The Lebanese football league system (), also known as the Lebanese football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's

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 ...

clubs 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 the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

. The system has a hierarchical format with

promotion and relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

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 more than 20 divisions. 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 9 clubs per division implies that about 200 clubs are members of a league in the Lebanese men's football league system.

Structure

Men

The first tier of Lebanese football is the

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, ...

, which is governed by the

Lebanese Football Association 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 in Lebanon. ...

and is made up of 12 teams. Next is the

Lebanese Second Division The Lebanese Second Division ( ar, الدوري اللبناني الدرجة الثانية) is the second division of Lebanese football. Established in 1933, it is controlled by the Lebanese Football Association. The 12 teams that participate ...

. Both of these leagues cover the whole of Lebanon. The third tier is the

Lebanese Third Division The Lebanese Third Division ( ar, الدوري اللبناني الدرجة الثالثة) is the third division of Lebanese football, and is controlled by the Lebanese Football Association. The 24 teams are divided into four groups of seven ...

; it has four groups (of seven clubs each) which are generally split on the basis of location. The first three leagues participate in the

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 ...

, the national domestic cup competition. At the fourth tier is the

Lebanese Fourth Division The Lebanese football league system (), 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 l ...

, a league of five parallel divisions (in which the clubs are divided by geographical location). Finally, at the end of the pyramid is the

Lebanese Fifth Division The Lebanese football league system (), 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 l ...

, composed of three divisions also split on the basis of location.

If teams are level on points, tie-breakers are applied in the following order: # Head-to-head records (results and points) #

Goal difference Goal difference, goal differential or points difference is a form of tiebreaker used to rank sport teams which finish on equal points in a league competition. Either "goal difference" or "points difference" is used, depending on whether matches ar ...

of head-to-head games # Goal difference overall # Higher number of goals scored # Draw

Women

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lebanon Football League System Football league systems in Asia

Structure

Men

Women

See also

References