The Lebanese Second Division (Arabic: الدوري اللبناني الدرجة الثانية) is the second division of Lebanese football. It is controlled by the Lebanese Football Association. The top two teams qualify for the Lebanese Premier League and replace the relegated teams, while the bottom two are relegated to the Lebanese Third Division.[1] The league was initially scheduled to start in September,[2] before being postponed to 2 October as part of preventive measures by the state towards the COVID-19 pandemic.[3][4]
| Season | 2020–21 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 2 October 2020 – 16 April 2021 |
| Champions | Sporting |
| Promoted | Sporting Sagesse |
| Relegated | Nasser Club Bar Elias Ansar Howara |
| Matches played | 96 |
| Goals scored | 289 (3.01 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Mohamad Kdouh (15) |
| Biggest win | Sporting 6–0 Egtmaaey (6 November 2020) |
| Highest scoring | Ansar Howara 3–5 Nabi Chit (28 March 2021) Ansar Howara 2–6 Mabarra (19 April 2021) |
← 2021–22 → | |
It is the first season to feature a "split" format, where the season is divided into two phases. In the first phase, each club plays against each other once, for a total of 11 matchdays. In the second phase, the league is split into two halves – the "top six" and the "bottom six". Points are carried over from the first phase, and each club plays five games within its own half. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all games in the season were played behind closed doors.[5]
As the 2019–20 season was cancelled, Sporting and Ansar Howara were the promoted teams from the Third Division,[6] while Bekaa and Racing Beirut were relegated from the Lebanese Premier League.[7][8] Sporting and Sagesse finished in first and second place respectively, and were promoted to the Lebanese Premier League, whereas Nasser Bar Elias and Ansar Howara finished in the bottom two positions, and were relegated to the Lebanese Third Division.
Teams
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League table
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| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation[a] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sporting (C, P) | 16 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 38 | 12 | +26 | 35 | Promotion to Lebanese Premier League |
| 2 | Sagesse (P) | 16 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 24 | 10 | +14 | 32 | |
| 3 | Ahli Nabatieh | 16 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 25 | 14 | +11 | 29 | |
| 4 | Islah Borj Shmali | 16 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 28 | 18 | +10 | 25 | |
| 5 | Ahli Saida | 16 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 28 | 24 | +4 | 25 | |
| 6 | Nahda Barelias | 16 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 14 | 20 | −6 | 19 | |
| 7 | Racing Beirut | 16 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 29 | 19 | +10 | 29 | |
| 8 | Egtmaaey | 16 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 20 | 33 | −13 | 19 | |
| 9 | Nabi Chit | 16 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 26 | 30 | −4 | 18 | |
| 10 | Mabarra | 16 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 19 | 24 | −5 | 16 | |
| 11 | Nasser Bar Elias (R) | 16 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 17 | 31 | −14 | 11 | Relegation to Lebanese Third Division |
| 12 | Ansar Howara (R) | 16 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 21 | 54 | −33 | 5 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Goal difference; 5) Goals scored; 6) Draw.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- ^ Teams play each other once (11 matches), before the league is split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six).
Top scorers
edit| Rank | Player | Club | Goals[9] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Mohamad Kdouh
|
Racing Beirut | 15 |
| 2 |  Wasim Abdalhadi
|
Sagesse | 12 |
| 3 | Mazen Jamal
|
Ahli Saida | 11 |
| 4 | Hassan Termos
|
Sporting | 10 |
| 5 | Ali Abbas
|
Sporting | 9 |
| Ayman Abou Sahyoun
|
Islah Borj Shmali |
References
edit- ^ "Lebanese League Second Division 2020/2021". www.goalzz.com. Archived from the original on 17 November 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
- ^ "September kick off for new Lebanese season". The AFC. 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
- ^ Mahfoud, Maroun (19 August 2020). "LFA cancels all on-going tournaments and postpone the Premier League". FA Lebanon. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
- ^ "The 2020-2021 Lebanese Premier League schedule has been revealed". FA Lebanon. 14 September 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
- ^ "الجمهور يعود.. لا يعود". lebanonfg.com. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
- ^ "حوارة وسبورتينغ إلى الدرجة الثانية". Football Lebanon. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
- ^ للإعلام, الوكالة الوطنية. "بطولة كرة القدم: البقاع إلى الدرجة الثانية ومعركة مفتوحة على هوية ثاني الهابطين". الوكالة الوطنية للإعلام (in Arabic). Retrieved 20 April 2019.
- ^ للإعلام, الوكالة الوطنية. "هبوط الراسينغ بيروت الى الدرجة الثانية والأنصار يقترب من المركز الوصيف". الوكالة الوطنية للإعلام (in Arabic). Retrieved 20 April 2019.
- ^ Lebanese Football Association [@thelfadotcom] (29 April 2021). "ترتيب الهدافين لبطولة الدوري العام لأندية الدرجة الثانية للموسم 2020-2021" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
