Salam Zgharta FC

Salam Zgharta
Full nameSalam Zgharta Football Club
Short nameSalam
Founded1933 (1933), as Salam Achrafieh SC
15 August 1971 (15 August 1971), as Salam Zgharta FC
GroundZgharta Sports Complex
Capacity5,500
ChairmanEstephan Frangieh
ManagerRicardo Cerqueira
LeagueLebanese Second Division
2025–26Lebanese Second Division, 3rd of 12
Websitewww.salamzgharta.com

Salam Zgharta Football Club (Arabic: نادي السلام الرياضي زغرتا, lit. 'The Peace Sports Club Zgharta'), known as Salam Zgharta or simply Salam, is a football club based in Zgharta, Lebanon, that competes in the Lebanese Second Division.

Founded in 1933 as Salam Achrafieh, the club was renamed Salam Zgharta in 1971; their supporters are primarily Maronites from the Zgharta region and other districts in North Lebanon.[1] The club's traditional kit colours are red and black.[2] In 2014, they won the Lebanese FA Cup, their only major trophy to date.[3]

History

Salam Zgharta (white) against Nejmeh (red) in 2020

Salam Zgharta was founded in 1971, after a group of football enthusiasts bought the licence of former club Salam Achrafieh (Arabic: نادي السلام الأشرفية), based in the Achrafieh district of Beirut.[4] In their first season, the club got demoted to the Lebanese Second Division with Riyada Wal Adab, after the early finish of the season due to start of the Lebanese Civil War.[5]

The start of the 1990s was positive for the Northern club, finishing third in the 1990–91 Lebanese Premier League with 35 points.[6] Following the expansion of the Premier League to 20 teams divided into two groups, Salam Zgharta finished the 1991–92 season as second of their group and fourth in the league standing after securing 23 points in 20 games.[6] In 1996, Youssef Jabbour got elected vice president.[7]

In the mid-2000s, Kabalan lost interest in the club; an election took place in October 2006, three games after the start of the 2006–07 season, and Estephan Frangieh became the president.[4]

In the 2020–21 season, after eight consecutive seasons in the top flight, Salam Zgharta were relegated to the Second Division.[8] They were promoted in 2021–22, after finishing second in the Second Division,[9] before being relegated back in 2022–23, finishing 11th in the Premier League.[10]

Club rivalries

Salam Zgharta plays the North derby with Tripoli, as they are both located in the same area.[11] The first derby between Salam Zgharta and Tripoli was played on 18 December 2005, at the Rachid Karame Municipality Stadium.[12] The home team, Salam Zgharta, won the game 1–0 after a goal from Wehbe Douaihy in the 58th minute.[13]

Players

Current squad

As of 22 September 2024[14]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  LBN Youssed Mrad
2 DF  LBN Yehya Kahil
4 MF  PLE Ahmad Yassine
5 MF  LBN Amer Mahfoud (captain)
7 MF  LBN Mohammad Samrout
8 MF  LBN Ghazi Hussein
9 FW  LBN Haidar Awada
11 FW  LBN Jason Bayeh
12 DF  LBN Rawad Gitani
16 DF  LBN Patrick Mannah
17 MF  LBN Fouad Khawaja
19 FW  NGA Obulor Silas
No. Pos. Nation Player
22 DF  LBN Adel Khalil
25 DF  LBN Joe Khawaja
70 DF  NGA Emmanuel Obere
89 GK  LBN Joseph Bitar
— FW  LBN Mohammad Chaaban
—  LBN Issa Nadi Bazzi
— DF  LBN Alex El Rattel
— DF  LBN Mohamad Korhani
— FW  LBN Mohamad Al-Zahed
—  LBN Imad Al Azmeh
— GK  LBN Elio Derjani
— FW  LBN Elio Rostom
— FW  LBN Anthony Azizi

Notable players

Players in international competitions
Competition Player National team
2019 AFC Asian Cup Walid Ismail  Lebanon
Mostafa Matar  Lebanon

Honours

Performance in AFC competitions

2015: Group stage

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 As Salam Achrafieh

References

  1. ↑ Maugendre, Axel (31 August 2018), "Ethnography of the Lebanese Football Clubs" (PDF), Athens Journal of Sports, 5 (3): 213–226, doi:10.30958/AJSPO.5-3-3, archived from the original (PDF) on 18 July 2019
  2. ↑ "Salam Zgharta SC - Lebanon - نادي السلام زغرتا الرياضي - Club Profile, Club History, Club Badge, Results, Fixtures, Historical Logos, Statistics". www.weltfussballarchiv.com. Archived from the original on 19 June 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  3. ↑ "Summary - Cup - Lebanon - Results, fixtures, tables and news - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  4. 1 2 "ممثّل زغرتا: الأشرفية البداية!". الأخبار (in Arabic). Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  5. ↑ "وليد شاتيلا الحارس الطائر". 19 August 2020.
  6. 1 2 "Al Salam Zgharta" (in Arabic).
  7. ↑ shoot 124 10_06-96 page 15 جبور نائبًا لرئيس السلام
  8. ↑ Mahfoud, Maroun (31 March 2021). "End of an era". FA Lebanon. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  9. ↑ "السلام زغرتا يرافق الشباب الغازية الى الدرجة الأولى". www.akhbaralyawm.com. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  10. ↑ "اتحاد كرة القدم اللبناني يصدر قرارات حاسمة". كووورة. 22 March 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  11. ↑ Lebanon, Football. "السلام زغرتا يحسم ديربي الشمال ويضمن البقاء في دوري الأضواء". football-lebanon.com. Archived from the original on 1 February 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  12. ↑ "منتديات كووورة". forum.kooora.com. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  13. ↑ "Lebanon 2005/06".
  14. ↑ "Salam SC Zgharta". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
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