The 2022–23 Lebanese Premier League was the 61st season of the Lebanese Premier League, the top Lebanese league for football clubs since its establishment in 1934. The league started on 2 September 2022, and ended on 12 March 2023.

It was the third season to feature a "split" format, following its introduction in the 2020–21 season, in which the season was divided into two phases. Ahed won their second consecutive title, and ninth overall. Akhaa Ahli Aley and Salam Zgharta were relegated to the Lebanese Second Division.

Summary

Regulations Each club had 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 was 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 was 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.

For the first time since the cancelled 2019–20 season, each club could have three foreign players under contract.

Format Following its introduction in the 2020–21 season, the 2022–23 season consisted of two phases: in the first phase, each team played against one another once. In the second phase, the 12 teams were divided into two groups based on their position in the first phase. Contrary to the previous season, the teams only carried over half of their point tally from the first phase. 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.

The top six teams played against each other twice; the champion automatically qualifies to the 2023–24 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs—assuming they meet the criteria set by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The runners-up instead directly qualified to the 2023–24 AFC Cup group stage—as long as the champions meet the AFC criteria for the AFC Champions League. The bottom six teams also played against each other twice, with the bottom two teams being relegated to the Lebanese Second Division.

Teams

Twelve teams competed in the league – the top ten teams from the 2021–22 Lebanese Premier League season and the two teams promoted from the Lebanese Second Division.

Stadiums and locations

Note: Table lists in alphabetical order. TeamLocationStadiumCapacityAhedBeirut Al Ahed StadiumAkhaa Ahli AleyAleyAmin Abdelnour StadiumAnsarBeirut Ansar StadiumBourjBeirut Bourj el-Barajneh StadiumChabab GhaziehGhaziehKfarjoz Municipal StadiumNejmehBeirut Rafic Hariri StadiumSafaBeirut Safa StadiumSagesseBeirut Sin El Fil StadiumSalam ZghartaZghartaZgharta Sports ComplexShabab SahelBeirut Shabab Al Sahel StadiumTadamon SourTyreSour Municipal StadiumTripoliTripoliTripoli Municipal Stadium

Foreign players Lebanese clubs were allowed to have three 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 could not be fielded at the same time in a match). Moreover, each club competing in an AFC competition was allowed to field one extra foreign player, to be only played in continental matches, as the AFC allowed four 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. TeamPlayer 1Player 2Player 3Palestinian player(s)Former playersAhed Emmanuel Obere Issah Yakubu Lee Erwin Samad KadiriAkhaa Ahli Aley Carlos Lomba Álex Chico Laércio Wasim Abdalhadi Fábio Vassalo Patrik BordonAnsar Ichaka Diarra Houssem Louati Elhadji Malick Tall Mohamad HebousBourj Richard Baffour Dennis Tetteh Zaher Samahe Stephen SarfoChabab Ghazieh Ezra Amelinsa Chizoba Ibe Titteh Gideou Yasser Serhan Mani Ira MusaNejmeh Jefinho Vítor Barata Matheus Farinha Abdoulaye Fall Jean BalekeSafa Issa Keita Adramé Diallo Fredlin Mompremier Ayman Abou Sahyoun Alaa HamadehSagesse Papa Sidibe Mansa Konate Boucounta Sarr Mohammed Qasem Sayed PayetSalam Zgharta James Innocent Gerônimo Vinícius Calamari Ibrahim Abdelwahhab Usule MartinsShabab Sahel Andrew Ikefe Emmanuel Nettey Bobby Clement Hadi DawkarTadamon Sour Adnan Salloum Ghassan Sarriyeh Biafri Nessemon Toussaint Christian Obiozor Daouda DiopTripoli Suleiman Abu Zam'a Ibrahim Al Rowwad Mougbaya Beni de Dieu Omar Kayed Ahmad Yassine Yehya Ghafour Hael Al Badri Ahmad Sayed Attieh El Ajjaj

League table

Season statistics Top goalscorers RankPlayerClubGoals1 Elhadji Malick Tall Ansar222 Hassan MaatoukAnsar10 Mohamad Haidar Ahed4 Adramé Diallo Safa95 Khalil BaderNejmeh8 Boucounta Sarr Sagesse7 Zein Farran Shabab Sahel7

Hat-tricks Player For Against Result Date BourjTripoli4–1 AnsarTripoli6–0 AnsarChabab Ghazieh4–0 NejmehShabab Sahel4–1 Akhaa Ahli AleyTripoli4–0

See also 2022–23 Lebanese FA Cup

Notes

References

External links