2019-2020 Lebanese Premier League

Lebanese Premier League 2019-2020

Season	2019-2020
Dates	20 September 2019 – April 2020
Champions
AFC Cup
Relegated
Matches played
Goals scored
Top goalscorer
Biggest home win
Biggest away win
Highest scoring
Longest winning run
Longest unbeaten run
Longest winless run
Longest losing run

Competition details and format

The Lebanese Premier League, also called the Alfa Lebanese League for sponsorship reasons, represents the top tier of the football system in Lebanon. It is organised by the Lebanese Football Association and the 2019-2020 season is the 60^th since its establishment in 1933. Just like before, it involves 12 teams, of which 10 teams came from the previous season and 2 teams were promoted from the Second Division, replacing the 2 teams that were relegated to the Second Division. Al Ahed are the defending champions, winning the third consecutive title and their seventh overall in 2019.

The competition format is established as a double (home and away) round-robin championship, each team playing all other teams twice, once at home and once away, a total of 22 rounds. The competition started on the 20^th of September 2019 and is scheduled to end in April 2020. Round 11, the last of the first half, is to be played in the first half of December 2019. There is a winter break after the first half of the season, around Christmas and the New Year, which is also a transfer window period. Round 12, the first of the second half of the season, is to be played in January 2020. The last round, 22, would be played in April 2020.

Most of the matches are played on Saturdays and Sundays and sometimes on Fridays. 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, on different media outlets, including their TV channel and YouTube channel.

Matches in the first half of the season are played according to a drawing of lots. In the second half of the season, teams play each other in reverse location with respect to the first half, but in a different order, according to the table at half-season, so that the best classified teams will play the worst classified teams at the beginning of the second half, while matches between similarly classified teams would be played in the last rounds. As such, the match between the first and the second classified team at half season would be played in the last round. This system is considered to provide more interest for potentially decisive matches.

The champions have the right to play in the AFC Cup in the next season (2020-2021). The Lebanese FA Cup winners also have the right to participate in the next year AFC Cup. If the same team wins both the league and the FA Cup, then the league runners-up are allowed to play in the AFC Cup. The teams classified in the upper half of the table (position 1 through 6) will play the Elite Cup in summer 2020, while the teams classified in the lower half of the table (position 7 through 10), except the relegated ones (classified 11^th and 12^th), will play in the Challenge Cup in summer 2020, together with the two teams promoted from the Second Division at the end of 2019-2020 season. The last two teams in the classification are relegated to the Second Division.

The defending champions, Al Ahed, are also the main favourites for the title this year. They have a very strong team compared to the other Lebanese teams and they have also improved their international results lately. The other main contenders for the title are Ansar and Nejmeh, which have recently classified mostly second and third. They are also very powerful teams in Lebanon. The distance between these three teams (all from Beirut or its suburbs) and the others seems to increase every year.

It is therefore likely that the other teams would fight for the fourth place at best. Their realistic goal is usually to classify in the upper half of the table (positions 4 through 6) in order to play the Elite Cup next summer and to stay away from relegation as much as possible. Al Akhaa Al Ahly Aley, Shabab Sahel, Safa and newly-promoted Bourj FC are usually credited with most chances to get a place in the upper half, forming a group of mid-table teams. These teams are also from Beirut area or the surroundings of the capital.

All the other teams would probably be involved in the fight to avoid relegation. Salam Zgharta, Tadamon Sour, AC Tripoli and Shabab Al-Ghazieh have all escaped relegation last season by a small margin and, along with newly-promoted Shabab El Bourj, they are expected to be the contenders in the lower part of the table.
All matches scheduled after round 3 were cancelled due to the political and economic crisis in Lebanon.

Team changes from the 2018-2019

Promoted from the Second Division

Bourj FC (1^st in the Second Division)

Shabab El Bourj (2^nd in the Second Division)

Relegated from the Premier League

Bekaa SC (Nabi Chit)

Racing Club Beirut

Teams

Please note that teams, especially those in Beirut and the southern suburbs of Beirut, may play their home matches on two different grounds and may have an additional stadium of their own, used only as a training ground.

Team	Home town	Stadium	Capacity	2018-2019
Al Ahed	Bourj el-Barajneh (Ouzai)	Al Ahed[1]	2,000	Champions
		Camille Chamoun	49,500
		Saida International	22,600
Al Ansar	Beirut (Tariq el Jdideh)	Ansar[2]	500	Runners-up
		Beirut Municipal	18,000
		Tripoli Municipal	10,000
Nejmeh	Beirut (Ras Beirut)	Rafic El Hariri[3]	5,000	3rd
		Camille Chamoun	49,500
Al Akhaa Al Ahly	Aley	Amin Abdelnour	3,500	4th
Shabab Sahel	Haret Hreik	Shabab Sahel[4]	500	5th
		Fouad Chehab	5,000
		Camille Chamoun	49,500
Shabab Al-Ghazieh	Al Ghazieh	Al Ghazieh[5]	N/A	6th
		Sour Municipal	6,500
Tadamon Sour	Tyre	Sour Municipal	6,500	7th
AC Tripoli	Tripoli	Tripoli Municipal	10,000	8th
Salam Zgharta	Zgharta	Mirdachiyyé	5,000	9th
Safa SC	Beirut (Wata el-Museitbeh)	Safa[6]	4,000	10th
		Amin Abdelnour	3,500
		Fouad Chehab	5,000
Bourj FC	Bourj el-Barajneh	Bourj el-Barajneh[7]	1,500	Promoted
		Amin Abdelnour	3,500
		Saida International	22,600
Shabab El Bourj	Bourj el-Barajneh	Bourj el-Barajneh[8]	1,500	Promoted
		Al Ahed	2,000
		Fouad Chehab	5,000

Geographical distribution of teams

Most of the teams (7 out of 12) are from Beirut and the southern suburbs of Beirut. Another team, Al Akhaa Al Ahly Aley, is located in the Mount Lebanon Governorate, also not far from Beirut. Two teams are located in the North Governorate (AC Tripoli and Salam Zgharta). Other two teams are located in the South Governorate (Tadamon Sour and Shabab Al-Ghazieh).

Location of the 2019-2020 Lebanese Premier League teams.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019%E2%80%9320_Lebanese_Premier_League

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

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019%E2%80%9320_Lebanese_Premier_League

Part of Lebanon	No. of teams	Teams
Beirut (proper)	3	Al Ansar, Nejmeh, Safa SC
Southern suburbs of Beirut[9]	4	Al Ahed, Bourj, Shabab El Bourj, Shabab Sahel
North	2	AC Tripoli, Salam Zgharta
Mount Lebanon[10]	1	Al Akhaa Al Ahly Aley
South	2	Tadamon Sour, Shabab Al-Ghazieh

Foreign players

Each team is allowed to have a maximum of three foreign players in the squad, who can be used at any time. In addition, each team is allowed to have one Palestinian player, born in Lebanon. Teams playing in international competitions organized by the AFC are allowed to have a fourth foreign player, only to be used in those competitions, as the AFC allows the use of four foreign players, of which at least one must be from an Asian country (affiliated to AFC). Existing foreign players may be replaced by others only during the winter or summer transfer windows.

Most of the foreign footballers playing in the Lebanese Premier League are Africans, especially from countries like Ghana and Senegal, and to lesser extent the Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Guinea, Tunisia or Zambia. There are only a few Asian players, coming from neighbouring Syria. There are also a few Brazilian and Portuguese players.

Many of these players are used in key positions in the field, especially as strikers, playmakers and full backs.

Foreign players used by the teams in the 2019-2020 Lebanese Premier League

Team	Player #1	Player #2	Player #3	Palestinian Player
Al Ahed	Ahmad Al Salih (SYR)	Issah Yakubu (GHA)	Ahmed Akaïchi (TUN)
Al Ansar	El Hadji Malick Tall (SEN)	Houssem Louati (TUN)	Aboubacar Leo Camara (GUI)
Nejmeh	Idrissa Niang (SEN)	Mourad Hedhli (TUN)	Issaka Abudu Diarra (GUI)
Al Akhaa Al Ahly	Carlos Lomba (POR)	Carlos Alberto (BRA)	Christopher Munthali (ZAM)	Mohamad Abou Atik
Shabab Sahel	Bakary Coulibaly (SEN)	Abdou Aziz Ndiaye (SEN)	Daouda Guèye Diémé (GHA)
Shabab Al-Ghazieh	Stephen Essaw (GHA)	Ken. Koranteng (GHA)	Ernest Barfo (GHA)
Tadamon Sour	Kofi Yeboah (GHA)	Abdul Basit (GHA)	Musa Kabiru (NGA)
AC Tripoli	Mamadou Sylla (SEN)	Youssef Wattara (CIV)	Hael Al Badri (SYR)	Ahmad Yassine
Salam Zgharta	Vinícius Calamari (BRA)	Cosmos Daouda (GHA)	Mostafa Sall (SEN)	Ali Hamam
Safa SC	Fallou Sarr (SEN)	El Hadji Abdou Kar. Samb (SEN)	Amady Diop (SEN)
Bourj FC	Stephen Sarfo (GHA)	Malik Ismaila Antiri (GHA)	Thiago Amaral (BRA)	Mohamad Kassem
Shabab El Bourj	Lorougnon Christ Remi (CIV)	Sadick Adams (GHA)	Agostinho Cá (POR)

Compulsory use of young players

Starting with this season, all teams have to use several young players (at least three), under 22 years of age, both in the Premier League and in the FA Cup. There should be a minimum of 1000 aggregate minutes played by one such player, a minimum of 1500 aggregate minutes played by two young players and a minimum of 2000 aggregate minutes of three young players.

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

Official ball

The Lebanese Football Association made a contract with Jako, so that Jako Match 2.0 become the Premier League official ball starting with 2019-2020.

Round 1 (20-22 September 2019)

Nejmeh – Ansar 1-0

Tadamon Sour – Shabab El Bourj 1-2

Safa – Al Akhaa Al Ahly Aley 0-0

Shabab Sahel – Shabab Al-Ghazieh 3-1

Salam Zgharta – Bourj 0-1

Al Ahed – AC Tripoli – postponed for 5 November 2019

Round 2 (27-29 September 2019)

AC Tripoli – Al Akhaa Al Ahly Aley 0-2

Nejmeh – Tadamon Sour 2-1

Bourj – Shabab El Bourj 2-0

Safa – Shabab Al-Ghazieh 2-0

Ansar – Shabab Sahel 3-1

Salam Zgharta – Al Ahed – postponed for 11 December 2019

Round 3 (5-6 October 2019)

Shabab El Bourj – Salam Zgharta 1-2

Ansar – Safa 4-1

Shabab Al-Ghazieh – AC Tripoli 1-2

Shabab Sahel – Tadamon Sour 0-0

Al Akhaa Al Ahly Aley – Al Ahed 1-3

Nejmeh – Bourj – postponed for 11 December 2019

Table

1	Ansar	3	2	0	1	7-3	6	AFC Cup group stage
2	Bourj	2	2	0	0	3-0	6
3	Nejmeh	2	2	0	0	3-1	6
4	Shabab Sahel	3	1	1	1	4-4	4
5	Akhaa Ahly Aley	3	1	1	1	3-3	4
6	Safa	3	1	1	1	3-4	4
7	Al Ahed	1	1	0	0	3-1	3
8	Salam Zgharta	2	1	0	1	2-2	3
9	AC Tripoli	2	1	0	1	2-3	3
10	Shabab El Bourj	3	1	0	2	3-5	3
11	Tadamon Sour	3	0	1	2	2-4	1	Relegation to the Second Division
12	Shabab Al-Ghazieh	3	0	0	3	2-7	0	Relegation to the Second Division

If two or more teams have the same number of points, the results of direct matches between them are the main ranking criteria.
All games after round 3 were cancelled due to the political and economic crisis in Lebanon.

Round 4 (initially scheduled for 18-20 October 2019)

Al Akhaa Al Ahly Aley – Salam Zgharta

Tadamon Sour – Safa

Shabab Sahel – Bourj

AC Tripoli – Ansar

Al Ahed – Shabab Al-Ghazieh

Shabab El Bourj – Nejmeh

Round 5 (initially scheduled for 25-27 October 2019)

AC Tripoli – Tadamon Sour

Bourj – Safa

Al Ahed – Ansar

Al Akhaa Al Ahly Aley – Shabab Al-Ghazieh

Shabab El Bourj – Shabab Sahel

Salam Zgharta – Nejmeh

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[1] Because Al Ahed usually have a larger attendance than the stadium capacity, this stadium is only used as a training ground for Al Ahed and for league matches of other teams.

[2] This stadium is used only as a training ground for Al Ansar.

[3] Rafic El Hariri Stadium in the Ras Beirut (Al Manara) area of Beirut does not meet the criteria to hold Premier League matches, and therefore it is nowadays used only as a training ground for Nejmeh.

[4] This stadium is used only as a training ground for Shabab Sahel. As a result, Shabab Sahel have to play most of their home matches at Fouad Chehab Stadium in Jounieh.

[5] Shabab Al-Ghazieh play their home matches at Sour Municipal Stadium in Tyre because their stadium in Al-Ghazieh does not meet the criteria to hold Premier League matches and is used only as a training ground. Previously, they also played their home matches at Kfarjoz Stadium in Nabatieh.

[6] Safa Stadium in Beirut does not meet the criteria to hold Premier League matches, and is used only as a training ground for Safa and for lower league matches of other teams. As a result, Safa SC play their home matches at Amin Abdelnour Stadium in Bhamdoun (Aley) and at Fouad Chehab Stadium in Jounieh.

[7] The stadium in the Beirut suburb of Bourj el-Barajneh does not meet the criteria to hold Premier League matches, and is used only as a training ground. As a result, Bourj FC play their home matches at Amin Abdelnour Stadium in Bhamdoun (Aley) and at Saida International Stadium in Sidon.

[8] The stadium in the Beirut suburb of Bourj el-Barajneh does not meet the criteria to hold Premier League matches, and is used only as a training ground. As a result, Shabab El Bourj play most of their home matches at Al Ahed Stadium in the Ouzai area of Bourj el-Barajneh and some home matches at Fouad Chehab Stadium in Jounieh.

[9] 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.

[10] Except for the area of the southern suburbs of Beirut.