Lebanon made their international debut in 2006 at the Arab Women's Cup, suffering a 12–0 defeat to Algeria. Their first qualification campaign came in 2014 for the AFC Women's Asian Cup, where they recorded their largest victory to date, a 12–1 win over Kuwait. The team has since shown steady progress, competing in Olympic qualifiers, the Arab Women's Cup, and unofficial tournaments such as the 2023 SAFF Tournament, which they won.
The Lady Cedars wear a red home kit and a white away kit, reflecting the colors of the Lebanese flag. Since 2011, their FIFA ranking has fluctuated between 102nd (December 2013) and 145th (April – August 2021).
The roots of women's football in Lebanon trace back to 1964 when Rose La Sorte, the first women's physical education teacher at the American University of Beirut (AUB), introduced the sport into the university's curriculum.[2] Decades later, in 1998,[3] the AUB formed its first official women's football team, playing their inaugural match against Notre Dame University–Louaize (NDU) in February 1999.[4] Other institutions, such as the American Community School Beirut (ACS) and the International College (IC),[5] also established women's teams, culminating in the first interscholastic girls' football tournament in 2002.[3]
These early efforts laid the groundwork for the formal establishment of the Lebanese Women's Football (LWF) committee in 2005, which became affiliated with the Lebanese Football Association (LFA).[6] This development paved the way for the creation of the Lebanon women's national team, known as "the Lady Cedars" (Arabic: صبايا الأرز).[7][8] Formed in 2005, the team was one of the earliest women's national teams in the West Asian Football Federation.[9] Their inaugural match took place on 19 April 2006 at the Arab Women's Championship, where they suffered a 12–0 defeat to Algeria. The Lady Cedars finished the tournament in last place, having lost all three games without scoring a single goal.[10]
Their first WAFF Women's Championship campaign was in 2007; after two 3–0 losses, first against Jordan and then against Iran, Lebanon beat Syria 7–0 thanks to a hat-trick by Iman Chaito,[11] and finished in third place in the tournament.[12] In their second WAFF Women's Championship in 2011 they were drawn with Iran, Syria and hosts the United Arab Emirates (UAE).[13][14] After losing their first match against Iran 8–1, Lebanon won 1–0 against Syria. In their final match, against the UAE, Lebanon lost 5–0 and were knocked out of the competition.[14]
Managed by Farid Nujaim, Lebanon took part in the qualification campaign for the 2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup. This was their first official qualification tournament, eight years from their inception.[15] They were drawn with Jordan, Uzbekistan and Kuwait in their group.[16] In their first match, they lost 5–0 against Jordan before being defeated by Uzbekistan 4–0. Already eliminated, Lebanon beat Kuwait 12–1 in a consolatory victory,[17] ending their qualifying campaign with three points.[16]
The Lebanon women's national team has seen gradual development since 2019, marked by notable performances in regional tournaments. Under coach Wael Gharzeddine, Lebanon competed in the 2019 WAFF Women's Championship in January, finishing third after wins against the UAE (2–0)[21] and Palestine (3–0),[7] alongside defeats to Jordan (3–1)[22] and hosts Bahrain (3–2).[23]
The team achieved a milestone in the 2022 WAFF Women's Championship under coach Hagop Demirjian,[31] finishing as runners-up for the first time.[32] After winning 3–0 against Palestine, Lebanon lost to hosts Jordan 2–1 before winning the last game against Syria 5–2; Lebanon's Lili Iskandar was named best player of the tournament.[32]
In April 2023, Lebanon competed in the first round of the 2024 Olympic qualifiers. Despite a 5–1 loss to Chinese Taipei,[33] they secured a 5–0 win over Indonesia but did not advance to the next round.[34] Later that year, in September, Lebanon won the 2023 SAFF Tournament, an unofficial friendly competition, defeating Laos, Bhutan, and Malaysia (via penalties) before clinching the title with a 1–0 extra-time victory over Bhutan in the final, courtesy of Lili Iskandar's 102nd-minute goal. Iskandar also finished as the tournament's top scorer with three goals.[35]
In February 2024, Lebanon participated in the 2024 WAFF Women's Championship in Saudi Arabia, finishing second in their group behind Jordan.[36] They reached the semi-finals but were eliminated after a 2–1 loss to Nepal, conceding a late winner in stoppage time.[37]
As of 23February 2025, the complete official match record of the Lebanese women's national team comprises 62 matches: 25 wins, 3 draws, and 34 losses.[24] During these matches, the team scored 107 times and conceded 172 goals. Lebanon's highest winning margin is 11 goals, which has been achieved against Kuwait in 2013 (12–1).[17] Their longest winning streak is 5 wins, and their highest unbeaten record is 11 consecutive official matches.[38]
The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
Lebanon were first included in the FIFA World Ranking in September 2011, placing in 124th place.[42] Until early 2021, FIFA's ranking criteria required teams to have been active in the previous 18 months to be listed.[c][43] As Lebanon went inactive for 18 months for several periods,[24] they were unranked in various years (2014, 2016, 2017, 2020).[44] Lebanon's best ranking was 102nd in December 2013, and their worst was 145th between April and August 2021.[44]
The table shows the position that Lebanon held in December of each year (and the current position as of 2023), as well as the highest and lowest positions annually.
↑ كأس العرب للسيدات: تعادل لبنان وتونس سلبا[Arab Women's Cup: goalless draw between Lebanon and Tunisia]. ajwaapress.com (in Arabic). 25 August 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
↑ Mahmoud, Hassan (27 August 2021). كأس العرب للسيدات.. مصر تقسو على لبنان[Arab Women's Cup.. Egypt goes hard on Lebanon]. darelhilal.com. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
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(13 December 2024) [1] 
Lebanon 0–12 Algeria 
Greece 14–0 Lebanon 
