Cusco FC to face Flamengo, Estudiantes La Plata and Medellín in Group A of Copa Libertadores

The draw for the Copa Libertadores group stage was held yesterday evening, 19 March 2026. Cusco FC qualified for the first time to Copa Libertadores under this name, and they returned to the competition after 7 years - their last presence was in the first stage of 2019, when they played under the old name Real Garcilaso and were knocked out by Deportivo La Guaira of Venezuela. Their last presence in the group stage was in 2018, when they classified last in their group.

This year they will have a difficult mission in Group A, where they will face the current Brazilian champions and Copa Libertadores title holders CR Flamengo, along with Argentinian 2025 Clausura champions Estudiantes La Plata and Colombian powerhouse Independiente Medellín (a.k.a. DIM). The top two teams will qualify for the round of 16, while the third-placed team will qualify for the knock-out round play-offs in Copa Sudamericana.

Cusco FC have had an unexpectedly poor start of the season, and are currently classified 13th (out of 18) in the 2026 Peruvian Liga 1, after 2 wins, 1 draw, and 4 defeats, totalling 7 points in 7 league games, despite maintaining the majority of players who contributed to the second place in the 2025 season and the same managerial team, led by Argentinian Miguel Rondelli, currently in his third season as manager of Cusco FC (but his position is in real danger). Cusco FC lost all their away matches so far in the league, and also lost at home to their city rivals Cienciano, 2-1, in their last game, on 15 March. However, in their previous game, on 7 March, Cusco FC succeeded to win 1-0 over their other city rivals, Deportivo Garcilaso. Their next game will be Saturday, 21 March, away at newly-promoted Deportivo Moquegua.

The first match for Cusco FC in Copa Libertadores will be on 7, 8 or 9 April at home against CR Flamengo. One can anticipate that Inca Garcilaso de la Vega Stadium will be full.

2025-2026 Lebanese Premier League

 

2025-2026 Lebanese Premier League

 

Season	2025-2026
Dates	19 September 2025 – 2026
Champions
AFC Challenge Cup
Relegated	Bourj FC (withdrawn)
Matches played
Goals scored
Top goalscorer
Biggest home win	Jwaya 7-0 Racing Beirut (round 4, 18 October 2025)
Biggest away win	Racing Beirut 0-6 Ansar (round 14, 8 February 2026)
Highest scoring	Jwaya 7-0 Racing Beirut (round 4, 18 October 2025) Racing Beirut 1-6 Safa (round 5, 2 December 2025)
Longest winning run	Nejmeh – 6 matches (rounds 1-6)
Longest unbeaten run	Ansar – 14 matches (rounds 2-15)
Longest winless run	Racing Beirut – 16 matches (have not won yet)
Longest losing run	Racing Beirut – 10 matches (rounds 7-16)

 

Competition details and format

 

The Lebanese Premier League, or simply the Lebanese League, represents the top tier of the football system in Lebanon. It is organised by the Lebanese Football Association and 2025-2026 is the 64^th complete season since its establishment in 1934, or the 67^th official season as counted by the Lebanese Football Association. Ansar are the defending champions.

The “split” competition format introduced in 2020-2021 was also kept for 2025-2026. However, important changes to the format have been made. There are two stages, just like in previous seasons, but in the first (regular) stage the established format is a double round-robin championship, each team playing all other teams twice, a total of 22 rounds, compared to the single round-robin used before. This stage started on 19 September 2025 and will end in 2026. It involved a “winter” break in January, between the first half and the second half of the regular season, which was also a transfer window period. After the first half of the regular stage, Bourj FC withdrew from the competition, leaving the league with only 11 teams, but their results are still counted. Their matches in the second half of the regular stage are cancelled. On 28 February 2026, the league was interrupted and all matches were postponed due to the war on Iran and subsequent consequences for Lebanon. It is not known when the league will resume.

For the second stage, teams will be divided into three groups (compared to two groups before) of four teams. The top 4 teams will play each other in a double round robin for the championship title in a championship (play-off) group, the teams classified 5 through 8 will play each other in a double round robin in a middle group, while the bottom 4 teams were supposed to play each other in a double round robin to avoid relegation, in a relegation (play-out) group. However, the relegation group will only consist of 3 teams, because Bourj FC withdrew from the competition after the first half of the regular season, and only one team remains to be relegated out of the three to play in the relegation group. Just like in the previous seasons, only half of the points earned in the first stage will be carried over in the second stage. The points are halved, and then rounded up if necessary. However, the goal difference record is carried over entirely in the second stage. It is not known if the second stage will be played, given the current geopolitical situation.

Matches are played mostly during the week-ends, and rarely in mid-week, for various reasons. The usual kick-off time is in the afternoon. MTV Lebanon has the broadcasting rights for all the matches of the Lebanese Premier League but they broadcast only some of the matches, through MTV Sports, on different media outlets, including their TV channel, YouTube channel and Facebook. All matches are broadcasted by the Lebanese FA on the FIFA Plus (FIFA +) website.

Matches in the first half of the regular (first) stage of the season are played according to a drawing of lots. In the second half of the regular stage, matches are played in the same order and in reverse location compared to the first half to provide a more balanced and equal situation for all the teams.

In the second stage of the season, teams play each other according to the first stage table, in three groups: the top 4 teams are involved in the championship (play-off) group, the teams classified 5 through 8 play in the middle group, while the bottom 3 remaining teams (initially 4 teams before Bourj FC withdrew) are included in the relegation (play-out) group. Matches in the second stage are scheduled in such a way that the first classified play the last classified of its group in the first round and the second classified in the last round. Therefore, the potentially decisive matches are scheduled in the last round.

The champions and the second classified have the right to play in the AFC Challenge Cup in the next season (2026-2027). The third classified may qualify for the Arab Champions Cup. The Lebanese FA Cup winners are no longer considered to play in any continental or international competition. The last two teams in the classification are relegated to the Second Division.

The defending champions, Ansar, are among the main favourites for the title this year, together with Al Ahed, Nejmeh, Safa, and newly-promoted Jwaya. In recent years, Nejmeh, Al Ahed, and Ansar have been the usual contenders for the title, while Safa and Jwaya have become strong contenders recently.

The other teams are likely to fight for a position in the middle group at best. Their realistic goal is to classify in between 5^th and 8^th at the end of the first stage, in order to play in the middle group in the second stage, and therefore to stay away from relegation.

In terms of relegation, Racing and Bourj FC had serious financial problems at the beginning of the season and were among those expected to be the main contenders in the fight to avoid relegation. Despite having some good results and classifying above the relegation zone, Bourj FC eventually withdrew from the competition after the first half of the first (regular) stage for financial reasons, leaving only one relegation spot. On the other hand, Racing had a very poor first stage, obtaining only one point, and classifying well behind all other teams, which makes them serious candidates for relegation at the end of the season. They might be joined in the relegation (play-out) group in the second stage by two of the following teams: Tadamon Sour, Riyadi Al Abbasiyah, newly-promoted Mabarra, Shabab Sahel or Hikma / Sagesse.

 

Team changes from the 2024-2025

 

Promoted from the Second Division

 

Jwaya (1^st in the Second Division)

Mabarra (2^nd in the Second Division)

 

Relegated from the Premier League

 

Shabab Baalbek

Shabab Al-Ghazieh

 

Teams

 

Please note that teams in Beirut and the southern suburbs of Beirut usually play their home matches on different grounds than their own, while their own stadium is used only as a training ground. Many matches are played on neutral grounds.

 

 

Team	Home town	Stadium	Capacity	2024-2025
Al Ansar	Beirut (Tariq el Jdideh)	Imam Musa Al Sadr	500	Champions
		Fouad Chehab	5,000
		Rashid Karami	10,000
		Camille Chamoun	49,500
Safa SC	Beirut (Wata el-Museitbeh)	Safa	4,000	Runners-up
		Fouad Chehab	5,000
Al Ahed	Bourj el-Barajneh (Ouzai)	Al Ahed	2,000	3rd
		Fouad Chehab	5,000
		Imam Musa Al Sadr	500
		Camille Chamoun	49,500
Nejmeh	Beirut (Ras Beirut)	Rafic El Hariri[1]	5,000	4th
		Fouad Chehab	5,000
		Camille Chamoun	49,500
		Mohamad Said Saad	6,500
Hikma / Sagesse	Beirut (Achrafieh)	Sin El Fil[2]	N/A	5th
		Fouad Chehab	5,000
Tadamon Sour	Tyre / Sour	Sour Municipal[3]	6,500	6th
		Abbas Nasser	500
		Imam Musa Al Sadr	500
Bourj FC	Bourj el-Barajneh	Bourj el-Barajneh[4]	1,500	7th
		Amin Abdelnour	3,500
		Al Ahed	2,000
Shabab Sahel	Haret Hreik	Shabab Sahel[5]	500	8th
		Amin Abdelnour	3,500
		Al Ahed	2,000
		Fouad Chehab	5,000
Riyadi Al Abbasiyah	Al Abbasiyah	Abbas Nasser	500	9th
Racing Beirut	Beirut (Achrafieh)	Fouad Chehab	5,000	10th
		Safa	4,000
		Al Ahed	2,000
Jwaya	Jwaya	Mohamad Said Saad	6,500	Promoted
		Abbas Nasser	500
		Fouad Chehab	5,000
Mabarra	Bourj el-Barajneh (Tariq el-Matar)	Mabarra[6]	N/A	Promoted
		Al Ahed	2,000
		Camille Chamoun	49,500
		Fouad Chehab	5,000

 

List of stadiums used for matches in the Premier League

 

Only 9 stadiums are allowed to host Premier League matches in 2025-2026. Note that most teams may use two or more stadiums as their home ground and many matches are played on neutral grounds.

 

Name of the stadium	City	Capacity	Teams
Fouad Chehab	Jounieh	5,000	Nejmeh, Hikma / Sagesse, Racing, Ansar, Al Ahed, Safa, Shabab Sahel, Jwaya, Mabarra
Amin Abdelnour	Aley (Bhamdoun)	3,500	Bourj FC, Shabab Sahel
Al Ahed	Bourj el-Barajneh (Ouzai)	2,000	Al Ahed, Bourj FC, Shabab Sahel, Mabarra, Racing
Safa	Beirut (Wata el-Museitbeh)	4,000	Safa, Racing
Imam Musa Al Sadr	Beirut (Tariq el Jdideh)	500	Ansar, Tadamon Sour, Al Ahed
Abbas Nasser	Abbasiyah	500	Riyadi Al Abbasiyah, Tadamon Sour, Jwaya
Rashid Karami	Tripoli	10,000	Ansar
Mohamed Said Saad	Jwaya	6,500	Jwaya, Nejmeh
Camille Chamoun	Beirut	49,500	Ansar, Mabarra, Nejmeh, Al Ahed

 

Geographical distribution of teams

 

Most of the teams (9 out of 12) are from Beirut and the southern suburbs of Beirut. Three teams, Tadamon Sour, Riyadi Al Abbasiyah, and Jwaya are located in the South Governorate.

 

Location of the 2025-2026 Lebanese Premier League teams.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025-26_Lebanese_Premier_League

 

Location of the Beirut teams and of those in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025-26_Lebanese_Premier_League

 

Part of Lebanon	No. of teams	Teams
Beirut (proper)	5	Nejmeh, Ansar, Safa, Racing, Hikma / Sagesse
Southern suburbs of Beirut[7]	4	Al Ahed, Bourj, Shabab Sahel, Mabarra
South	3	Tadamon Sour, Riyadi Al Abbasiyah, Jwaya

 

Foreign players

 

There are four foreign players allowed in the squads, as well as a number of Lebanese-born Palestinian players.

 

Compulsory use of young players and limits to the use of players aged 30+

 

All teams have to use at least two young players, under 21 years of age, in the Premier League. There should be a minimum of 750 minutes played by one young player and 1200 combined minutes played by two young players for each team.

If teams fail to comply, points would be deducted at the end of the season.

Also, only eight players above the age of 30 are allowed in a roster, and only five of them can be used simultaneously in the field.

 

First (regular) stage

 

Round 1 (19-21 September 2025)

 

Bourj	0-3	Jwaya
Shabab Sahel	0-0	Mabarra
Riyadi Al Abbasiyah	0-3	Al Ahed
Hikma / Sagesse	2-0	Racing
Tadamon Sour	1-1	Safa
Ansar	1-2	Nejmeh

 

Round 2 (26-28 September 2025)

 

Al Ahed	3-0	Racing
Riyadi Al Abbasiyah	0-2	Jwaya
Shabab Sahel	0-0	Tadamon Sour
Hikma / Sagesse	1-4	Ansar
Bourj	0-0	Mabarra
Nejmeh	1-0	Safa

 

Round 3 (3-5 October 2025)

 

Ansar	2-0	Racing
Nejmeh	3-1	Shabab Sahel
Safa	0-0	Hikma / Sagesse
Al Ahed	1-0	Jwaya
Bourj	3-1	Tadamon Sour
Mabarra	1-1	Riyadi Al Abbasiyah

 

Round 4 (17-19 October 2025)

 

Tadamon Sour	1-3	Riyadi Al Abbasiyah
Al Ahed	2-0	Mabarra
Jwaya	7-0	Racing
Ansar	1-0	Safa
Shabab Sahel	0-2	Hikma / Sagesse
Nejmeh	3-0	Bourj

 

Round 5 (25-26 October 2025)

 

Tadamon Sour	0-2	Al Ahed
Jwaya	2-0	Mabarra
Riyadi Al Abbasiyah	0-1	Nejmeh
Hikma / Sagesse	1-0	Bourj
Shabab Sahel	1-1	Ansar – played on 2 December 2025
Racing	1-6	Safa – played on 2 December 2025

 

Round 6 (31 October – 2 November 2025)

 

Mabarra	0-0	Racing
Al Ahed	0-4	Nejmeh
Hikma / Sagesse	3-0	Riyadi Al Abbasiyah
Jwaya	0-0	Tadamon Sour
Safa	1-0	Shabab Sahel – played on 30 December 2025
Ansar	4-1	Bourj – played on 30 December 2025

 

Round 7 (7-9 November 2025)

 

Riyadi Al Abbasiyah	0-1	Ansar
Hikma / Sagesse	1-3	Al Ahed
Mabarra	0-3	Tadamon Sour
Racing	0-4	Shabab Sahel
Nejmeh	0-1	Jwaya
Safa	2-0	Bourj

 

Round 8 (5-7 December 2025)

 

Jwaya	2-1	Hikma / Sagesse
Shabab Sahel	1-0	Bourj
Al Ahed	1-5	Ansar
Racing	0-1	Tadamon Sour
Safa	2-1	Riyadi Al Abbasiyah
Mabarra	2-2	Nejmeh

 

Round 9 (12-14 December 2025)

 

Bourj	2-1	Racing
Tadamon Sour	0-0	Nejmeh
Riyadi Al Abbasiyah	0-0	Shabab Sahel
Safa	0-1	Al Ahed
Mabarra	2-1	Hikma / Sagesse
Jwaya	0-1	Ansar

 

Round 10 (19-21 December 2025)

 

Bourj	1-0	Riyadi Al Abbasiyah
Tadamon Sour	0-0	Hikma / Sagesse
Racing	1-4	Nejmeh
Shabab Sahel	2-1	Al Ahed
Ansar	2-0	Mabarra
Safa	0-1	Jwaya

 

Round 11 (25-28 December 2025)

 

Bourj	1-4	Al Ahed
Mabarra	1-0	Safa
Shabab Sahel	2-0	Jwaya
Ansar	2-0	Tadamon Sour
Nejmeh	3-0	Hikma / Sagesse
Racing	1-3	Riyadi Al Abbasiyah

 

Table after the first half of the regular season

 

1	Ansar	11	9	1	1	24-6	28	Qualified for the play-off
2	Nejmeh	11	8	2	1	23-6	26	Qualified for the play-off
3	Al Ahed	11	8	0	3	21-13	24	Qualified for the play-off
4	Jwaya	11	7	1	3	18-5	22	Qualified for the play-off
5	Shabab Sahel	11	4	4	3	11-8	16	Qualified for the middle group
6	Safa	11	4	2	5	12-8	14	Qualified for the middle group
7	Hikma / Sagesse	11	4	2	5	12-14	14	Qualified for the middle group
8	Tadamon Sour	11	2	5	4	7-11	11	Qualified for the middle group
9	Mabarra	11	2	5	4	6-13	11	Qualified for the play-out
10	Bourj	11	3	1	7	8-20	10	Qualified for the play-out
11	Riyadi Al Abbasiyah	11	2	2	7	8-16	8	Qualified for the play-out
12	Racing	11	0	1	10	4-34	1	Qualified for the play-out

 

If two or more teams have the same number of points, the results of head-to-head matches between them are the main ranking criteria.

 

Round 12 (23-25 January 2026)

 

Jwaya	cancelled	Bourj
Mabarra	1-0	Shabab Sahel
Racing	0-2	Hikma / Sagesse
Safa	2-0	Tadamon Sour
Al Ahed	0-1	Riyadi Al Abbasiyah
Nejmeh	0-0	Ansar

 

Round 13 (30 January – 1 February 2026)

 

Mabarra	cancelled	Bourj
Ansar	2-0	Hikma / Sagesse
Tadamon Sour	1-2	Shabab Sahel
Safa	1-0	Nejmeh
Racing	0-2	Al Ahed
Jwaya	0-0	Riyadi Al Abbasiyah

 

Round 14 (6-8 February 2026)

 

Tadamon Sour	cancelled	Bourj
Hikma / Sagesse	1-2	Safa
Jwaya	0-1	Al Ahed
Riyadi Al Abbasiyah	0-0	Mabarra
Shabab Sahel	1-1	Nejmeh
Racing	0-6	Ansar

 

Round 15 (13-16 February 2026)

 

Bourj	cancelled	Nejmeh
Riyadi Al Abbasiyah	1-1	Tadamon Sour
Safa	0-1	Ansar
Mabarra	1-0	Al Ahed
Racing	0-4	Jwaya
Hikma / Sagesse	2-1	Shabab Sahel

 

Round 16 (20-22 February)

 

Bourj	cancelled	Hikma / Sagesse
Safa	2-0	Racing
Al Ahed	0-0	Tadamon Sour
Mabarra	0-2	Jwaya
Nejmeh	4-0	Riyadi Al Abbasiyah
Ansar	3-0	Shabab Sahel

 

Round 17 (27 February – 1 March 2026)

 

Bourj	cancelled	Ansar
Jwaya	1-0	Tadamon Sour
Shabab Sahel	postponed	Safa
Nejmeh	postponed	Al Ahed
Riyadi Al Abbasiyah	postponed	Hikma / Sagesse
Racing	postponed	Mabarra

 

Table

 

1	Ansar	17	13	2	2	37-8	41	Qualified for the play-off
2	Jwaya	16	10	2	4	25-6	32	Qualified for the play-off
3	Nejmeh	15	9	4	2	28-8	31	Qualified for the play-off
4	Al Ahed	16	10	1	5	24-15	31	Qualified for the play-off
5	Safa	16	8	2	6	19-10	26	Qualified for the middle group
6	Hikma / Sagesse	15	6	2	7	17-19	20	Qualified for the middle group
7	Shabab Sahel	16	5	5	6	15-16	20	Qualified for the middle group
8	Mabarra	15	4	6	5	8-15	18	Qualified for the middle group
9	Riyadi Al Abbasiyah	17	4	5	8	12-22	17	Qualified for the play-out
10	Tadamon Sour	16	2	7	7	9-17	13	Qualified for the play-out
11	Racing	16	0	1	15	4-50	1	Qualified for the play-out
12	Bourj (R)	11	3	1	7	8-20	10	Relegated to the Second Division

 

If two or more teams have the same number of points, the results of head-to-head matches between them are the main ranking criteria.

R – Relegated (Bourj FC had withdrawn from the competition after the first half of the regular season and all their matches in the second half of the regular season were cancelled)

 

Round 18 (6-7 March 2026)

 

Bourj	cancelled	Safa
Ansar	1-2	Riyadi Al Abbasiyah – played on 17 February 2026
Shabab Sahel	postponed	Racing
Al Ahed	postponed	Hikma / Sagesse
Tadamon Sour	postponed	Mabarra
Jwaya	postponed	Nejmeh

 

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[1] Rafic El Hariri Stadium in the Ras Beirut (Al Manara) area of Beirut is mainly used as a training ground for Nejmeh.

[2] This stadium is used only as a training ground for Hikma / Sagesse.

[3] This stadium is mainly used as a training ground for Tadamon Sour.

[4] The stadium in Bourj el-Barajneh is used only as a training ground for Bourj FC.

[5] This stadium is used only as a training ground for Shabab Sahel.

[6] This stadium is used only as a training ground for Mabarra.

[7] Officially, the southern suburbs of Beirut, also known as Dahieh, are administratively included in the Baabda District of the Mount Lebanon Governorate. However, they have very strong ties to the city of Beirut.