Latest: Football in Lebanon is set to return at the start of next year

The Lebanese Football Association (LFA) has announced that all football matches in its leagues and tournaments will resume in early 2025. This announcement comes shortly after Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire.

Football activities in Lebanon were suspended in September following Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon and Hezbollah’s retaliatory attacks on Israeli military facilities in the north. The ceasefire, brokered by the US and France, went into effect on Wednesday, creating an opportunity for football to return to a country affected by ongoing violence and conflict.

The 2024-25 season of the Lebanese Premier League began in September, but the national men’s team has not played any home games since last year. Instead, they held their World Cup qualifying matches in Qatar and the UAE.

Similarly, Palestine’s national team has also hosted its recent home matches abroad, in Kuwait and Qatar, while Israel played its Nations League home matches in Hungary, all due to the regional conflicts in the Middle East.