2023–24 Lebanese Premier League
| Season | 2023–24 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 4 August 2023 – 30 June 2024 |
| Champions | Nejmeh |
| Relegated | Tripoli Ahly Nabatieh |
| 2024–25 AFC Challenge League | Nejmeh |
| Matches played | 156 |
| Goals scored | 369 (2.37 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Elhadji Malick Tall (20 goals) |
| Biggest win | Shabab Sahel 0–5 Ahed (6 August 2023) Ahed 5–0 Chabab Ghazieh (7 December 2023) Tadamon Sour 0–5 Chabab Ghazieh (3 May 2024) Shabab Sahel 5–0 Ahly Nabatieh (9 May 2024) |
| Highest scoring | Ahed 5–1 Racing Beirut (6 August 2023) Tripoli 2–4 Safa (1 October 2023) Nejmeh 1–5 Ansar (8 December 2023) Racing Beirut 1–5 Ahed (16 May 2024) |
← 2022–23 2024–25 → | |
The 2023–24 Lebanese Premier League was 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] and ended on 30 June 2024.
It was 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. Nejmeh won their ninth title after defeating Ansar in the last matchday.[2] Tripoli and Ahly Nabatieh were relegated to the Lebanese Second Division.
Summary
[edit]Regulations
[edit]Each club had to involve one player under the age of 21 for at least 750 minutes, and two players for 1,000 combined minutes.[3] In case a club were not able to meet the required number of minutes at the end of the season, they would have had three points deducted from their total in the league.[3]
Starting from this season, each club was able to have four foreign players under contract, an increase from the previous limit of three.[4] Furthermore, video assistant referee (VAR) was introduced to the Lebanese Premier League in the second half of the 2023–24 season. It used 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 consisted of two phases: in the first phase, each team played against one another once.[6] In the second phase, the 12 teams were divided into two groups based on their position in the first phase. As introduced in the 2022–23 season, teams only carried over half of their point tally from the first phase.[7] After the first phase was completed, clubs could 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.[8]
The top six teams played against each other three times, contrary to the previous two seasons where they played each other twice.[6] Due to a restructuring of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) competitions,[9] the champion automatically qualified to the newly introduced third-tier competition: the AFC Challenge League.[10] The bottom six teams also played against each other three times, with the bottom two teams being relegated to the Lebanese Second Division.[6]
Teams
[edit]Twelve teams competed in the league – the top ten teams from the previous season and the two teams promoted from the Lebanese Second Division. The promoted teams were Racing Beirut, who returned to the top flight after an absence of four years, and Ahly Nabatieh, who were playing their first season in the Lebanese Premier League. They replaced 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]
- 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 were allowed to have four foreign players at their disposal at any time,[4] as well as unlimited Palestinian players born in Lebanon in a given match sheet (of which only one allowed among the eleven players on the field).[3] Moreover, each club competing in an AFC competition was allowed to field two extra foreign players, to be only played in continental matches, as the AFC allowed 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 | Nejmeh (C) | 26 | 19 | 3 | 4 | 44 | 20 | +24 | 46 | Qualification for the AFC Challenge League group stage |
| 2 | Ansar | 26 | 16 | 7 | 3 | 55 | 24 | +31 | 45 | |
| 3 | Ahed | 26 | 15 | 5 | 6 | 54 | 22 | +32 | 36 | |
| 4 | Safa | 26 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 35 | 38 | −3 | 26 | |
| 5 | Bourj | 26 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 26 | 32 | −6 | 25 | |
| 6 | Racing Beirut | 26 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 29 | 50 | −21 | 12 | |
| 7 | Shabab Sahel | 26 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 30 | 23 | +7 | 32 | |
| 8 | Tadamon Sour | 26 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 16 | 28 | −12 | 26 | |
| 9 | Sagesse | 26 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 21 | 30 | −9 | 24 | |
| 10 | Chabab Ghazieh | 26 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 22 | 41 | −19 | 23 | |
| 11 | Ahly Nabatieh (R) | 26 | 5 | 10 | 11 | 16 | 32 | −16 | 22 | Relegation to Lebanese Second Division |
| 12 | Tripoli (R) | 26 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 21 | 29 | −8 | 21 |
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.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- ^ Teams played each other once (11 matches), before the league was split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six) where each team played the other teams in their group three times (15 matches). Teams carried over half their point tally from the first phase into the second phase.
Season statistics
[edit]Goalscorers
[edit]| Rank | Player[12] | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Elhadji Malick Tall
|
Ansar | 20 |
| 2 |  Karim Darwich
|
Ahed | 12 |
| 3 | Mohamad Kdouh
|
Safa | 10 |
 Lee Erwin
|
Ahed | 10 | |
| 5 | Hassan Maatouk
|
Ansar | 8 |
 Mohammad Al Marmour
|
Ahed | 8 | |
 Samad Kadiri
|
Shabab Sahel | 8 |
Hat-tricks
[edit]| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Jordy Bruijn |
Safa | Sagesse | 3–1[13] | 19 August 2023 |
| Lee Erwin |
Ahed | Shabab Sahel | 5–0[14] | 24 September 2023 |
| Mohamad Kdouh |
Safa | Tadamon Sour | 4–1[15] | 4 November 2023 |
| Samad Kadiri |
Shabab Sahel | Ahly Nabatieh | 5–0[16] | 9 May 2024 |
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.
- ^ "النجمة بطلًا للدوري اللبناني للمرة التاسعة في تاريخه". The LFA. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
- ^ a b c الاتحاد اللبناني يقر النظام الفني لبطولة الدوري: 4 أجانب و4 مراحل وحسم نصف النقاط [The Lebanese Federation approves the technical system for the league championship: 4 foreigners, 4 stages, and a half-point decision]. Lebanon Football Guide (in Arabic). 29 May 2023. Archived from the original on 29 May 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "بالصور: الاتحاد اللبناني يعلن تعديلات بالجملة". كووورة. 3 June 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "AFC Competitions Committee recommends strategic reforms to elevate Asian club football". the-AFC. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
- ^ "Lebanese First Division 2023/2024". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
- ^ "CS Sagesse 1:3 Safa". Global Sports Archive. 19 August 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
- ^ "Shabab Al Sahel FC 0:5 Al Ahed FC". Global Sports Archive. 24 September 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
- ^ "Safa SC 4:1 Tadamon SC Sour". Global Sports Archive. 4 November 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
- ^ "Shabab Al Sahel SC 5:0 Al Ahli SC Nabaṭīya". Global Sports Archive. 9 May 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
