Lebanon women's national football team

The Lebanon women's national football team, nicknamed "the Lady Cedars" (), represents Lebanon in international women's football. Established in 2005 and governed by the Lebanese Football Association (LFA), the team has yet to qualify for the FIFA Women's World Cup or the AFC Women's Asian Cup but has achieved notable milestones in regional competitions. These include finishing as runners-up at the 2022 edition of the WAFF Women's Championship and securing third-place finishes in 2007 and 2019.

Lebanon made their international debut in 2006 at the Arab Women's Cup, suffering a 12–0 defeat to Algeria. Their first qualification campaign came in 2014 for the AFC Women's Asian Cup, where they recorded their largest victory to date, a 12–1 win over Kuwait. The team has since shown steady progress, competing in Olympic qualifiers, the Arab Women's Cup, and unofficial tournaments such as the 2023 SAFF Tournament, which they won.

The Lady Cedars wear a red home kit and a white away kit, reflecting the colors of the Lebanese flag. Since 2011, their FIFA ranking has fluctuated between 102nd (December 2013) and 145th (April – August 2021).

History Women's football in Lebanon traces its origins to 1964, when Rose La Sorte, the first women's physical education instructor at the American University of Beirut (AUB), introduced the sport into the university's curriculum. The modern development of organized women's football began in 1998, when AUB formed its first official women's team, which played its inaugural match against Notre Dame University–Louaize (NDU) in February 1999. Other institutions, including the American Community School Beirut (ACS) and the International College (IC), soon followed, leading to the first interscholastic girls' tournament in 2002.

2005–2018: Establishment and early developments The Lebanese Women's Football (LWF) committee was established in 2005 and later became affiliated with the Lebanese Football Association (LFA). That same year, the Lebanon women's national team – nicknamed "the Lady Cedars" () – were formed, becoming one of the earliest women's national teams in the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF). The team made its competitive debut at the 2006 Arab Women's Championship. In their first-ever official match on 19 April 2006, Lebanon suffered a 12–0 defeat to Algeria. The team then fell 8–0 to Morocco in their second and final group-stage fixture. Failing to score across both matches, Lebanon were eliminated in last place.

Lebanon made its first appearance at the WAFF Women's Championship in 2007. After losses to Jordan and Iran (both 3–0), the team secured a 7–0 win over Syria, with Iman Chaito scoring a hat-trick, finishing third. In the 2011 edition, they again placed third in their group, losing 8–1 to Iran and 5–0 to hosts United Arab Emirates (UAE), but managing a 1–0 win over Syria.

Under coach Farid Nujaim, Lebanon entered qualification for the 2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup – their first official qualifying campaign, eight years from their inception. Drawn with Jordan, Uzbekistan, and Kuwait, the team opened with a 5–0 loss to Jordan and a 4–0 defeat to Uzbekistan, but ended the campaign with a historic 12–1 win against Kuwait – still their largest-margin win to date. Lebanon finished third in their group and did not advance.

Lebanon were scheduled to compete in 2018 Asian Cup qualification, but withdrew in protest over the tournament's location in the West Bank in Palestine, citing opposition to "legitimizing Israel's occupation of the territory." Later that year, the team made its Olympic qualifying debut, suffering heavy defeats to Iran (8–0) and Hong Kong (4–0), and were eliminated in the first round.

2019–present: Rising competitiveness

Since 2019, Lebanon has shown steady progress in regional competitions. At the 2019 WAFF Championship, coached by Wael Gharzeddine, the team finished third with wins over the UAE (2–0) and Palestine (3–0), and losses to Jordan (3–1) and Bahrain (3–2).

In August 2021, Lebanon participated in the Arab Women's Cup, achieving their first international draw (0–0 against Tunisia) and a 5–1 win over Sudan. Despite a 4–0 defeat to Egypt, they finished third in its group with four points. Later that year, in the 2022 Asian Cup qualifiers, Lebanon defeated the UAE and Guam but fell short of qualification after a 4–0 loss to Myanmar.

A notable milestone came at the 2022 WAFF Championship under coach Hagop Demirjian, where Lebanon placed second for the first time. After a 3–0 win over Palestine and a 2–1 defeat to hosts Jordan, they closed with a 5–2 victory over Syria. Midfielder Lili Iskandar was named the tournament's best player.

In April 2023, Lebanon competed in the first round of 2024 Olympic qualifiers, losing 5–1 to Chinese Taipei before defeating Indonesia 5–0. Later that year, they won the friendly 2023 SAFF Tournament, beating Laos, Bhutan, and Malaysia (via penalties), and defeating Bhutan 1–0 in extra time during the final. Iskandar scored the decisive goal in extra time and was the tournament’s top scorer with three goals.

At the 2024 WAFF Championship in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon advanced to the semi-finals after finishing second in their group. They began with a 4–3 win, featuring a hat-trick by Iskandar, including a stoppage-time winner, following by a 3–2 victory over the host nation Saudi Arabia, and a 2–0 loss to Jordan. In the semi-finals, Lebanon were eliminated after a 2–1 defeat to Nepal, with the decisive goal scored in stoppage time.

In the 2026 Asian Cup qualifiers, played in July 2025, Lebanon were drawn alongside Iran, Jordan, Singapore, and Bhutan. Following early defeats to Jordan (4–0) and Bhutan (2–1), Lebanon earned a historic 3–1 victory over Iran – who went on to top the group and qualify – thanks to a hat-trick by Christy Maalouf. A 1–0 win against Singapore followed, but Lebanon did not advance.

Results and fixtures

As of 28 November 2025, the complete official match record of the Lebanese women's national team comprises 72 matches: 29 wins, 5 draws, and 38 losses. During these matches, the team scored 120 times and conceded 190 goals. Lebanon's highest winning margin is 11 goals, which has been achieved against Kuwait in 2013 (12–1). Their longest winning streak is 5 wins, and their highest unbeaten record is 11 consecutive official matches.

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Legend

2025

Coaching staff

Position Name Head coach Wael Gharzeddine Team manager Rana Nakhle Assistant coach Joseph Mouawad Goalkeeper coach Ashraf Mahjoub Fitness coach Roger Hamoush Physiotherapist Mariam Moukadem Equipment officer Mohsen Ismail Media officer Maroun Mahfoud

Players

Current squad The following 21 players were called up for the 2025 WAFF Women's Championship, held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia between 24 November and 2 December 2025.

Recent call-ups The following players have been called up to the national team in the past 12 months but are not part of the current squad.

Individual records

Players in bold are still active with Lebanon.

Most-capped players

RankPlayerCapsGoalsPeriod1Syntia Salha3982021–present2Nathalie Matar3702015–present3Lili Iskandar36162018–present4Dima Al Kasti3452019–present5Christy Maalouf30172021–presentZahwa Arabi3022021–present7Rana Al Mokdad2912017–2024Waed Raed2912021–present9Samira Awad2752018–202410Yara Bou Rada2622018–2024

Top scorers

RankPlayerGoalsCapsAveragePeriod1Christy Maalouf17302021–present2Lili Iskandar16362018–present3Hanin Tamim8212018–2024Syntia Salha8392021–present5Sara Bakri7222006–20176Nadia Assaf572007–2013Pilar Khoury5142021–presentSamira Awad5272018–2024Dima Al Kasti5342019–present10Iman Chaito332007Hiba El Jaafil3142006–2013Lara Bahlawan3172011–2021

Competitive record FIFA Women's World Cup FIFA Women's World Cup recordQualification recordHost nation(s)and yearRoundSquadOutcome 1991Did not enterDid not enter 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015Did not qualifyThe 2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup served as the qualifying tournament 2019WithdrewWithdrew 2023Did not qualifyThe 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup served as the qualifying tournament 2027The 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup served as the qualifying tournament 2031To be determinedTo be determined 2035To be determinedTo be determinedTotal–0/10–––––––Total––––––

Summer Olympics Summer Olympics recordQualification recordHost nation(s)and yearRoundSquadOutcome 1996Did not enterThe 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup served as the qualifying tournament 2000The 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup served as the qualifying tournament 2004Did not enter 2008 2012 2016 2020Did not qualify3rd of 32002012 20242nd of 3210165 2028To be determinedTo be determinedTotal–0/8–––––––Total4103617

AFC Women's Asian Cup AFC Women's Asian Cup recordQualification recordHost nation(s)and yearRoundSquadOutcome 1975Did not enterDid not enter 1977 1980 1981 1983 1986 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2006 2008 2010 2014Did not qualify3rd of 431021210 2018WithdrewWithdrew 2022Did not qualify2nd of 4320144 20264th of 542257 2029To be determinedTo be determinedTotal–0/21–––––––Total105052121

Arab Women's Cup Arab Women's Cup recordHost nation(s)and yearRoundSquad 2006Group stage7th of 72002020Squad 2021Group stage5th of 7311155Squad 2027To be determinedTotalBest: group stage2/25113525–

WAFF Women's Championship WAFF Women's Championship recordHost nation(s)and yearRoundSquad 2005Did not enter 2007Third place3rd of 4310276– 2010Did not enter 2011Group stage5th of 83102213– 2014Did not enter 2019Third place3rd of 5420286Squad 2022Runners-up2nd of 4320194Squad 2024Semi-finals3rd of 8420268Squad 2025 Group stage5th of 6200208SquadTotalBest: runners-up6/91980113245–

Other tournaments TournamentRound 2010 Arabia CupGroup stage 2021 Armenia Friendly TournamentFourth place 2023 SAFF Friendly TournamentChampions 2025 Vianet ChampionshipThird place

FIFA world rankings Lebanon were first included in the FIFA World Ranking in September 2011, placing in 124th place. Until early 2021, FIFA's ranking criteria required teams to have been active in the previous 18 months to be listed. As Lebanon went inactive for 18 months for several periods, they were unranked in various years (2014, 2016, 2017, 2020). Lebanon's best ranking was 102nd in December 2013, and their worst was 145th between April and August 2021.

The table shows the position that Lebanon held in December of each year (and the current position as of 2025), as well as the highest and lowest positions annually.

Best ranking Worst ranking YearPositionHighestLowest201112712412720121171171272013102102111201410911920151251221302016122123201720181341341342019137135139202014114120211401401452022142141143202313413414220241341321342025125125131

Lebanon women's national football team

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