Lebanese football league system

Lebanese football league system
CountryLebanon
SportAssociation football
Promotion and relegationYes (for men)
No (for women)
National system
FederationLebanese Football Association
ConfederationAFC
Top division
Second divisionSecond Division
Cup competition
Association football in Lebanon

The Lebanese football league system (Arabic: نظام الدوري اللبناني لكرة القدم), also known as the Lebanese football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in Lebanon. The system has a hierarchical format with promotion and relegation between leagues at different levels, allowing even the smallest club the theoretical possibility of ultimately rising to the very top of the system. There are five individual leagues, containing 30 groups.

The exact number of clubs varies from year to year as clubs join and leave leagues, fold or merge altogether, but an estimated average of 7 clubs per group implies that about 200 clubs are members of a league in the Lebanese men's football league system.

Structure

Men

The Lebanese football pyramid is composed of five leagues, all governed by the Lebanese Football Association, which operate on a system of promotion and relegation. The first tier of Lebanese football is the Lebanese Premier League, which is made up of 12 teams.[1] Next is the Lebanese Second Division, which also has 12 teams.[2] Both of these leagues cover the whole of Lebanon. The first two leagues participate in the Lebanese FA Cup, the national domestic cup competition.[3]

The third tier is the Lebanese Third Division, one division split into four groups.[4] At the fourth tier is the Lebanese Fourth Division, a league of five parallel divisions each split into further groups.[5][6][7][8][9] Finally, at the end of the pyramid is the Lebanese Fifth Division, also composed of five divisions split into further groups.[10][11][12][13][14] The five divisions of both the Fouth and Fifth Division are named "Beirut", "Mount Lebanon", "North Lebanon", "South Lebanon" and "Beqaa".

Level Divisions (as of 2022–23)
1 Lebanese Premier League
(One national division, 12 clubs)
2 Lebanese Second Division
(One national division, 12 clubs)
3 Lebanese Third Division
(4 groups, 5–6 clubs per group)
4 Lebanese Fourth Division
Beirut
(1 group, 9 clubs) 		Lebanese Fourth Division
Mount Lebanon
(5 groups, 7 clubs per group) 		Lebanese Fourth Division
North
(4 groups, 7–8 clubs per group) 		Lebanese Fourth Division
South
(3 groups, 7–8 clubs per group) 		Lebanese Fourth Division
Beqaa
(2 groups, 7 clubs per group)
5 Lebanese Fifth Division
Beirut
(1 group, 8 clubs) 		Lebanese Fifth Division
Mount Lebanon
(2 groups, 7 clubs per group) 		Lebanese Fifth Division
North
(2 groups, 4–5 clubs per group) 		Lebanese Fifth Division
South
(2 groups, 7–8 clubs per group) 		Lebanese Fifth Division
Beqaa
(2 groups, 5–6 clubs per group)

If teams are level on points, tie-breakers are applied in the following order:[15]

  1. Head-to-head points;
  2. Goal difference;
  3. Goals scored;
  4. Decisive match; in case of a draw, a penalty-shootout determines the winner.

Women

The women's system is divided into only one level.[16]

Level Divisions (as of 2022–23)
1 Lebanese Women's Football League
(One national division, 8 clubs)

See also

References

  1. ^ "Lebanese League 2022/2023". Goalzz.com. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  2. ^ "Lebanese League Second Division 2022/2023". Goalzz.com. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  3. ^ "Lebanese Cup 2022/2023". Goalzz.com. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  4. ^ "Lebanese League Third Division 2022/2023". Goalzz.com. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  5. ^ "Lebanese league– 4'th division – beirut 2022/2023". Goalzz.com. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  6. ^ "Lebanese league– 4'th division – mount lebanon 2022/2023". Goalzz.com. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  7. ^ "Lebanese league– 4'th division – north lebanon 2022/2023". Goalzz.com. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  8. ^ "Lebanese league– 4'th division – south lebanon 2022/2023". Goalzz.com. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  9. ^ "Lebanese league– 4'th division – beqaa 2022/2023". Goalzz.com. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  10. ^ "Lebanese league– 5'th division – beirut 2022/2023". Goalzz.com. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  11. ^ "Lebanese league– 5'th division – mount lebanon 2022/2023". Goalzz.com. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  12. ^ "Lebanese league– 5'th division – north lebanon 2022/2023". Goalzz.com. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  13. ^ "Lebanese league– division 5 – south lebanon". Goalzz.com. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  14. ^ "Lebanese league– 5'th division – beqaa 2022/2023". Goalzz.com. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  15. ^ Abou Diab, Rami (25 June 2020). "The new regulations for the Lebanese Premier League". FA Lebanon. Archived from the original on 27 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  16. ^ "Lebanese Women's Football League 2022/23". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 7 June 2023.