Racing Club Beirut

This article is about the men's football club from Beirut, Lebanon. For other similarly named sports teams, see Racing Club.

Racing Beirut

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;91 years ago (1934)
Ground	Fouad Chehab Stadium
Capacity	5,000
Chairman	Paula Faraoun Rizk [3]
Manager	Osama Sakr
League	Lebanese Premier League
2023–24	Lebanese Premier League, 6th of 12
Home colours Away colours
Current season

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. ^{[4] [5]}

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.

History

Early history

The club was founded in 1934 by several locals from the Achrafieh and Gemmayzeh districts of Beirut, Lebanon. ^[6] The club's name is inspired from French football club Racing Paris, who the club's presidents supported. ^[6] Racing played five years in the Lebanese Second Division, and got its first promotion to the Lebanese Premier League in 1940. ^[6]

In 1953, Albert Kheir was elected as the club's president. ^[6] 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. ^[6]

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. ^[7]

Recent history

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). ^[8]

Club rivalries

Historically, during the 1960s and 1970s, Racing's main rivals were Nejmeh, also from Beirut. ^[6] Racing plays the Achrafieh derby with Sagesse. ^[9]

Players

Squad

As of 6 September 2024 ^[10]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 3 DF   LBN Hassan Bitar 4 MF   LBN Hussein Saleh 8 MF   LBN Miguel Karam 9 FW   LBN Ali Imad Moussawi 12 DF   LBN Ali Ayoub (captain) 13 FW   LBN Maygen Raad 14 FW   LBN Jimmy Kazan 16 DF   LBN Mohamad Kdouh 17 DF   LBN Andrew Al Azzi 18 MF   LBN Joseph Aoun 19 DF   LBN Mostafa Al Shamaa 20 MF   LBN Hussein Jawad Khalife 22 GK   LBN Omar Idlibi

No. Pos. Nation Player 23 MF   PLE Jehad Abou El Aynein 70 FW   LBN Ibrahim Abou Jabal 90 GK   LBN Hassan Ayoub — GK   LBN Hadi Mortada — DF   LBN Shadi Skaf — MF   LBN Habib Shweikh — MF   LBN Mohammad Ghamlouch — FW   LBN Haidar Abou Zeid — FW   LBN Edmond Chehade — DF   LBN Ali Fahs

Shirt manufacturers

• 2008: Adidas
• 2009: Lotto
• 2010: Lotto
• 2011–2013: Adidas
• 2014–2016: Diadora
• 2016–2018: Joma
• 2018–2022: Capelli Sport
• 2022–: Joma

Honours

League

• Lebanese Premier League
  • Winners (3): 1955–56, 1964–65, 1969–70
• Lebanese Second Division
  • Winners (4): 1938–39, 1999–2000, 2006–07, 2022–23

Cup

• Lebanese Challenge Cup (defunct)
  • Winners (2; joint record): 2016, 2017
• Lebanese FA Cup
  • Runners-up (2): 1944–45, 1947–48

Managerial history

• Ljubiša Broćić (1955)
• Ion Bogdan (1967–1970)
• Dorian Marin (2004–2005)
• Libor Pala (2012–2015)
• Eugen Moldovan (2015–2016)
• Moussa Hojeij (2016–2017)
• Roda Antar (2017–2019)
• Jalal Radwan (2019–2020)
• Said Jraidini (2020–2021)
• Ismail Kortam (2021–2023)
• Vladimir Vujović (2023–2024)
• Osama Sakr (2025–Present)

See also

• List of football clubs in Lebanon

References

1. "racing club beirut". abdogedeon.com. Archived from the original on 1 November 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
2. "الراسينغ "سندباد الكرة اللبنانية" - صورة من الماضي". نداء الوطن. 4 July 2019. Archived from the original on 4 February 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 16 March 2024. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
4. Maugendre, Axel (31 August 2018), "Ethnography of the Lebanese Football Clubs" (PDF), Athens Journal of Sports, 5 (3): 213–226, doi:10.30958/AJSPO.5-3-3, archived from the original (PDF) on 18 July 2019
5. Montague, James (24 October 2007). "In Lebanon, even soccer is tainted by sectarian strife". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 11 May 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
6. "الراسينغ: نادي الأشرفية ومحيطها... يعاند التاريخ". asasmedia.com. Archived from the original on 2 September 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
7. "RACING CLUB BEIRUT". abdogedeon.com. Archived from the original on 2 December 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
8. Khaled, Nasser (26 July 2023). تقنية الفيديو حاضرة في لقاء العهد والراسينغ [Video technology will be present in the match between Ahed and Racing]. Kooora (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 27 July 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
9. "مبارتا دربي اﻷشرفية!". Archived from the original on 23 May 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
10. "Racing Club Bayrūt". Global Sports Archive. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2022.