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Women's football in Lebanon
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Women's football in Lebanon officially began in 2005, with the creation of the Lebanese Women's Football (LWF). Founded in 2008, the Lebanese Women's Football League is the national club league; Sadaka and SAS won the league a record seven times each. Internationally, Safa became the first Lebanese team to win the WAFF Women's Clubs Championship in 2022.
The senior national team, who made their debut in 2006, finished runners-up in the WAFF Women's Championship in 2022, and in third place twice in 2007 and 2019. The youth teams won the Arab U-17 Women's Cup in 2015, the WAFF U-18 Girls Championship in 2019 and 2022, and the WAFF U-17 Girls Championship in 2019, 2023, and 2025.
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History
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In 1964, the American University of Beirut (AUB) appointed their first-ever women's physical education teacher, Rose La Sorte from the United States. She introduced women's football to AUB's curriculum for the first time.[1]
The AUB formed a proper women's football team in October–November 1998 under the initiative of student Luma Shihab-Eldin.[2] In February 1999, the AUB played their first game against the women's team of the Notre Dame University–Louaize (NDU), which finished 4–4.[3] Two other schools in Lebanon also had a women's football team: the American Community School Beirut (ACS) and the International College, Beirut (IC).[4] In 2002, the first interscholastic girls' football tournament was played.[2]
In 2005, the Lebanese Women's Football (LWF) committee was formed, affiliated to the Lebanese Football Association (LFA), to oversee the women's national teams.[5] From the late 2010s, football became more widespread among the female population in Lebanon.[6] Indeed, in 2019 there were 650 registered players, compared to 150 in 2005.[5] With the LFA investing more into the women's youth system, Lebanon has achieved considerable success within its region (West Asia) both at the national team and club levels.[6][7]
A turning point in youth development came in 2017–2018, when a new head of women’s football launched a nationwide plan to organize U15, U17, and U19 leagues and national teams. This structured approach produced early results in regional tournaments. However, political and economic crises — including the 2019–20 revolution, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2020 Beirut port explosion — disrupted momentum.[8]
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Clubs
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The Lebanese Women's Football League was founded in 2008, with Sadaka winning the first title.[9] They went on to win seven league titles in a row,[9] until they dissolved in 2014. From the 2014–15 season onwards, Stars Association for Sports (SAS) became the dominating force in Lebanon, winning seven of the following 10 league titles.[9] There are two domestic women's cup competitions in Lebanon: the Lebanese Women's FA Cup and the Lebanese Women's Super Cup.[10]
In 2019, SAS finished runners-up in the inaugural edition of the WAFF Women's Clubs Championship, a club competition for teams from West Asia.[11] Safa became the first Lebanese team to win the competition, winning the final of the second edition in 2022.[12]
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National team
Founded in 2005 as one of the earliest women's national teams in West Asia, the senior national team made it debut at the 2006 Arab Women's Championship, where they finished in last place.[13] They took part in their first official qualification tournament at the 2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualifiers.[14] Lebanon finished runners-up at the WAFF Women's Championship in 2022,[15] and in third place in 2007 and in 2019.[16][17]
At the youth level, Lebanon won the Arab U-17 Women's Cup in 2015, while in 2019 they won both the WAFF U-15 Girls Championship and the WAFF U-18 Girls Championship.[18][19] In 2022, Lebanon won the WAFF U-18 Girls Championship for the second time, defeating Syria 5–1 in the final as hosts,[20] and in 2023 they won their second WAFF U-16 Girls Championship.[21] Lebanon won their third WAFF U-17 Girls Championship in 2025.[22]
Reception
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While not popular, women's football has mainly been played in affluent areas in Lebanon since the 2000s.[5][23] One of the barriers of the growing sport has been the prejudice that many women have faced for playing it.[24][25][26][27][28]
The sport has become more popular since the late 2010s,[6] with increasing numbers in participation nationwide and more supporters (both women and men) in the stands.[5] Many parents also encourage their daughters to play.[6] However, while women's participation in football has been generally viewed positively in most cities, the more conservative communities still view football as a "male sport".[5]
In 2017, Doumouh Al Bakkar became the first Lebanese female referee to officiate a game between men, in a friendly game between Lebanese Premier League sides Safa and Tadamon Sour.[29] Regarding her experience refereeing a match between two top-tier men's clubs, Al Bakkar stated: "Some players were surprised at the idea of a woman officiating the game, others laughed. But of course, on the other hand, some were cooperative and offered me words of encouragement".[29]
Former Lebanese national team player and PhD researcher Assile Toufaily spoke about the structural and cultural barriers that female players face in Lebanon. Despite the growth in youth participation and national success, she noted persistent issues such as inadequate training times, lack of proper equipment, and the marginalization of women's teams compared to men's teams. For instance, while male players often trained at 4–5 p.m., girls as young as 15 were often assigned late training hours (9–10 p.m.).[8]
"We invest time, we invest money, we invest effort — and we get nothing in return."
Toufaily also highlighted the lack of financial support, as many club presidents paid expenses from their own pockets due to the absence of investors or federation support.[8]
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See also
References
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