Racing Club (), known as Racing Beirut or simply Racing, is a football club based in

Achrafieh Achrafieh ( ar, الأشرفية) is an upper-class area in eastern Beirut, Lebanon. In strictly administrative terms, the name refers to a sector (''secteur'') centred on Sassine Square, the highest point in the city, as well as a broader quarte ...

, a district in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

, Lebanon, that competes in the . They play their home matches at the

Fouad Chehab Stadium Fouad Chehab Stadium ( ar, ملعب فؤاد شهاب), also known as Jounieh Municipal Stadium ( ar, ملعب جونية البلدي), is a multi-use stadium in Jounieh Jounieh ( ar, جونيه, or ''Juniya'', ) is a coastal city in Keserw ...

and are primarily supported by the

Christian community The Christian Community (german: Die Christengemeinschaft) is an esoteric Christian denomination. It was founded in 1922 in Switzerland by a group of ecumenically oriented, mainly Lutheran theologians and ministers led by liberal theologian Fri ...

. Racing Beirut won the

Lebanese Premier League The Lebanese First Division ( ar, الدوري اللبناني الدرجة الأولى), commonly known as the Lebanese Premier League (), is the top division of the Lebanese football league system. There are 12 teams competing in the league, ...

three times, the

Lebanese Challenge Cup The Lebanese Challenge Cup () is a Lebanese football annual cup competition contested by the teams placed between 7th and 10th in the previous season of the Lebanese Premier League and the two newly promoted teams from the Lebanese Second Divisio ...

twice, and the

Lebanese Second Division The Lebanese Second Division ( ar, الدوري اللبناني الدرجة الثانية) is the second division of Lebanese football. Established in 1933, it is controlled by the Lebanese Football Association. The 12 teams that participate ...

three times. They also finished runners-up in the

Lebanese FA Cup The Lebanon Cup (), commonly known as the Lebanese FA Cup, is a Lebanese football annual cup competition. The first edition, held in 1937, was won by Nahda. The most successful club in the competition is Ansar with 15 titles, followed by Nejme ...

twice.

History

The club was founded in 1934 by several locals from the

and Gemmayzeh districts of

, Lebanon. The club's name is inspired from French football club

Racing Paris Racing Club de France Football (, also known as Racing Paris, RCF Paris, Matra Racing, Racing Club, or Racing) is a French association football club based in Colombes, a suburb of Paris. Racing was founded in 1882 as a multi-discipline spor ...

, who the club's presidents supported. Racing played five years in the

, and got its first promotion to the Lebanese Premier League in 1940. In 1953, Albert Kheir was elected as the club's president. He sought to heighten the club's status in the country, by buying 20-year-old

Joseph Abou Murad Joseph Abou Mrad (; 18 April 1933 – 28 October 2003) was a Lebanese footballer and manager. He played as a striker for Racing Beirut and the Lebanon national team. Abou Mrad was awarded Lebanese Premier League top-scorer with 18 goals during ...

from Intissar Chayyah, Said Haidar from Al Nahda, and Yuguslavian coach

Ljubiša Broćić Ljubiša Broćić ( sr-Cyrl, Љубиша Броћић; 3 October 1911 – 16 August 1995) was a Serbian football manager. Biography Over the course of his career he was at the helm of some of the top European sides: PSV Eindhoven, Juventus, F ...

. Racing Beirut played international friendly games against a variety of famous clubs and selections during the 1970s, including one against the Brazil national under-23 team.

Club rivalries

Historically, during the 1960s and 1970s, Racing's main rivals were Nejmeh, also from Beirut. Racing plays the Achrafieh derby with Sagesse.

Players

Squad

Shirt manufacturers

*2008: Adidas *2009: Lotto *2010: Lotto *2011–2013: Adidas *2014–2016:

Diadora Diadora is an Italian sportswear and footwear manufacturing company based in Caerano di San Marco (Veneto), subsidiary of Geox, founded in 1948. Diadora produces football boots and athletic shoes, as well as a range of apparel that includes t- ...

*2016–2018:

Joma Joma () is a Spanish sports clothing manufacturer that currently produces footwear and clothing for football, futsal, handball, basketball, volleyball, running, tennis, and padel. Its headquarters are located in Portillo de Toledo, Spain. Hi ...

*2018–present: Capelli

Honours

League

** Winners (3): 1955–56, 1964–65, 1969–70 *

**Winners (2; joint record): 2016, 2017 *

**Winners (3): 1938–39, 1999–2000, 2006–07 *

** ''Runners-up (2):'' 1944–45, 1947–48

Managerial history

(1955) * Ion Bogdan (1967–1970) * Dorian Marin (2004–2005) * Libor Pala (2012–2015) * Eugen Moldovan (2015–2016) * Moussa Hojeij (2016–2017) *

Roda Antar Roda Abdelhassan Antar ( ar, رضا عبد الحسن عنتر; born 12 September 1980) is a Lebanese professional football manager and former player. Formerly captain of Lebanon, Antar scored 20 goals for his country as a midfielder. Antar sta ...

(2017–2019) * Jalal Radwan (2019–2020) * Said Jraidini (2020–2021) * Ismail Kortam (2021–present)

References

Football clubs in Lebanon Sport in Beirut 1934 establishments in Lebanon Christianity in Beirut {{Lebanon-footyclub-stub