Tripoli Sporting Club (Arabic: نادي طرابلس الرياضي), also known as AC Tripoli or simply Tripoli, is a football club based in Tripoli, Lebanon, that competes in the Lebanese Second Division,[2] and is primarily supported by the Sunni Muslim community.[3]
.png) | ||
| Full name | Tripoli Sporting Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | سفير الشمال (Ambassador of the North)[1] | |
| Founded | Unknown, as Al Majd Sports Association 4 April 2001, as Olympic Beirut Sporting Club 24 November 2005, as Tripoli Sporting Club | |
| Ground | Tripoli Municipal Stadium | |
| Capacity | 22,000 | |
| Chairman | Raed Saddik | |
| Manager | Wissam Abdallah | |
| League | Lebanese Second Division | |
| 2023–24 | Lebanese Premier League, 12th of 12 (relegated) | |
|
| ||
Founded as Al Majd Sports Association (Arabic: جمعية المجد الرياضي), the club was renamed Olympic Beirut Sporting Club (Arabic: نادي اولمبيك بيروت الرياضي) in 2001, winning the domestic double in the 2002–03 season. In 2005 they were re-established as AC Tripoli, and won a Lebanese FA Cup in 2014–15.
History
Olympic Beirut
Founded as Al Majd Sports Association (Arabic: جمعية المجد الرياضي), the club was renamed Olympic Beirut Sporting Club (Arabic: نادي اولمبيك بيروت الرياضي) on 4 April 2001,[4] by Taha Koleilat.[5] In 2001–02 the club won the Lebanese Second Division, and were promoted to the Lebanese Premier League.[5] Koleilat allocated a budget of US$7 million, with the goal of winning the league and building a competitive team for the AFC Cup.[5] Having strengthened the team with the signings of Pierre Issa, Edílson, Faisal Antar, Youssef Mohamad, and Abbas Ali Atwi, among others, Olympic Beirut won the domestic double in 2002–03, winning both the league and FA Cup.[5]
On 14 February 2003, Al Medina Bank – which funded the club's activities – declared bankruptcy.[5] The decline was felt the following season, in 2003–04, with Olympic Beirut being knocked out of the 2004 AFC Cup in the quarter-finals against Singaporean club Home United, and finishing the league in third place.[5] In 2004–05 Olympic Beirut finished in fourth place.[5]
AC Tripoli
Prior to the 2005–06 season, Koleilat sold the club's license to former national team player Walid Kamareddine for $400,000, with the club being relocated to Tripoli.[5] The club was first renamed Olympic, then Olympic Tripoli, and finally AC Tripoli (Arabic: نادي طرابلس الرياضي).[5] The Lebanese Football Association (LFA) approved of the move on 24 November 2005.[6]
In 2014–15 Tripoli won the Lebanese FA Cup, their first trophy under their new name.[7] They participated in the 2016 AFC Cup where, after beating Kyrgyz club Alay Osh in the qualifying play-offs on penalty shoot-outs, they qualified to the group stage.[8][9] Drawn in group B, Tripoli finished in third place out of four with two wins, a draw, and three defeats.[10]
Starting from the 2016–17 season, Tripoli found themselves in financial issues due to Najib Mikati, the club's main funder, deciding to cut the club's salary year by year, leaving the club to rely on social donations and TV sponsorship payments.[11] Tripoli were relegated to the Second Division in 2024, after finishing the 2023–24 Lebanese Premier League season in last place.[12]
Club rivalries
Tripoli plays the Tripoli derby with Egtmaaey, as they are both located in the same city.[13] The club also contests the North derby with Salam Zgharta, also on the basis of location.[14]
Players
Current squad
- As of 31 August 2024[15]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Honours
- Lebanese Premier League
- Winners (1): 2002–03[lower-alpha 1]
- Lebanese FA Cup
- Winners (2): 2002–03,[lower-alpha 1] 2014–15
- Runners-up (2): 2004–05,[lower-alpha 1] 2013–14
- Lebanese Second Division
- Winners (2): 2001–02,[lower-alpha 1] 2010–11
- Lebanese Challenge Cup (defunct)
- Runners-up (1): 2021
- Lebanese Super Cup
- Runners-up (1): 2015
Performance in AFC competitions
- AFC Cup: 2 appearances
Managerial history
 |
Ihsan Sayeed (1999–2002)
Estevam Soares (2002)
Mohammed Sahel (2002–2004)- Vardan Ghazaryan (2017)
- Fadi Ayad (2018–2019)
Ismael Kortam (2019)
Ahmad Hafez (2019–2020)- Ismael Kortam (2020)
- Salim Mikati (2018–2021)
Saad Jameel (2021–present)
See also
Notes
References
External links
Wikiwand in your browser!
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
