2023–24 Lebanese Premier League
| Season | 2023–24 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 4 August 2023 – TBD 2024 |
| Matches played | 66 |
| Goals scored | 180 (2.73 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Elhadji Malick Tall (11 goals) |
| Biggest win | Shabab Sahel 0–5 Ahed (6 August 2023) Ahed 5–0 Chabab Ghazieh (7 December 2023) |
| Highest scoring | Ahed 5–1 Racing Beirut (6 August 2023) Tripoli 2–4 Safa (1 October 2023) Nejmeh 1–5 Ansar (8 December 2023) |
← 2022–23 2024–25 →
All statistics correct as of 16 December 2023. | |
The 2023–24 Lebanese Premier League is the 62nd season of the Lebanese Premier League, the top Lebanese league for football clubs since its establishment in 1934. The league started on 4 August 2023.[1]
It is the fourth season to feature a "split" format, following its introduction in the 2020–21 season, in which the season is divided into two phases.
Summary[edit]
Regulations[edit]
Each club has to involve two players under the age of 21 for at least 2,000 combined minutes, and three players for 3,000 combined minutes.[2] Also, each club is allowed a maximum of eight players over the age of 30, with only five being able to be fielded in a game.[3] In case a club is not able to meet the required number of minutes at the end of the season, they would have three points deducted from their total in the league.[3]
Starting from this season, each club is able to have four foreign players under contract, an increase from the previous limit of three.[4] Furthermore, Video assistant referee (VAR), will be introduced to the Lebanese Premier League in the second half of the 2023–24 season. It uses technology and officials to assist the referee in making decisions on the pitch. The match between Ahed and Racing Beirut in the first matchday, on 6 August 2023, was the first to test the use of VAR.[5]
Format[edit]
Following its introduction in the 2020–21 season, the 2023–24 season will consist of two phases: in the first phase, each team plays against one another once.[6] In the second phase, the 12 teams will be divided into two groups based on their position in the first phase. As introduced in the 2022–23 season, teams will only carry over half of their point tally from the first phase.[2] After the first phase is completed, clubs can not move out of their own half in the league, even if they achieved more or fewer points than a higher or lower ranked team, respectively.[7]
The top six teams will play against each other twice.[6] Due to a restructuring of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) competitions,[8] the champion automatically qualifies to the newly-introduced third tier competition: the AFC Challenge League.[9] The bottom six teams will also play against each other twice, with the bottom two teams being relegated to the Lebanese Second Division.[6]
Teams[edit]
Twelve teams are competing in the league – the top ten teams from the 2022–23 Lebanese Premier League season and the two teams promoted from the Lebanese Second Division.
Twelve teams will compete in the league – the top ten teams from the previous season and the two teams promoted from the Lebanese Second Division. The promoted teams are Racing Beirut, who will return to the top flight after an absence of four years, and Ahly Nabatieh, who will play their first season in the Lebanese Premier League. They will replace Akhaa Ahli Aley and Salam Zgharta, who were relegated to the Lebanese Second Division after respective spells of seven and one years in the top flight.
Stadiums and locations[edit]
Prior to the start of each season, every team chose two stadiums as their home venues. In case both stadiums were unavailable for a certain matchday, another venue was used.
- Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ahed | Beirut (Ouzai) | Al Ahed Stadium[note 1] | 2,000 |
| Ahly Nabatieh | Nabatieh | Kfarjoz Municipal Stadium | 2,000 |
| Ansar | Beirut (Tariq El Jdideh) | Ansar Stadium[note 1] | — |
| Bourj | Beirut (Bourj el-Barajneh) | Bourj el-Barajneh Stadium[note 1] | 1,500 |
| Chabab Ghazieh | Ghazieh | Kfarjoz Municipal Stadium | 2,000 |
| Nejmeh | Beirut (Ras Beirut) | Rafic Hariri Stadium[note 1] | 5,000 |
| Racing Beirut | Beirut (Achrafieh) | Fouad Chehab Stadium | 5,000 |
| Safa | Beirut (Wata El Msaytbeh) | Safa Stadium | 4,000 |
| Sagesse | Beirut (Achrafieh) | Sin El Fil Stadium[note 1] | — |
| Shabab Sahel | Beirut (Haret Hreik) | Shabab Al Sahel Stadium[note 1] | — |
| Tadamon Sour | Tyre | Sour Municipal Stadium | 6,500 |
| Tripoli | Tripoli | Tripoli Municipal Stadium | 10,000 |
Foreign players[edit]
Lebanese clubs are allowed to have four foreign players at their disposal at any time,[4] as well as two extra Palestinian players born in Lebanon in a given match sheet (both of whom can not be fielded at the same time in a match).[10] Moreover, each club competing in an AFC competition is allowed to field two extra foreign players, to be only played in continental matches, as the AFC allows six foreign players to play in the starting eleven (one of whom from an AFC country).[11]
- Players in bold were registered during the mid-season transfer window.
- Players in italics left the club during the mid-season transfer window.
League table[edit]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation[a] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ansar | 17 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 36 | 17 | +19 | 26 | Qualification for the AFC Challenge League group stage |
| 2 | Ahed | 17 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 38 | 10 | +28 | 23 | |
| 3 | Nejmeh | 17 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 29 | 15 | +14 | 22[b] | |
| 4 | Safa | 17 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 29 | 22 | +7 | 22[b] | |
| 5 | Bourj | 17 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 18 | 22 | −4 | 13 | |
| 6 | Racing Beirut | 17 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 23 | 30 | −7 | 9 | |
| 7 | Tadamon Sour | 19 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 15 | 21 | −6 | 20 | |
| 8 | Shabab Sahel | 19 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 19 | 19 | 0 | 18 | |
| 9 | Ahly Nabatieh | 19 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 11 | 20 | −9 | 15 | |
| 10 | Tripoli | 19 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 16 | 22 | −6 | 13[c] | |
| 11 | Sagesse | 19 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 16 | 27 | −11 | 13[c] | Relegation to Lebanese Second Division |
| 12 | Chabab Ghazieh | 19 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 11 | 36 | −25 | 12 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Goal difference; 5) Goals scored; 6) Disciplinary points.
Notes:
- ^ Teams play each other once (11 matches), before the league is split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six). Teams carry over half their point tally from the first phase into the second phase.
- ^ a b Ranked on head-to-head goal difference: Nejmeh +2, Safa –2.
- ^ a b Ranked on head-to-head points: Tripoli 9, Sagesse 0.
Season statistics[edit]
Goalscorers[edit]
| Rank | Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
1
|
 Elhadji Malick Tall
|
Ansar | 11
|
2
|
 Karim Darwich
|
Ahed | 8
|
 Lee Erwin
|
Ahed | ||
| Mohamad Kdouh
|
Safa | ||
5
|
 Mohammad Al Marmour
|
Ahed | 7
|
6
|
 Jordy Bruijn
|
Safa | 6
|
 José Embaló
|
Nejmeh | ||
| Hilal El Helwe
|
Bourj | ||
| Hussain Haider
|
Racing | ||
10
|
Hassan Maatouk
|
Ansar | 5
|
Hat-tricks[edit]
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jordy Bruijn |
Safa | Sagesse | 3–1 | 19 August 2023 |
| Lee Erwin |
Ahed | Shabab Sahel | 5–0 | 24 September 2023 |
| Mohamad Kdouh |
Safa | Tadamon Sour | 4–1 | 4 November 2023 |
See also[edit]
Notes[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "منافسة غير مسبوقة على لقب الدوري اللبناني لكرة القدم". www.alahednews.com.lb (in Arabic). Retrieved 1 August 2023.
- ^ a b "بالصور: الاتحاد اللبناني يعلن تعديلات بالجملة". كووورة. 3 June 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
- ^ a b "الاتحاد اللبناني يعلن عن قرارات حاسمة". كووورة. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
- ^ a b 84 ألف دولار دخل جديد للاتحاد اللبناني لكرة القدم [USD84,000: new income for the Lebanese Football Association]. Lebanon Football Guide (in Arabic). 19 June 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
- ^ Khaled, Nasser (26 July 2023). تقنية الفيديو حاضرة في لقاء العهد والراسينغ [Video technology will be present in the match between Ahed and Racing]. Kooora (in Arabic). Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ a b c Abou Diab, Rami (25 June 2020). "The new regulations for the Lebanese Premier League". FA Lebanon. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
- ^ "هل يُمكن أن يُحسم اللقب قبل الدورة السداسية؟". lebanonfg.com. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
- ^ "AFC Executive Committee approves biggest prize purse in Asian club football history from 2024/25; announces AFC Women's Champions League". AFC. 14 August 2023.
- ^ "AFC Club Competitions 2024/25 Slot Allocation" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
- ^ "2018/2019 Lebanese Premier League Squads confirmed". FA Lebanon. 21 September 2018. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
- ^ "AFC Competitions Committee recommends strategic reforms to elevate Asian club football". the-AFC. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
External links[edit]
