Football in Lebanon

DPHB at Beirut Municipal Stadium's inaugural match in 1935

Football made its debut in Lebanon in 1908, then a province of the Ottoman Empire. It was quickly adopted by the young Lebanese, and was particularly popular with students from the American University of Beirut (AUB). After the First World War, Greater Lebanon became a French protectorate under the mandate of the League of Nations. Football became very popular with French soldiers in the local Christian community.[7]

In 1931 Khalil Hilmi, a member of Al Riyadi Beirut, attempted to form a Federation.[8] However, the proposal failed as Al Nahda opposed the formation.[8] 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).[9] Hussein Sejaan was the LFA's first president.[10] Lebanon was one of the first nations in the Middle East to establish an administrative body for association football.[lower-alpha 1][11] The LFA joined FIFA in 1935 and the AFC in 1964.[12] In 2001, the LFA joined the WAFF as one of its founding members.[13]

The Lebanese Premier League began on May 1934, with Nahda winning the first title.[14] The first activity of the Lebanese national team began the same year. Beirut XI, representing Lebanon, played two games against CA Timișoara (T.A.C.) of Romania:[15][16] these unofficial matches are regarded as the national team's first.[17] The national team's first official FIFA game was a 5–1 loss to Mandatory Palestine on 27 April 1940,[18] with Camille Cordahi scoring Lebanon's first official international goal.[19]

Lineup of the Lebanon national team at the 1966 Arab Nations Cup

Most clubs were born on the basis of sectarianism, such as Sagesse being a Christian club and Ansar having a Sunni fanbase.[20][21] A rivalry was established between Ansar and another Beirut club, Nejmeh. Dubbed the Beirut derby, the match has been considered the biggest club football match in Lebanon. Between the 1940s and 1960s, Armenian clubs, such as Homenetmen and Homenmen, were the most prominent in the early Lebanese footballing scene.[20] The two clubs shared 11 league titles in 16 seasons between 1943 and 1969.[14]

During the 1970s Lebanese football was at its peak, with Nejmeh even beating Ararat Yerevan, the USSR champions, in 1974.[7] 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,[22] scoring two goals which were not included in his official tally.[23][24] On the day of the game, 40,000 spectators were at the stadium from early morning to watch the match.[22] From 1975 to 1990, the civil war made it impossible to practice football.[25] From 1988 to 1999 Ansar set a Guinness World Record by winning 11 consecutive national titles.

Lebanon during the 2019 Asian Cup game against Saudi Arabia

Lebanon hosted the 2000 AFC Asian Cup, with the national team finishing last in the group with only two points.[26] 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.[27] However they lost to Al-Faisaly 4–2 on aggregate.[28] 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.[29]

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.[30] 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.[31] On 4 November 2019, Ahed became the first Lebanese side to win the AFC Cup after defeating April 25 in the 2019 final.[32] The 2019–20 season was cancelled due to financial reasons amid the then-impending coronavirus pandemic.[33][34]