Akhaa Ahli Aley FC

Akhaa Ahli Aley
Full name	Akhaa Ahli Aley Football Club
Short name	Akhaa
Founded	1962; 59 years ago, as Akhaa Club; 1990; 31 years ago, as Akhaa Ahli Aley Football Club
Ground	Amin AbdelNour Stadium
Capacity	3,500
Chairman	Samer Khalaf
Manager	Fadi El Kakhi
League	Lebanese Premier League
2020–21	Lebanese Premier League, 6th of 12
Home colours	Away colours
	Current season

Akhaa Ahli Aley Football Club (Arabic: نادي الإخاء الأهلي الرياضي عاليه, lit. 'National Brotherhood of Aley Sporting Club'), commonly referred to as Akhaa Ahli Aley or simply Akhaa, is a football club based in Aley, Lebanon, that competes in the Lebanese Premier League.

The club is supported by the Lebanese MP Arkram Chehayeb, who was the key person to ratify the merging of the two clubs Ahli and Akhaa in the city of Aley. The club languished in the Lebanese Second Division before returning to the Lebanese Premier League in the 2010–11 season, staying in the top flight ever since.

History[]

Origins: Akhaa and Ahli[]

Akhaa was first founded in 1962 by Adel Baz, who led the club till the early 1980s amid the Lebanese Civil War. The club obtained its license in 1966 and was close to promotion in 1971, failing to reach the Lebanese Premier League in the last match. The club halted its activities in 1982 during the Lebanese war and resumed in 1989.

Ahli Club was established in the 1970s by Ahmad Radwan, an educator and the owner of a school in Aley. Ahli Club obtained its license later and joined the Lebanese Third Division in 1987. Various players who would go on to play in the Lebanese Premier League played for Ahli Club, such as Walid Zeineddine, Fouad Sayegh, Riad Al Halabi, Yazeed Halimi and others. Ahli Club was ranked first in the American University of Beirut Football Cup twice in a row, in 1987 and 1988.

Formation of Akhaa Ahli[]

In 1990, Bahij Abou Hamzeh, the president of Akhaa, realized that promotion to the Lebanese Premier League would be difficult, so he decided to merge with Ahli Club. The merger added extra value to Akhaa Club as Ahli's team was full of young players of Aley, such as Zaher Andary, who represented the Lebanon national football from 1994 to 2001, Said Abu Muna and Raji Abi Said, who was elected captain of Ahkaa Ahli. Ahli's management found the merger to be of mutual interest as they needed physical and logistical support to get promoted to the Lebanese Second Division.

Promotion and stay in the Premier League[]

Akhaa Ahli won the Lebanese Second Division in 1992–93. The team managed to hit excellent results during its stay in the Lebanese Premier League, especially in its first appearance. It returned to the first division in 2010, staying there ever since.

Club rivalries[]

Akhaa Ahli plays the Mountain derby with Safa,^[2] 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 the mountainous regions of the country.

Players[]

Current squad[]

As of 17 September 2021^[3]^[4]

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	MF	LBN
2	MF	LBN
4	DF	LBN
5	DF	LBN
6	FW	LBN
7	DF	LBN	(captain)
8	MF	LBN
9	MF	LBN
10	MF	LBN	Abbas Ahmad Atwi
11	MF	LBN
13	GK	LBN
17		LBN
18	DF	LBN
21	MF	LBN
22	FW	LBN
23	GK	LBN	Hassan Ayoub


No.	Pos.	Nation
31	FW	LBN
33	MF	LBN
69	DF	LBN
70	FW	LBN
77	FW	LBN
97	GK	LBN
—	GK	LBN
—	DF	LBN
—	MF	LBN
—	MF	LBN
—	MF	LBN
—	MF	LBN
—	MF	LBN
—	FW	LBN
—	FW	LBN
—		LBN

Notable players[]

**Players in international competitions**
Competition	Player	National team
2000 AFC Asian Cup	Abdul-Wahab Abu Al-Hail	Iraq
	Gilberto	Lebanon
	Marcílio	Lebanon

Retired numbers[]

In 2020, Akhaa Ahli Aley retired the squad number 20 for two seasons, in memory of Mohamed Atwi who died on 18 September 2020 from a stray bullet to the head.^[5]

20 Mohamed Atwi, midfielder (2018–2020) – posthumous honour (2020–2022)

Honours[]

Lebanese Second Division
- Winners (2): 1992–93, 2002–03

References[]

^ Haroun, Ali (26 December 2020). "بيان صادر عن رئيس نادي الاخاء الاهلي عاليه سامر خلف". El Maestro Sport (in Arabic). Retrieved 10 September 2021.
^ "جولة دربي الجبل... وملامسة اللقب". Al-Joumhouria. Archived from the original on 19 June 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
^ "Al Akhaa Al Ahli SC Aley". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
^ "Akhaa Ahli Aley FC". FA Lebanon. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
^ Mahfoud, Maroun (14 October 2020). "Akhaa Ahli Aley retires number 20". FA Lebanon. Retrieved 14 October 2020.

External links[]

Akhaa Ahli Aley FC at LebanonFG

[1] Haroun, Ali (26 December 2020). "بيان صادر عن رئيس نادي الاخاء الاهلي عاليه سامر خلف". El Maestro Sport (in Arabic). Retrieved 10 September 2021.

[2] "جولة دربي الجبل... وملامسة اللقب". Al-Joumhouria. Archived from the original on 19 June 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2019.

[3] "Al Akhaa Al Ahli SC Aley". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 17 September 2021.

[4] "Akhaa Ahli Aley FC". FA Lebanon. Retrieved 1 October 2020.

[5] Mahfoud, Maroun (14 October 2020). "Akhaa Ahli Aley retires number 20". FA Lebanon. Retrieved 14 October 2020.

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v t Lebanese Premier League
Seasons	1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1950–51 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1960–61 1962–63 1964–65 1966–67 1968–69 1969–70 1972–73 1974–75 1987–88 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 ~~2000–01~~ 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 ~~2019–20~~ 2020–21 2021–22
2021–22 clubs	AC Sporting Ahed Akhaa Ahli Aley Ansar Bourj Nejmeh Safa Sagesse Shabab Bourj Shabab Sahel Tadamon Tripoli
Organisations	Lebanese Football Association
Statistics and awards	Al-Manar Football Festival 2010s Top scorers
Associated competitions	Lebanese FA Cup Lebanese Elite Cup Lebanese Challenge Cup Lebanese Super Cup Continental AFC Champions League AFC Cup Arab Club Championship