Sport in Lebanon
Lebanon is one of the few countries where both summer and winter sports are thriving. Lebanon hosted the 1959 Mediterranean Games in Beirut, the Pan-Arab Games twice (1957 and 1997) as well as the 2000 Asian Cup. Basketball is very popular in the region and the Lebanese Basketball Federation is also a member of FIBA Asia. Their national team has qualified for the FIBA World Championships three times from 2002 to 2010. Some of the most popular Lebanese ball-players include Fadi El Khatib and Elie Mechantaf.
Although basketball enjoys quite a following, football is considered the most popular sport in Lebanon even though their national team has never made it to the FIFA World Cup or won any international trophy.
Leanon has also made a mark in combat sports such as Greco-Roman wrestling when Zakaria Chihab and Khalil Taha took the silver and bronze medals respectively in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. In 1980, Hassan Bechara also represented the country and won the bronze in the Summer Olympic Games.
Another popular spectator sport in Lebanon is bodybuilding and it has produced widely recognized bodybuilders like Samir Bannout, George Farah and Mohammad Bannout. The popularity of bodybuilding in Lebanon, and the arab world in general, is mostly attributed to the efforts of the former Middle East IFBB vice president Malih Alaywan.
Below are details of sports, sporting events and sports people related to Lebanon. Is there something missing? If you know of something that should be listed here, please let us know.
Popular sports of Lebanon
- Football (Soccer), basketball,
Lebanon Sporting Success
Great athletes from Lebanon
Lebanon Sports trivia
Lebanon at major events
Past sporting events hosted in Lebanon
- 1959 Mediterranean Games in Beirut
- 1957 Pan-Arab Games
- 1997 Pan-Arab Games
- 2000 AFC Asian Cup
- 2009 Francophone Games (Jeux de la Francophonie), Beirut
Upcoming sporting events in Lebanon
Annual sporting events held in Lebanon
Sporting Facilities in Lebanon
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