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Full name | Racing Club | ||
---|---|---|---|
Nickname(s) | القلعة البيضاء (The White Castle) [1] سندباد الكرة اللبنانية (The Sinbad of Lebanese Football) [2] | ||
Short name | Racing | ||
Founded | 1934 | ||
Ground | Fouad Chehab Stadium | ||
Capacity | 5,000 | ||
Chairman | Georges Hanna | ||
Manager | Hussein Tahan | ||
League | Lebanese Premier League | ||
2023–24 | Lebanese Premier League, 6th of 12 | ||
Racing Club (Arabic : نادي الراسينغ), known as Racing Beirut or simply Racing, is a football club based in Achrafieh, a district in Beirut, Lebanon, that competes in the Lebanese Premier League. [1] They play their home matches at the Fouad Chehab Stadium and are primarily supported by the Greek Orthodox Christian community. [3] [4]
Racing Beirut won the Lebanese Premier League three times, the Lebanese Challenge Cup twice, and the Lebanese Second Division four times. They also finished runners-up in the Lebanese FA Cup twice.
The club was founded in 1934 by several locals from the Achrafieh and Gemmayzeh districts of Beirut, Lebanon. [5] The club's name is inspired from French football club Racing Paris, who the club's presidents supported. [5] Racing played five years in the Lebanese Second Division, and got its first promotion to the Lebanese Premier League in 1940. [5]
In 1953, Albert Kheir was elected as the club's president. [5] He sought to heighten the club's status in the country, by buying 20-year-old Joseph Abou Murad from Intissar Chayyah, Said Haidar from Al Nahda, and Yuguslavian coach Ljubiša Broćić. [5]
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. [6]
The match between Ahed and Racing Beirut in the first matchday of the 2023–24 Lebanese Premier League, on 6 August 2023, was the first to test the use of video assistant referee (VAR). [7]
Historically, during the 1960s and 1970s, Racing's main rivals were Nejmeh, also from Beirut. [5] Racing plays the Achrafieh derby with Sagesse. [8]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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