The Lebanese Football Association (LFA) (Arabic: الاتحاد اللبناني لكرة القدم, romanized: Al-Ittiḥād Al-Lubnānī Likurat Al-Qadam; French: Fédération Libanaise de Football) is the governing body of association football in Lebanon. Formed in 1933, it is a member of both FIFA and the AFC. It is also one of the founding members of the WAFF, joining in its inception in 2001.
History
In 1931 Khalil Hilmi, a member of Riyadi Beirut, attempted to form a federation.[1] However, the proposal failed as Nahda opposed its formation.[1] On 22 March 1933, representatives of thirteen football clubs gathered in the Minet El Hosn district in Beirut to form the Lebanese Football Association (LFA).[2] Hussein Sejaan was the LFA's first president.[3] Lebanon was one of the first nations in the Middle East to establish an administrative body for association football.[a][4] The LFA joined FIFA in 1936 and the AFC in 1964.[5] In 2001, the LFA joined the WAFF as one of its founding members.[6]
In 1985, in the midst of the Lebanese Civil War, the LFA was divided into two administrations: Western, headed by Nabil Al Raei, and Eastern, headed by Hamid Khoury.[7] FIFA froze Lebanon's membership until 5 February 1987, when FIFA president Sepp Blatter sent a telex letter to the LFA recognizing the elections of 2 May 1985, which had elected Al Raei as the LFA president.[7]
^الإعلام الرياضي في لبنان بين شباك السياسة والإهمال [Sports media in Lebanon between politics and neglect]. الأخبار (in Arabic). Retrieved 20 December 2018.
^Sakr 1992, p. 17.
^Henshaw 1979, p. 420.
^عساف, فراس ابو. لمحة عن الإتحاد [Lebanese Football Federation]. الاتحاد اللبناني لكرة القدم (in Arabic). Retrieved 20 December 2018.
^"Jordanian Prince Ali re-elected as president of WAFF". Kuwait News Agency (KUNA). Retrieved 6 June 2019.
^ a bشرعية إتحاد كرة القدم. نداء الوطن. 7 April 2020. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
^"LEBANESE DIRECTORIES FOOTBALL FE". www.abdogedeon.com. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
^"Lebanese Football Association". FIFA. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
^اللجنة التنفيذية [Executive Committee]. Lebanese Football Association. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
Bibliography
Henshaw, Richard (1979). The Encyclopedia of World Soccer. Washington, D.C.: New Republic Books. ISBN0-915220-34-2.
Sakr, Ali Hamidi (1992). موسوعة كرة القدم اللبنانية 1991–1992 [1991–1992 Lebanese Football Encyclopedia] (PDF) (in Arabic). مؤسسة نوفل للتوزيع. ISBN0000281247.