shabab Sahel
17th 1988–89 Nejmeh 4–0 Tadamon Sour
18th 1989–90 Ansar 3–2 Safa
19th 1990–91 Ansar 2–1 Safa
20th 1991–92 Ansar 2–0 (aet) Harakat Shabab
21st 1992–93 Bourj 4–1 Homenmen
22nd 1993–94 Ansar 4–1 Homenmen
23rd 1994–95 Ansar 1–0 Safa
24th 1995–96 Ansar 4–2 (aet) Nejmeh
25th 1996–97 Nejmeh 2–0 Ansar
26th 1997–98 Nejmeh 2–1 Homenmen
27th 1998–99: Ansar 2–1 (aet) Homenmen
28th 1999–2000 Shabab Sahel 1–1 (p) Safa
29th 2000–01 Tadamon Sour 2–1 Ansar
30th 2001–02 Ansar 2–1 Ahed
31st 2002–03 Olympic Beirut 3–2 (aet) Nejmeh
32nd 2003–04 Ahed 2–1 (aet) Nejmeh
33rd 2004–05 Ahed 2–1 Olympic Beirut
34th 2005–06 Ansar 3–1 Sagesse
35th 2006–07 Ansar 3–1 Ahed
36th 2007–08 Mabarra 2–1 Safa
37th 2008–09 Ahed 2–0 Shabab Sahel
38th 2009–10 Ansar 2–1 (aet) Mabarra
39th 2010–11 Ahed 3–0 Safa
40th 2011–12 Ansar 2–1 (aet) Nejmeh
41st 2012–13 Safa 2–1 Shabab Sahel
42nd 2013–14 Salam Zgharta 1–0 (aet) Tripoli
43rd 2014–15 Tripoli 2–1 Nejmeh
44th 2015–16 Nejmeh 0–0 (p) Ahed
45th 2016–17 Ansar 1–0 Safa
46th 2017–18 Ahed 0–0 (p) Nejmeh
47th 2018–19 Ahed 1–0 Ansar
48th 2020–21 Ansar 1–1 (p) Nejmeh
49th 2021–22 Nejmeh 2–1 Ansar
50th 2022–23 Nejmeh 0–0 (p) Ahed

Results by team

Results by team
Club Wins Runners-up Total final
appearances
Ansar 15 5 20
Nejmeh 8 9 17
Ahed 6 4 10
Nahda 4 1 5
Safa 3 8 11
Homenetmen 3 3 6
Tripoli 2 2 4
Hilmi-Sport 2 1 3
Shabiba Mazraa 2 1 3
Shabab Sahel 1 3 4
Mabarra 1 1 2
Tadamon Sour 1 1 2
Bourj 1 0 1
Salam Zgharta 1 0 1
Homenmen 0 4 4
Racing Beirut 0 2 2
Pagramian 0 1 1
Harakat Shabab 0 1 1
Sagesse 0 1 1
DPHB 0 1 1
Tadamon Beirut 0 1 1

Media coverage

MTV Lebanon broadcasts a selection of cup matches.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Stokkermans, Karel. "Lebanon – List of Cup Winners". RSSSF. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  2. ^ Sakr 1992, p. 26.

Bibliography

External links

Lebanese FA Cup
Football in Lebanon
National football cups (AFC)
Categories