Safa SC

Safa Sporting Club (Arabic: نادي الصفاء الرياضي, lit. 'The Purity Sporting Club') is a football club based in Wata El Msaytbeh, a district in Beirut, Lebanon, that competes in the Lebanese Premier League. Founded in 1939, they won three league titles, three domestic cups, one Super Cup, and two Elite Cups; they have also reached the 2008 AFC Cup final.[2]

This article is about the men's football club from Beirut, Lebanon. For other uses, see Safa.

Safa
Full nameSafa Sporting Club
Nickname(s)النسور (The Eagles)[1]
Founded31 March 1939 (31 March 1939)
GroundSafa Stadium[lower-alpha 1]
Capacity4,000
ChairmanRiad Atallah
ManagerBassem Marmar
LeagueLebanese Premier League
2022–23Lebanese Premier League, 10th of 12
WebsiteClub website
Active teams of Safa

Safa primarily receives its support from Wata El-Museitbeh, as well as the Druze community all over Lebanon.[3][4] Given their fanbase extends well in Mount Lebanon, including the city of Aley, they play the Mountain derby with Akhaa Ahli Aley.

History

Early history (1933–1961)

Founded in 1933 at an amateur level in the Wata El-Museitbeh of Beirut, Safa Sporting Club was officially established in 1939 by seven people: Maher Wahab, Anis Naaim, Hasib Al-Jerdi, Amin Haidar, Chafik Nader, Toufik Al-Zouhairy and Adib Haidar.[5]

On 23 December 1948, Safa obtained the official membership and license from the government as a private association.[5] In the same year, the club was affiliated to the Lebanese Football Association and was ranked within the Second Division.[6] In 1961, Safa was promoted to the First Division.

Recent history (2021–present)

After finishing the 2021–22 Lebanese Premier League in 11th place, Safa were due to be relegated to the Second Division for the first time.[7] However, following Shabab Bourj's withdrawal from the league, they were relegated in place of Safa.[8] Safa also narrowly avoided relegation the following season, finishing 10th above Salam Zgharta on account of their positive head-to-head record.[9]

Kit manufacturers

The following is a list of kit manufacturers worn by Safa.

Period Kit manufacturer
1999–2008 Puma
2008–2010 Adidas
2010–2011 Lotto
2011–2015 Joma
2016–2017 Sportika SA
2017–2018 Jako
2018– Joma

Stadium
Safa Stadium
ملعب نادي الصفاء الرياضي
LocationWata El-Museitbeh
Coordinates33°52′29″N 35°29′31″E
Capacity4,000
Opened1948
Main article: Safa Stadium

The Safa Stadium opened in 1948, and has a capacity of 4,000 spectators. Located in the Wata El-Museitbeh district of Beirut, the stadium is five minutes from the Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport. While the stadium is of Safa's property, the club plays in various other stadiums around the country.

Club rivalries

Safa has important rivalries with Ansar and Nejmeh, both being based in Beirut. Safa also plays the Mountain derby with Akhaa Ahli,[10] as Akhaa is based in Aley, a city in Mount Lebanon, and Safa's support comes from the Druze community in Lebanon, who mainly live in Chouf and Aley districts.

Players

Current squad
As of 31 August 2023[11]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Lebanon LBN Hadi Mortada
— GK Lebanon LBN Mohammad Taha
— GK Lebanon LBN Christian Awkar
6 MF Lebanon LBN Kassem Hayek
33 DF Lebanon LBN Andrew Sawaya
— MF Lebanon LBN Houssein Rida
— DF Lebanon LBN Mohamed Shour
4 DF Netherlands NED Johan Kappelhof
10 FW Netherlands NED Jordy Bruijn
— DF Germany GER Arnold Suew
9 FW Germany GER Marco Rienhardt
16 DF Lebanon LBN Hassan Chaitou
93 DF Lebanon LBN Hamza Kheir
No. Pos. Nation Player
— DF Lebanon LBN Hussein El Dor
— DF Lebanon LBN Hussein Sharafeddine
— DF Lebanon LBN Sajed Amhaz
8 MF Lebanon LBN Ghazi Honeine
— MF State of Palestine PLE Adnan Salloum
— FW Lebanon LBN Ahmad Hijazi
20 FW Lebanon LBN Khaled Takaji
11 MF Lebanon LBN Habib Shweikh
— MF Lebanon LBN Ali Kharoubi
99 FW Lebanon LBN Hasan Hawila
88 FW Lebanon LBN Mohamad Kdouh
— FW Lebanon LBN Mohammad Nasser

Notable players
Players in international competitions
Competition Player National team
1996 AFC Asian Cup Yasser Sibai  Syria
2000 AFC Asian Cup Youssef Mohamad  Lebanon
Ahmad Naamani  Lebanon
2019 AFC Asian Cup Ahmad Taktouk  Lebanon
Mohamed Zein Tahan  Lebanon

Honours

Domestic

Continental

Other achievements

Performance in AFC competitions
2008: Final
2009: Round of 16
2012: Group stage
2013: Group stage
2014: Round of 16
1992–93: Withdrew in first round
2000–01: Withdrew in first round

Managerial history

See also

Notes
  1. Only used as a training ground

References
  1. Arab-Sport.net | (13 October 2017). "بعزيمة النسور | الصفاء يعود من صيدا بثوب البطل". عرب سبورتس. Archived from the original on 19 March 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  2. "AFC Cup 2017: Match day one - Playoff and group stage preview | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Archived from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  3. Montague, James (24 October 2007). "In Lebanon, even soccer is tainted by sectarian strife". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 17 February 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  4. Alami, Mona (1 September 2009). "Religious about football". Archived from the original on 19 April 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  5. "فريق: الصفاء بيروت". www.kooora.com. Archived from the original on 5 April 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  6. "منتديات كووورة". forum.kooora.com. Archived from the original on 2 September 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  7. "بالصور: الصفاء اللبناني يهبط لأول مرة في تاريخه". كووورة. 17 May 2022. Archived from the original on 17 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  8. "شطب كافة نتائج شباب البرج وإسقاطه إلى الدرجة الثانية". Elsport News (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 17 July 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  9. "اتحاد كرة القدم اللبناني يصدر قرارات حاسمة". كووورة. 22 March 2023. Archived from the original on 29 May 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  10. "جولة دربي الجبل... وملامسة اللقب". Al-Joumhouria. Archived from the original on 19 June 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  11. "Safa SC". Global Sports Archive. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  12. Diab, Rami Abou (9 November 2020). "Safa SC appoint new coach". FA Lebanon. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
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