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
2022–23Lebanese Premier League, 11th of 12 (relegated)
WebsiteClub website

Salam Zgharta Football Club (Arabic: نادي السلام الرياضي زغرتا, lit. 'Zgharta Peace Sporting Club'), 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 mainly from the Zgharta region and other districts in North Lebanon. The club's traditional kit colours are red and black.[1] In 2014 they won the Lebanese FA Cup, their only major trophy to date.[2]

History

Salam Achrafieh (1933–1971)

Salam Achrafieh was a club established in Ashrafieh, a district in the northern Beirut.

In May 1933, Salam Achrafieh hosted a game against Arax and fielded a player called Spiro who wasn't living in Achrafieh. This was considered illegal at the time and the LFA disqualified Salam from the match. This decision was not welcomed by Slim, who was a well-known media personality, and tried to change the executive committee, but ended up failing as Al Nahda SC, the dominating team at the time, didn't approve of the change.

Salam Achrafieh played in the first ever Lebanese Second Division season and ended up winning the trophy. In 1937, Salam Achrafieh became the first two-times Second Division winners.

Early history (1971–1990)

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.[3]

The club remained in Achrafieh until 1974, when they moved to Zgharta, in North Lebanon. They competed in the Lebanese Premier League, with Sassine Ghazale funding the club after the move. During the 1974–75 season, Antoine "Al Shakra" Fenianos was the club's first manager. Salam Zgharta's first game was at the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium against Nejmeh, in which Salam Zgharta lost 5–2. In their first season, the club got demoted to the second division with Riyada Wal Adab, after the early finish of the season due to start of the Lebanese Civil War.[4]

While football in Lebanon was affected by the Lebanese Civil War, the Lebanese Football Association (LFA) split into two entities, with each organizing its own competitions in the latter stage of the war. Salam Zgharta joined the Eastern Federation and won the Lebanese FA Cup on 12 April 1987. However, following the war, the two federations re-merged and the FA Cup win was voided.

Post-war period (1990–2006)

Following the end of the Civil War, Salam Zgharta were one of the best teams in the league, with a core of players such as Fawzi Yammine and Elias Bou Nassif. The start of the 1990s was positive for the Northern club, finishing third in the 1990–91 season with 35 points.[5] 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.[5]

In 1992, Kabalan Yammine became Salam Zgharta's president. The club was not able to replicate past success; they stayed the following two seasons in the top flight but then struggled to maintain its position in the Lebanese Premier League for financial reasons. Therefore, the club regularly played in the Lebanese Second Division. In the 1999–2000 season, Salam Zgharta finished fifth in the Lebanese Premier League, their best result under the presidency of Kabalan Yammine. In 1996, Youssef Jabbour got elected vice president.[6] 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.[3]

Estephan Frangieh's presidency (2006–present)

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

In the first season under Estephan Frangieh's presidency (2006–07), the club was relegated to the Second Division. Following their relegation, Frangieh invested in the club and they were promoted back into the first division in the 2007–08 season. Their stay in the first division only lasted one season as they were relegated again in the 2008–09 season. In 2009, the Merdeshiyeh Stadium was renamed Zgharta Sports Complex. The club eventually won the 2012–13 Lebanese Second Division after topping Group A, gaining promotion to the Premier League.

In their return to the Premier League in the 2013–14 season, Salam Zgharta hired Peter Meindertsma as their head coach. While the club struggled to avoid relegation in the league, they won the 2013–14 Lebanese FA Cup. In 2015, Salam Zgharta participated for the first time in the AFC Cup after winning the one-legged qualifying play-off round match against Khayr Vahdat. They went on to win one match in six games in the group stage.

In the 2016–17 season, Salam Zgharta started the campaign with a 5–2 win at home against Ansar. Salam finished runners-up, their best ever finish to date. They qualified to the 2018–19 Arab Club Champions Cup for the first time, losing against Raja Casablanca in the round of 32. In the 2020–21 seasons, after eight consecutive seasons in the top flight, Salam Zgharta were relegated to the Second Division.[7] They were promoted in 2021–22, after finishing second in the Second Division,[8] before being relegated back in 2022–23, finishing 11th in the Premier League.[9]

Colors and badges

Following the move from Achrafieh to Zgharta, Salam Zgharta was known for wearing blue at home and white away. After the re-merging of the LFA in 1990, Salam Zgharta opted to change their home colours to red.

The first ever logo of Salam Zgharta was designed in 1971. It consisted of a circle with the words "Al Salam Zgharta" (Arabic: السلام زغرتا) written in a calligraphic form to take the shape of a pigeon. The design was then changed in 2010, which conserved the round shape.

Stadium

Salam Zgharta owns the Zgharta Sports Complex. The stadium is located in the Merdeshiyeh region in Zgharta and it can host almost 5,500 people. The stadium was built by the Maronite endowment next to the Sarkis and Bakhos Church, and it was renovated in 2009. The same year, the endowment gave the right of usage of the stadium to Salam Zgharta.

The stadium faced a ban from the federation in 1999, which was lifted in 2009.

Supporters

Salam Zgharta supporters are mainly located in the Zgharta and nearby districts. They were known to cause some troubles during matches in the 1990s and 2000s.

Club rivalries

Salam Zgharta plays the North derby with Tripoli, as they are both located in the same area.[10] Other minor rivalries take place with clubs like Ansar Howara SC and Egtmaaey but Salam Zgharta don't face them much anymore as they are not regular visitors to the first division. The first derby between Salam Zgharta and Tripoli was played on 18 December 2005, at the Rachid Karame Municipality Stadium.[11] The home team, Salam Zgharta, won the game 1–0 after a goal from Wehbe Douaihy at the 58th minute.[12]

Reserve team

In the 2014–15 season, Salam Zgharta's administration bought a Second Division club called "Al Oummal Tripoli". The club was renamed Amal Al Salam Zgharta, and is used as a reserve team.

Players

Current squad

As of 20 September 2023[13]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
2 DF Lebanon LBN Yehya Kahil
3 MF Lebanon LBN Ghazi Hussein
4 MF State of Palestine PLE Ahmad Yassine
5 MF Lebanon LBN Amer Mahfoud
8 FW Lebanon LBN Philippe Ayoub
8 FW Lebanon LBN Mohammad Maksoud
9 FW Brazil BRA Autemar Bispo
11 FW Lebanon LBN Abdallah Adra
11 FW Lebanon LBN Jason Bayeh
12 DF Lebanon LBN Rawad Gitani
14 MF Lebanon LBN Michael Fenianos
16 DF Lebanon LBN Patrick Mannah
17 MF Lebanon LBN Mohammad Samrout
20 Lebanon LBN Anthony Dib
No. Pos. Nation Player
22 DF Lebanon LBN Adel Khalil
25 DF Lebanon LBN Andrew Farah
25 DF Lebanon LBN Joe Khawaja
30 MF Lebanon LBN Joseph Yarak
70 MF Lebanon LBN Mohammad Arja
89 GK Lebanon LBN Joseph Bitar
99 GK Lebanon LBN Antoine Al Douaihy
99 GK Lebanon LBN Youssed Mrad
— FW Lebanon LBN Serge Assaf
— MF Lebanon LBN Fouad Khawaja
— FW Lebanon LBN Mohammad Chaaban
— FW Lebanon LBN Elio Rostom
— FW Lebanon LBN Anthony Azizi

Notable players

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

Presidential history

Name Nationality Years
Youssef Zaidan Lebanon 1971
Sessine Ghazele Lebanon
Kabalan Yammine Lebanon 1992–2006
Estephan Frangieh Lebanon 2006–present

Managerial history

Name Nationality Years
Antoine "Al Shakra" Fenianos Lebanon 1971–????
Thaer Ahmad Iraq 1996
Hussein Afeish Lebanon 2005
Assaf Khalife Syria 2005–????
Ghassan Khawaja[lower-alpha 1] Lebanon 2009
Assaf Khalife Syria 2012–2013
Peter Meindertsma Netherlands 2013–2015
Louai Abou Karam Venezuela 2015
Anas Makhlouf Syria 2015–2016
Tarek Jaraya Tunisia 2016–2017
Maher Sdiri Tunisia 2017–2018
Tarek Thabet Tunisia 2018
Ghassan Khawaja Lebanon 2018–2019
Anis Boujelban[lower-alpha 1] Tunisia 2019
Nouhad Souccar Jordan 2019
Ahmad Kadhem Iraq 2019
Ghassan Khawaja Lebanon 2020–2021
Vladimir Vujović Montenegro 2021–2022
Kazem El Khansa Lebanon 2022
Andrew Oakley Australia 2022
Ahmed Hafez Egypt 2022
Ricardo Cerqueira[14] Brazil 2023–present

Honours

Performance in AFC competitions

2015: Group stage

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 Caretaker manager
  2. 1 2 As Salam Achrafieh

References

  1. ↑ "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.
  2. ↑ "Summary - Cup - Lebanon - Results, fixtures, tables and news - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  3. 1 2 "ممثّل زغرتا: الأشرفية البداية!". الأخبار (in Arabic). Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  4. ↑ "وليد شاتيلا الحارس الطائر". 19 August 2020.
  5. 1 2 https://www.abdogedeon.com/volleyball/NOUJOUM/al%20salam.html
  6. ↑ shoot 124 10_06-96 page 15 جبور نائبًا لرئيس السلام
  7. ↑ Mahfoud, Maroun (31 March 2021). "End of an era". FA Lebanon. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  8. ↑ "السلام زغرتا يرافق الشباب الغازية الى الدرجة الأولى". www.akhbaralyawm.com. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  9. ↑ "اتحاد كرة القدم اللبناني يصدر قرارات حاسمة". كووورة. 22 March 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  10. ↑ 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.
  11. ↑ "منتديات كووورة". forum.kooora.com. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  12. ↑ "Lebanon 2005/06".
  13. ↑ "Salam SC Zgharta". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  14. ↑ "مدرب برازيلي للسلام زغرتا". 7 January 2023.
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