The Lebanese Football Association (LFA) ( ar, الاتحاد اللبناني لكرة القدم, Al-Ittiḥād Al-Lubnānī Likurat Al-Qadam; french: Fédération Libanaise de Football) is the governing body of
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
in
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
. Formed in 1933, it is a member of both the
AFC and
FIFA. It is also one of the founding members of the
WAFF, joining in its inception in 2001.
History
In 1931
Khalil Hilmi, a member of
Riyadi Beirut, attempted to form a federation. However, the proposal failed as
Nahda
The Nahda ( ar, النهضة, translit=an-nahḍa, meaning "the Awakening"), also referred to as the Arab Awakening or Enlightenment, was a cultural movement that flourished in Arabic-speaking regions of the Ottoman Empire, notably in Egypt, Leb ...
opposed its formation. On 22 March 1933, representatives of thirteen football clubs gathered in the Minet El Hosn district in
Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
to form the Lebanese Football Association (LFA). Hussein Sejaan was the LFA's first president. Lebanon was one of the first nations in the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
to establish an administrative body for
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
. The LFA joined
FIFA in 1936 and the
AFC in 1964. In 2001, the LFA joined the
WAFF as one of its founding members.
In 1985, in the midst of the
Lebanese Civil War
The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...
, the LFA was divided into two administrations: Western, headed by
Nabil Al Raei, and Eastern, headed by
Hamid Khoury
Hamid refers to two different but related Arabic given names, both of which come from the Arabic triconsonantal root of Ḥ-M-D (ِِح-م-د):
# (Arabic: حَامِد ''ḥāmid'') also spelled Haamed, Hamid or Hamed, and in Turkish Hamit; i ...
.
FIFA froze Lebanon's membership until 5 February 1987, when FIFA president
Sepp Blatter sent a
telex
The telex network is a station-to-station switched network of teleprinters similar to a telephone network, using telegraph-grade connecting circuits for two-way text-based messages. Telex was a major method of sending written messages electroni ...
letter to the LFA recognizing the elections of 2 May 1985, which had elected Al Raei as the LFA president.
Principals
Board of directors
See also
*
Lebanese Premier League
The Lebanese First Division ( ar, الدوري اللبناني الدرجة الأولى), commonly known as the Lebanese Premier League (), is the top division of the Lebanese football league system. There are 12 teams competing in the league, ...
*
Lebanese FA Cup
The Lebanon Cup (), commonly known as the Lebanese FA Cup, is a Lebanese football annual cup competition. The first edition, held in 1937, was won by Nahda. The most successful club in the competition is Ansar with 15 titles, followed by Nejmeh ...
*
Lebanon national football team
*
2013 Lebanese match fixing scandal
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
External links
*
Lebanonat FIFA.com
at the-AFC.com
Lebanonat the-WAFF.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lebanese Football Association
1933 establishments in Lebanon
Futsal in Lebanon
Sports organizations established in 1933
Football
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...