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Al Ahed FC

Al Ahed Football Club is a football club based in Ouzai, a district in Beirut, Lebanon, that competes in the Lebanese Premier League, the top flight of Lebanese football. The club was founded in 1964 as Al Ahed Al Jadeed, initially starting in the Third Division before reaching the Premier League for the first time in 1996.

History
Early history (1964–1989) Ahed were founded in 1964 as Al Ahed Al Jadeed () in Dahieh, a southern suburb of Beirut. Under the presidency of Muhieddine Anouti, the club initially competed in the Lebanese Third Division. During the 1970s, Ahed played in Msaytbeh, an area of Beirut, under the name Al Huda Islamic Club (). However, the club ceased activities as a consequence of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982. In 1984, Anouti acquired a license under the name Nejmet Al Ahed Al Jadeed () but did not establish a club. After two seasons in the Premier League, Ahed were relegated to the Second Division, before they earned promotion back to the Premier League. Having won the 2004 FA Cup, Ahed first qualified for an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) competition, the 2005 AFC Cup. They made their continental debut on 9 May 2009, defeating Indian club Dempo 1–0 at home. Ahed finished second in their group of three, which also included Al-Hussein of Iraq, and qualified for the quarter-finals. Despite a 1–0 home victory against Hong Kong club Sun Hei in the first leg, Ahed lost the second leg 3–1 and were eliminated. Ahed won their first league title in 2007–08. They went on a 44-match unbeaten streak in the Premier League from 2 November 2008 to 30 October 2010, winning the 2009–10 league without defeats as a consequence. In the 2010–11 season, Ahed won the league, the FA Cup, the Super Cup and the Elite Cup, becoming the first team in Lebanon to accomplish both a domestic treble and quadruple. Tamim Sleiman presidency and domestic dominance (2014–2024) In 2014, Tamim Sleiman was appointed president of the club by unanimous decision. In his first year as president, Ahed secured the 2014–15 Premier League, the club's fourth in total. Their 2016–17 league victory marked the beginning of a historic streak for Ahed, as they went on to win the league in 2017–18 (their second unbeaten) and 2018–19, securing their seventh title overall and establishing themselves as three-time defending champions, a position previously held only by Ansar in 1992. Ahed reached the final of the AFC Cup – the AFC's second-tier club competition – for the first time in 2019, joining Nejmeh in 2005 and Safa in 2008 as the only Lebanese teams to do so. On 4 November 2019, Ahed beat North Korean side 25 April with a 1–0 win in the final, from a header by Issah Yakubu, thus becoming the first Lebanese team to win the competition. Throughout the tournament, Ahed conceded only three goals in 11 matches and achieved nine clean sheets, including five consecutive ones in all five knockout matches, as they maintained an unbeaten record. In the 2021–22 season, Ahed cleaimed their third league title unbeaten, securing their eighth title overall. They continued their dominance by winning their ninth league title in 2022–23. The match between Ahed and Racing Beirut on 6 August 2023, the first matchday of the 2023–24 league season, marked the inaugural use of video assistant referee (VAR) technology in Lebanese football. On 5 May 2024, Ahed made it to the final of the 2023–24 AFC Cup for the second time, finishing runners-up after losing 1–0 to Australian side Central Coast Mariners. The game marked the conclusion of the AFC Cup, following changes made to the AFC's competition system. Recent years (2024–present) Following Tamim Sleiman's 10-year presidency term at Ahed, lawyer Zein Khalife was elected as Ahed's president on 5 August 2024. ==Crest and colours==
Crest and colours
Ahed's primary colour is yellow, On 20 May 2022, Ahed unveiled a revamped badge, adopting a minimalist design to commemorate their 2021–22 league triumph. The new emblem features a pictogram representing the three Arabic letters composing the word "Ahed" (). File:Al-Ahed SC (logo).png|Logo until 2022 File:Al Ahed FC logo (2022).svg|Logo between 2022 and 2023 File:Al Ahed FC logo (2023).svg|Logo since 2023 ==Stadium==
Stadium
Ahed owns the Al Ahed Stadium in Beirut. Located near Rafic Hariri Airport, the venue can hold 2,000 people. The club only uses the stadium for training purposes. For their home matches in club competitions, Ahed opts to utilize various other stadiums across Lebanon, such as the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium and the Saida Municipal Stadium, due to their larger seating capacities. In 2018, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, alleged in a speech that Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shia political party and militant group, was using the Al Ahed Stadium as a site for storing missile clusters. ==Supporters==
Supporters
(right) in 2009 Ahed's fan base primarily comprises Lebanon's Shia community, and the team has strong affiliations with Hezbollah, sharing the same yellow colour. With the emergence of ultras groups in Lebanon in 2018, Ahed established "Ultras Yellow Inferno". On 28 January 2009, Ahed initiated an informal partnership with Iranian club Sepahan, which was later formalized on 8 March 2021. This partnership involves collaborative activities such as training camps and friendly matches between the two clubs. ==Club rivalries==
Club rivalries
(right) during the 2020–21 Lebanese Premier League Ahed shares a rivalry with Ansar, another Beirut-based team. Ansar's affiliation with the Hariri family and their representation of a nationalist stream add depth to this rivalry. In recent years, Nejmeh, also based in Beirut, has emerged as a fierce rival for Ahed. As the most-supported team in Lebanon, Nejmeh's clashes with Ahed have escalated tensions to the extent that the Lebanese Football Association has had to change venues multiple timess. ==Kit manufacturers==
Kit manufacturers
The following is a list of kit manufacturers worn by Ahed. ==Players==
Players
Current squad Out on loan Notable players with Lebanon at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup ==Coaching staff==
Honours
DomesticLebanese Premier LeagueWinners (9): 2007–08, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2014–15, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2021–22, 2022–23Lebanese FA CupWinners (6): 2003–04, 2004–05, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2017–18, 2018–19Runners-up (5): 2001–02, 2006–07, 2015–16, 2022–23, 2023–24Lebanese Federation CupWinners (2; joint record): 2004, 2023Lebanese Elite Cup (defunct) • Winners (6): 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2022Runners-up (7): 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2012, 2017, 2021Lebanese Super CupWinners (8; record): 2005, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019Runners-up (2): 2004, 2009, 2023 ContinentalAFC CupWinners (1; Lebanese record): 2019Runners-up (1): 2023–24 ==Performance in AFC competitions==
Performance in AFC competitions
Ahed first participated in an Asian competition in the 2005 AFC Cup, where they were drawn in the group stage with Indian club Dempo and Jordanian club Al-Hussein. After finishing second in the group, Ahed faced Hong Kong club Sun Hei in the quarter-finals, to whom they lost 3–2 on aggregate. In 2019, Ahed defeated North Korean club April 25 to win the AFC Cup, becoming the first Lebanese side to do so. Previous finalists Nejmeh and Safa were defeated in the 2005 and the 2008 finals, respectively. They reached the AFC Cup final once more in 2024, losing 1–0 to Australian club Central Coast Mariners. • AFC Cup: 12 appearances ::2005: Quarter-finals ::2006: Group stage ::2009: Group stage ::2010: Group stage ::2011: Round of 16 ::2012: Group stage ::2016: Semi-finals ::2018: Zonal semi-finals ::2019: Champions ::2020: Cancelled ::2021: Zonal semi-finals ::2023–24: Runners-up ==See also==
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