Origins and Emergence of Football in Lebanon

Shortcuts

Reportages

By Wissam Kerkor
December 17, 2007

Football entered Lebanon in 1908. It was fast adopted by the Lebanese youth, and witnessed particular success at the American University of Beirut (AUB). After World War I, ootball became very appreciated amongst French soldiers in the local Christian community. The first Lebanese clubs were established in the twenties, but it was only until 1933-1934 that the first Lebanese Football Championship was organized. The clubs were then formed by city, community, or religion. Among the important clubs were Tripoli’s in the North, Saida’s and Tyre’s in the South. Not to miss also the Equipe de la Jeuness Catholique created few years after World War I by Pierre Gemayel who was a real football fan and who established and headed the Lebanese Football League in the thirties.

As for the Clubs Cup, it was launched in 1938. In the seventies, Lebanese players showed a good playing level: in 1974, the Al Nejmeh Beirut Club won against the URSS Champion Ararat Erevan with a score of 1 to zero. Interesting to note: in the same year, the famous Brazilian player Pelé (who was taking a break during this year), played with this Lebanese club, Al Nejmeh Beirut, against a local mixed team. Besides these nice events, several national championships gave rhythm to the seasons, year after year… until the break of the civil war that abruptly interrupted this schedule between 1975 and 1990. After 1990, the level of football players deteriorated.

In spite of everything, in 2000, the twelfth Asian Nations Cup was organized in Lebanon. This project consisted of building big stadiums: The Cité Sportive of Camille Chamoun in Beirut, and the International Olympic Stadiums in Tripoli and Sidon. The Cité Sportive de Beyrouth caters for 57 000 people, whereas the stadiums of Tripoli and Sidon cater for 20 000 to 30 000 each. There are around ten other stadiums distributed in all the regions of the country. These infrastructures reinforced the practice and popularity of football in Lebanon. After the year 2000, the following figures were noted: 21 912 players registered in the Federation, 300 000 active non-registered players, 5000 young players, 62 professional players, 174 official clubs and 2070 non-official clubs.

Today, football remains incontestably one of the most popular sports in the country.

Read the rest Suivant

History of the FLFA and Championships

(Advertisement)