Salam Zgharta Football Club (), known as Salam Zgharta or simply Salam, is a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in

Zgharta Zgharta (, ), also spelled Zghorta, is a city in North Lebanon, with an estimated population of around 50,000. It is the second biggest city in Northern Lebanon after Tripoli, Lebanon, Tripoli. Zgharta is officially the Zgharta-Ehden municipality ...

, Lebanon, that competes in the . Founded in 1933 as Salam Achrafieh, the club was renamed Salam Zgharta in 1971; their supporters are primarily

Maronites Maronites (; ) are a Syriac Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant (particularly Lebanon) whose members belong to the Maronite Church. The largest concentration has traditionally resided near Mount ...

from the Zgharta region and other districts in North Lebanon. The club's traditional kit colours are red and black. In 2014, they won the

Lebanese FA Cup The Lebanon Cup (), commonly known as the Lebanese FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in domestic Lebanese football. In the first FA Cup final, held on 26 June 1938, Nahda beat Hilmi-Sport 3–2 in the replay (after drawing 1� ...

, their only major trophy to date.

History

Salam Achrafieh (1933–1971)

Salam Achrafieh was a club established in

Ashrafieh Achrafieh () 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 quarter (''quartier''). In p ...

, 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 (), based in the

Achrafieh Achrafieh () 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 quarter (''quartier''). In p ...

district of

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

. The club remained in Achrafieh until 1974, when they moved to

, in North Lebanon. They competed in the

Lebanese Premier League The Lebanese First Division (), commonly known as the Lebanese Premier League (), is the top division of the Lebanese football league system. Established in 1934 and organized by the Lebanese Football Association (LFA), the Lebanese Premier Leagu ...

, 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 Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium (CCSC) () is a multi-purpose stadium with a capacity of 49,500 seats, located in the Bir Hassan area of Beirut, Lebanon. The stadium, equipped with sport of athletics, athletics facilities, is the largest in th ...

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 The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon. The religious diversity of the ...

. While

football in Lebanon Football is the most popular sport in Lebanon. It was introduced to Lebanon in the late-19th century, becoming particularly popular among teachers and students Christian schools. The Lebanese Football Association (LFA) was formed in 1933 as one ...

was affected by the

, the

Lebanese Football Association The Lebanese Football Association (LFA; ; ) is the governing body of association football in Lebanon. Formed in 1933, it is a member of both FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation, AFC. It is also one of the founding members of the West Asian ...

(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

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 Fawzi, Faouzi, Fawzy or Fevzi (in Arabic فوزي) is an Arabic name and surname meaning "triumph". Notable people with the name include: Given name Fawzi * Ali Fawzi Rebaine (born 1955), the leader of the Ahd 54 political party in Algeria * Fawzi ...

and

Elias Bou Nassif Elias ( ; ) is the hellenized version for the name of Elijah (; ; , or ), a prophet in the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the 9th century BC, mentioned in several holy books. Due to Elias' role in the scriptures and to many later associated traditi ...

. The start of the 1990s was positive for the Northern club, finishing third in the 1990–91 season with 35 points. Following the expansion of the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

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. 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. 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.

Estephan Frangieh's presidency (2006–present)

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 Zgharta Sports Complex, commonly known as the Mirdachiyyé Stadium (), is a 50,000 capacity stadium in Zgharta, Lebanon. It is currently used for football (soccer), football matches and is the home ground of Salam Zgharta FC, as well as of ot ...

. The club eventually won the 2012–13 Lebanese Second Division after topping Group A, gaining promotion to the

. 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 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, Salam Zgharta participated for the first time in the

AFC Cup The AFC Champions League Two (abbreviated as the ACL Two or ACL2) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation. It is the second-tier competition of Asian club football, ranked below the AFC C ...

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 A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

. 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 Raja Club Athletic, widely known as Raja Casablanca or simply Raja, is a Football team, football club based in Casablanca, Morocco, that competes in Botola, the top flight of Moroccan football league system, Moroccan football. Founded on 20 M ...

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. They were promoted in 2021–22, after finishing second in the Second Division, before being relegated back in 2022–23, finishing 11th in the Premier League.

Colors and badges

Following the move from

, 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" () 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

. The stadium is located in the Merdeshiyeh region in

and it can host almost 5,500 people. The stadium was built by the

Maronite Maronites (; ) are a Syriac Christianity, Syriac Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant (particularly Lebanon) whose members belong to the Maronite Church. The largest concentration has traditionally re ...

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

and nearby districts. They were known to cause some troubles during matches in the 1990s and 2000s.

Club rivalries

Salam Zgharta plays the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

derby with Tripoli, as they are both located in the same area. 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. The home team, Salam Zgharta, won the game 1–0 after a goal from Wehbe Douaihy at the 58th minute.

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 In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

Players

Current squad

Notable players

Presidential history

Managerial history

Honours

**Winners (1): 2013–14 * Lebanese Second Division ** Winners (6): 1933–34, 1936–37, 1997–98, 2004–05, 2007–08, 2012–13 (group A) * Lebanese Federation Cup **''Runners-up (1):'' 1999 * Lebanese Super Cup **''Runners-up (1):'' 2014 * Lebanese Challenge Cup (''defunct'') **''Runners-up (2):'' 2016,

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

Performance in AFC competitions

: 1 appearance ::

: Group stage

Notes

References

External links

*
Salam Zgharta FC
at the AFC
Salam Zgharta FC
at FA Lebanon {{Lebanese Football Association Football clubs in Lebanon 1933 establishments in Lebanon 1971 establishments in Lebanon Association football clubs established in 1933 Association football clubs established in 1971 Lebanese Maronites