2023–24 Lebanese Premier League
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.
| 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. | |
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
Regulations
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. 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. 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.
Starting from this season, each club is able to have four foreign players under contract, an increase from the previous limit of three. 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.
Format
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. 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. 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.
The top six teams will play against each other twice. Due to a restructuring of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) competitions, the champion automatically qualifies to the newly-introduced third tier competition: the AFC Challenge League. The bottom six teams will also play against each other twice, with the bottom two teams being relegated to the Lebanese Second Division.
Teams
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
2miles
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 | 2,000 |
| Ahly Nabatieh | Nabatieh | Kfarjoz Municipal Stadium | 2,000 |
| Ansar | Beirut (Tariq El Jdideh) | Ansar Stadium | — |
| Bourj | Beirut (Bourj el-Barajneh) | Bourj el-Barajneh Stadium | 1,500 |
| Chabab Ghazieh | Ghazieh | Kfarjoz Municipal Stadium | 2,000 |
| Nejmeh | Beirut (Ras Beirut) | Rafic Hariri Stadium | 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 | — |
| Shabab Sahel | Beirut (Haret Hreik) | Shabab Al Sahel Stadium | — |
| Tadamon Sour | Tyre | Sour Municipal Stadium | 6,500 |
| Tripoli | Tripoli | Tripoli Municipal Stadium | 10,000 |
Foreign players
Lebanese clubs are allowed to have four foreign players at their disposal at any time, 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). 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).
- Players in bold were registered during the mid-season transfer window.
- Players in italics left the club during the mid-season transfer window.
| Team | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Palestinian player(s) | AFC player(s) | Former players |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ahed |  Mohammad Abu Hasheesh |  Mohammad Al Marmour |  Lee Erwin | Mohammad Al Hallak | |||
| Ahly Nabatieh |  Godfred Yeboah |  Opaleye Brown | Ifeanyi Eze |  Baye Daour Badji | — | ||
| Ansar |  Yacouba Doumbia |  Foudil Bouchentouf Idriss | Elhadji Malick Tall |  Omar Zekri |  Mohamad Hebous Hamza Hussein | — | |
| Bourj | Ahmad Al Saleh | Houssem Louati | Prosper Donkor | Tidiane Camara | — | ||
| Chabab Ghazieh | Ezra Amelinsa | Joshua Abah |  Chris-Calvin Nawatta | Ayman Abou Sahyoun | — | ||
| Nejmeh |  Gilson Costa |  Omid Popalzay |  Dmytro Bilonoh |  José Embaló | Zaher Al Samahi | ||
| Racing Beirut |  Lazar Arsić |  Shodai Tomemori | Jehad Abou El Aynein | — | |||
| Safa |  Johan Kappelhof |  Arnold Suew | Jordy Bruijn | Marco Reinhardt | Adnan Salloum | — | |
| Sagesse | Papa Sidibe |  Vinícius Calamari | Boucounta Sarr | Adramé Diallo | — | ||
| Shabab Sahel | Richard Baffour | Andrew Ikefe | Francis Nwankwo | Fallou Galass Wade | Hadi Dakwar | — | |
| Tadamon Sour | Osman Konate | Ibrahim Sauma | Oussai Oddo | Mohammad Ismail Ghassan Sarriyeh Jihad Hallak | — | ||
| Tripoli | James Innocent | Sharif Sibaii | Suleiman Abu Zam'a | Gerônimo | Omar Kayed Ibrahim Abdelwahhab | — |
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
| 4 | Safa | 17 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 29 | 22 | +7 | 22 | |
| 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 | |
| 11 | Sagesse | 19 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 16 | 27 | −11 | 13 | 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:
Season statistics
Goalscorers
| 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
| 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
- 2023–24 Lebanese FA Cup
- 2023 Lebanese Federation Cup
- 2023 Lebanese Super Cup
