The Syrian Premier League (Arabic: الدوري السوري الممتاز) is a professional association football league in Syria and the top division of the Syrian football league system. The league comprises 12 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Syrian League 1st Division.[1] The Syrian Premier League was founded in 1966, unifying the local leagues that had existed previously.[2] Seasons mostly run from August to May.
 | |
| Organising body | Syrian Football Association (SFA) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1966 |
| Country | Syria |
| Confederation | AFC |
| Number of clubs | 12 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | Syrian League 1st Division |
| Domestic cup(s) | Syrian Cup Syrian Super Cup Syrian FA Shield |
| International cup(s) | AFC Champions League AFC Cup Arab Club Champions Cup |
| Current champions | Al-Fotuwa (4th title) (2023–24) |
| Most championships | Al-Jaish (17 titles) |
| Top goalscorer | Raja Rafe (194) |
| TV partners | Syria TV Sama TV |
| Website | sfa |
| Current: 2024–25 Syrian Premier League | |
The first team to win the title was Al-Ittihad in 1967, whilst Al-Jaish has the record with 17 league titles. Their closest rivals, Al-Karamah, have won the league 8 times.
In the beginning, the main tournament was the first division, then the Syrian Football Association developed the competition in a historic step that allowed the participation of foreign players to turn the competition into a professional league.
Competition format
editCompetition
editFrom the 2022–23 season, there are 12 clubs in the Premier League, instead of the previous 14. During the course of a season (usually from August or September to May) each club plays the others twice (a double round-robin system), once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents; for 22 games.
Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, then goal difference, and then goals scored. If still equal, teams are deemed to occupy the same position. If there is a tie for the championship, for relegation, or for qualification to other competitions, a play-off match at a neutral venue decides rank.
Promotion and relegation
editA system of promotion and relegation exists between the Syrian Premier League and the Syrian League 1st Division. The two lowest placed teams in Premier League are relegated to the League 1st Division, and the top two teams from the League 1st Division are promoted to the Premier League.
Number of teams
edit| Teams | Seasons |
|---|---|
| 20 | 2015–16 |
| 18 | 2012–13 until 2014–15 |
| 16 | 2011–12, 2016–17 |
| 15 | 1978–79 until 1979–80, 2003–04 |
| 14 | 1994–95 until 2000–01, 2004–05 until 2010–11, 2017–18 until 2021–22 |
| 13 | 1992–93, 2002–03 |
| 12 | 1975–76, 1981–82, 1984–85 until 1985–86, 1987–88 until 1991–92, 1993–94, 2022–23–present |
| 11 | 1986–87 |
| 10 | 1969–70, 1972–73, 1976–77, 1983–84, 2001–02 |
| 9 | 1967–68 until 1968–69, 1974–75, 1982–83 |
| 8 | 1966–67 |
Qualification for Asian competitions
editAs of 7 December 2021[3]
| Ranking | Member Association | Club Points | Points | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | Mvmt | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | Total | ||
| 25 | 27 |  +2 |
 Bahrain
|
1.633 | 2.500 | 0.000 | 3.583 | 7.717 | 16.812 |
| 26 | 24 |  -2 |
 Indonesia
|
4.100 | 5.045 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 9.145 | 15.960 |
| 27 | 22 | -5 |
 Syria
|
2.000 | 3.133 | 0.000 | 1.778 | 6.911 | 12.061 |
| 28 | 28 |  — |
 Myanmar
|
4.062 | 1.600 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 5.662 | 9.881 |
| 29 | 26 | -3 |
 Maldives
|
4.300 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.200 | 4.500 | 7.853 |
Qualification criteria for 2022
editAt present, the winners of Syrian Premier League qualify for the AFC Champions League play-off, and the league runners-up qualify for the AFC Cup group stage alongside the winners of Syrian Cup.[4]
If the cup winners are also the league winners or runners-up, the third-placed team in the league qualifies for the AFC Cup group stage. The winners of the AFC Champions League and AFC Cup may earn an additional qualification for the subsequent season's AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs if they have not already qualified.
The number of places allocated to the Syrian clubs in AFC competitions is dependent upon the position the country holds in the AFC Club Competitions Ranking, which is calculated based upon the performance of teams in AFC competitions in the previous four years.
Current clubs (2024–25)
editStadiums and locations
edit
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Wahda | Damascus | Al-Fayhaa Stadium | 15,000 |
| Al-Jaish | Damascus | Al-Jalaa Stadium | 10,000 |
| Al-Shorta | Damascus | Al-Jalaa Stadium | 10,000 |
| Al-Ittihad | Aleppo | Al-Hamadaniah Stadium | 15,000 |
| Al-Karamah | Homs | Khalid ibn al-Walid Stadium[1] | 32,000 |
| Al-Wathba | Homs | Khalid ibn al-Walid Stadium[2] | 32,000 |
| Al-Taliya | Hama | Hama Municipal Stadium | 22,000 |
| Tishreen | Latakia | Al-Assad Stadium | 28,000 |
| Hutteen | Latakia | Al-Assad Stadium | 28,000 |
| Jableh | Jableh | Al-Baath Stadium | 10,000 |
| Al-Fotuwa | Deir ez-Zor | Deir ez-Zor Municipal Stadium | 13,000 |
| Al-Shouleh | Daraa | Sports City Stadium | 18,000 |
1: ^ Al-Karamah and Al-Wathba also use Bassel al-Assad Stadium (25,000 seats) as a home stadium.
List of seasons
editChampions so far are:[5]
Performances
editPerformance by club
edit| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Third place | Winning years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Jaish | 17
|
5
|
1
|
1972–73, 1975–76, 1978–79, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2009–10, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19 |
| Al-Karamah | 8
|
12
|
4
|
1974–75, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1995–96, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09 |
| Al-Ittihad | 6
|
8
|
12
|
1966–67, 1967–68, 1976–77, 1992–93, 1994–95, 2004–05 |
| Tishreen | 5
|
2
|
4
|
1981–82, 1996–97, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22 |
| Jableh | 4
|
6
|
3
|
1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1999–2000 |
| Al-Futowa | 4
|
5
|
3
|
1989–90, 1990–91, 2022–23, 2023–24 |
| Al-Shorta | 2
|
5
|
3
|
1979–80, 2011–12 |
| Al-Wahda | 2
|
3
|
8
|
2003–04, 2013–14 |
| Al-Hurriya | 2
|
1
|
4
|
1991–92, 1993–94 |
| Barada | 2
|
—
|
2
|
1968–69, 1969–70 |
Performance by city
edit| City | Winners | Club(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Damascus | 23 | Al-Jaish, Al-Shorta, Al-Wahda, Barada |
| Aleppo | 8 | Al-Ittihad, Al-Hurriya |
| Homs | 8 | Al-Karamah |
| Latakia | 5 | Tishreen |
| Jableh | 4 | Jableh |
| Deir ez-Zor | 4 | Al-Futowa |
Doubles
editFive teams have won the double of the Syrian Premier League and the Syrian Cup in the same season.
| Club | Number of titles | Winning seasons |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Karamah | 5
|
1983, 1996, 2007, 2008, 2009 |
| Al-Jaish | 4
|
1986, 1998, 2002, 2018 |
| Al-Fotuwa | 3
|
1990, 1991, 2024 |
| Al-Shorta | 1
|
1980 |
| Al-Hurriya | 1
|
1992 |
Records and statistics
editAll seasons top goalscorers
editAll time top goalscorers
edit- As of 1 May 2024
Boldface indicates a player still active in Syrian Premier League.
| No. | Player | Goals | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Raja Rafe[6] | 194 | 2000–2021 |
| 2 | Mohammed Al Wakid | 173 | 2004– |
| 3 | Aref Al Agha | 161 | 1995–2009 |
League participation
editAs of 2022, 35 clubs have participated. The tallies since its establishment in 1966 until the end of the 2021–22 season.[5]
- 50 seasons: Al-Ittihad SC Aleppo
Records
edit- The highest points average for the league champion: 64 points (Al-Karamah, 2007–08 season).
- The fastest goal in the history of the league was scored by Al-Majd player Samer Awad against Qardaha, the 2005–06 season, after just 16 seconds.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ الدوري السوري الكروي حكاية مثيرة عمرها 51 عاما الهدافين التاريخيين 2 Archived 2018-05-13 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ الاتحاد العربي السوري لكرة القدم /Syrian FA/. حساب اتحاد الكرة السوري على موقع فيسبوك. Archived 2020-06-04 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "AFC Club Competitions Ranking". Asian Football Confederation. 13 February 2021.
- ^ "AFC to expand Champions League".
- ^ a b Davide Angelini, Hans Schöggl, Allam Rahmeh. "Syria - List of Champions". RSSSF. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ أفضل 4 مهاجمين في تاريخ الكرة السورية Archived 2018-05-13 at the Wayback Machine
External links
edit- League at FIFA (archived 20 August 2007)
- League at soccerway.com
- Syrian Premier League – Hailoosport.com (in Arabic)
- Syrian Premier League – Hailoosport.com