Country Lebanon Number of teams 12 | Confederation AFC Level on pyramid 1 | |
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Founded 1933; 84 years ago (1933) Relegation to | ||
The Lebanese Premier League (French: Championnat du Liban de Football; Arabic: الدوري اللبناني لكرة القدم) is the top division of the Lebanese Football Association league competitions. It was founded in 1900 and began in 1934 and their confederation is the AFC. There are 12 teams competing; the bottom two teams are relegated each season to the Lebanese Second Division, and are replaced by the top two teams in the second division who are promoted to the Premier League.
Contents
Seasons run from October to May. Most games are played on Saturdays and Sundays, with a few games played during weekdays. The most successful club in the history of the league is Al-Ansar, topping with 13 league titles while Al-Nejmeh and Homenetmen Beirut have 7 titles. Al-Ansar set a Guinness world record by winning 11 consecutive league titles between 1988 and 1999, a record that has since been surpassed by Skonto FC from Latvia.
Overview
The Lebanese FA is composed of four divisions: the Lebanese Premier League (although it is rarely referred to with the First prefix), and, below that, the Lebanese Second Division, which has been the second tier of Lebanese football since 1934. Since 1950, the Lebanese Third Division in Lebanon is also a professional league, and the Lebanese Fourth Division is also founded in 1950. The Lebanese Premier League is based upon home and away fixtures. The points system is the international and most used system:
Ranking structure
If teams are level on points, tie-breakers are applied in the following order:
- Goal difference for the entire season
- Total goals scored for the entire season
- Head-to-head results (total points)
- Head-to-head goals scored
- Head-to-head away goals scored
- Total away goals scored for the entire season
Media coverage
The Lebanese League broadcasting rights are distributed to Al Jadeed and Al-Manar TV. Live coverage of each game is broadcast 4 times a week, and weekly highlights of each match are produced once a week.