Al Riyadi Club Beirut

Al Riyadi Club Beirut (Arabic: نادي الرياضي بيروت, lit. 'Sporting Club Beirut'), commonly known simply as Al Riyadi, is a multi-sports club team based in Manara, a district in Beirut, Lebanon. Founded in 1934,^[2] the multi-sports club, which is mainly known for their basketball program, also plays ping-pong, martial arts, and other sports.

Al Riyadi
Nickname	دولة الرياضي[1] The Yellow Castle
Leagues	Lebanese Basketball League Basketball Champions League Asia
Founded	1934; 91 years ago (1934)
History	Al Riyadi Club Beirut (1934–present)
Arena	Saeb Salam Arena
Capacity	2,500
Location	Manara, Beirut, Lebanon
Team colours	Yellow, White and Blue
Main sponsor	Tecno Mobile
President	Mazen Tabbara
Head coach	Ahmad Farran
Team captain	Amir Saoud
Championships	3 Champions League Asia 2 West Asia Super League 4 WABA Champions Cup 5 Arab Club Championship 38 Lebanese League 4 Lebanese Cup 2 Lebanese Supercup
Retired numbers	3 (10, 6, 4)
Website	riyadi.com
Home Away Third

Al Riyadi's office in Beirut, 2022

Al Riyadi is the most successful basketball team in Lebanese history, and one of the best in Asian basketball.^[3][4] Competing in the Lebanese Basketball League, Al Riyadi is the most decorated Lebanese basketball club, with 38 league titles, a joint-record three Basketball Champions League Asia titles, and five Arab Club Championships. Nicknamed "the Yellow Castle", basketball team plays its home games at the Saeb Salam Arena.^[4]

History

Al Riyadi Club was founded in 1934 by Hussein Sejaan, Hassan Ladki, Fouad Zantout, Youssef Shaker, Mustafa Shaker, Zouheir Yatim, Helmi Chehab, and Wafic Nsouli, who formed the first basketball team.^[2]

The team played its first game against a foreign team in 1947, when Al Riyadi faced Turkish club Galatasaray, and lost the game 33–39. The game was attended by the first President of Lebanon Bechara El Khoury.^[2]

Al Riyadi launched its first women's basketball team in 1965. The club built its own sports arena, the Saeb Salam Arena, in 1991, helped by former President Tammam Salam.^[2]

In the 2023–24 season, Al Riyadi secured their 31st Lebanese league championship,^[5] their first FIBA West Asia Super League title,^[6] and their third Asian continental title by winning the 2024 Basketball Champions League Asia.^[7] As champions, they qualified directly for the 2024 FIBA Intercontinental Cup, making them the first Lebanese team to compete in the tournament.^[8] At the 2024 FIBA Intercontinental Cup, Al Riyadi finished 4th out of 6 teams with a record of 1 win and 2 losses.^[9][10]

Arenas and facilities

The Saeb Salam Arena was finished in 1991 and holds a capacity for 2,500 people.^[11] Al Riyadi played last 2 seasons their FIBA West Asia Super League at Nohad Nawfal Stadium, due to its big capacity, while waiting to innovate the Saeb Salam Arena in Manara.

Home arenas
Arena	Tenure
Rawshe	1934–1947
Sanayeh	1947–1954
Rawshe	1954–1991
Saeb Salam Arena	1991–present

Achievements

The following is a list of achievements the club has won.^[12]

Domestic

• Lebanese Basketball League
  • Winners (38): 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025
• Lebanese Basketball Cup
  • Winners (4): 2006, 2007, 2008, 2019
• Lebanese Basketball Supercup
  • Winners (2): 2012, 2019

International

• Basketball Champions League Asia
  • Winners (3): 2011,^[13] 2017,^[14] 2024^[7]
• Arab Club Basketball Championship
  • Winners (5): 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010
• FIBA West Asia Super League
  • Winners (2): 2023–24,^[6] 2024–25^[15]
  • West Asia League winners (3): 2022–23,^[16] 2023–24,^[17] 2024–25
• WABA Champions Cup
  • Winners (4): 1998, 2008, 2011, 2017

Players

Retired numbers

Al Riyadi retired numbers
N°	Player	Position	Tenure	Ceremony date
4	Jean Abdelnour	SF	2009–2023	13 December 2023[18]
6	Ali Mahmoud	PG	2004–2016, 2017–2019
10	Ismail Ahmad	C	2000–01, 2004–17, 2018–20, 2022–present

Current roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

Al Riyadi roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Age PF 1 Ahmad, Ismail 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) 48 – (1976-09-23)23 September 1976 SG 22 Ghanthous, Youssef 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 29 – (1996-05-11)11 May 1996 CG 16 Arakji, Wael 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 30 – (1994-09-07)7 September 1994 SG 5 Saoud, Amir 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) 34 – (1991-01-18)18 January 1991 C 20 Abdallah, Habib 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 31 – (1993-11-13)13 November 1993 SG 7 Zeinoun, Karim 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 26 – (1999-06-16)16 June 1999 C/PF 2 Maker, Thon 2.16 m (7 ft 1 in) 28 – (1997-02-25)25 February 1997 PG 10 Mansour, Ali 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 27 – (1998-01-01)1 January 1998 F 14 Tabbara, Bilal 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 32 – (1993-05-25)25 May 1993 F 24 Gyokchyan, Hayk 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 35 – (1989-12-11)11 December 1989 SG 94 Georges-Hunt, Marcus 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 31 – (1994-03-28)28 March 1994 SG 15 DeShields, Keron 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 32 – (1992-12-14)14 December 1992	Head coach Ahmad Farran Legend (C) Team captain Injured Roster Updated: 5 January 2024

Notable players

See also: Category:Al Riyadi Club Beirut basketball players

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

Criteria
To appear in this section a player must have either: Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club Played at least one official international match for their national team at any time Played at least one official NBA match at any time.

• Jean Abdelnour
• Ismail Ahmad
• / Dalibor Bagarić
• Benoit Benjamin
• Rodney Buford
• Tony Dawson
• / Quincy Douby
• Fadi El Khatib
• Andre Emmett
• / Matt Freije
• Dion Glover
• Donté Greene
• Manny Harris
• Mike Harris
• Rick Hughes
• Orlando Johnson
• Ricky Ledo
• Zach Lofton
• / Ali Mahmoud
• / Thon Maker
• Randolph Morris
• Kevin Murphy
• Lee Nailon
• Julius Nwosu
• / Daniel Ochefu
• Aleksandar Radojević
• / Duop Reath
• Jamal Robinson
• Jonathon Simmons
• Willie Warren
• Loren Woods

See also

• Lebanon men's national basketball team