Stars Association for Sports
Stars Association for Sports (Arabic: جمعية نجوم الرياضة), or simply SAS, is a women's football club section of the similarly-named sports academy, based in Aley, Lebanon. Founded in 2011 as Stars Academy for Sports, they have competed in the Lebanese Women's Football League since 2014.
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| Full name | Stars Association for Sports | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The SASers | ||
| Short name | SAS | ||
| Founded | 7 July 2011, as Stars Academy for Sports | ||
| Chairman | Saria Al Sayegh | ||
| Manager | Farid Njeim | ||
| League | Lebanese Women's Football League | ||
| 2022–23 | Lebanese Women's Football League, 1st of 8 (champions) | ||
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SAS have won seven league titles, three FA Cup titles, and one Super Cup title, and were runners-up in the inaugural edition of the WAFF Women's Clubs Championship in 2019.
History
Established in 2011 as "Stars Academy for Sports" (SAS),[1] the senior team debuted in the Lebanese Women's Football League in 2013–14. They won the 2014–15 league title after beating Girls Football Academy (GFA) in the final matchday of the season, on 23 July 2015, and won the FA Cup by beating FC Beirut 3–0 in the final, on 28 August 2015.[2] SAS won three consecutive league titles, between the 2014–15 and 2016–17 season.[3]
Ahead of the 2017–18 season, SAS changed their name to "Stars Association for Sports".[4] They achieved their second domestic double in 2018–19 by winning both the league[5] (their fourth in total)[3] and the FA Cup[5] (their second).[6]
In 2019 SAS took part in the inaugural edition of the WAFF Women's Clubs Championship, an international club competition for West Asian (WAFF) clubs, along with four other clubs.[7] After winning their opening two matches, against Arab Orthodox (7–0) and Abu Dhabi (2–1),[8][9] SAS lost against eventual champions Shabab Ordon (3–0),[10] before drawing the last game of the tournament against Riffa (3–3) to finish as runners-up.[11]
On 1 March 2020, SAS won 4–2 against newly-founded Eleven Football Pro (EFP) in the effective final of the 2019–20 season, becoming five-time champions of the league.[12] They won their sixth league title in the 2021–22 season, after defeating defending champions Safa 2–1 in the final matchday.[13] Having won the 2022–23 league title, SAS became seven-time champions, a joint record with Sadaka.[14]
Players
- As of 8 July 2023[15]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Managerial history
Below is a list of SAS managers from 2014 until the present day.
| Name | Nationality | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Wael Gharzeddine[16] |  |
2014–2017 |
| Said Wehbe[17] | |
2017–2020 |
| Farid Njeim[18] | |
2020–present |
Honours
Domestic
- Lebanese Women's Football League
- Lebanese Women's FA Cup
- Winners (3): 2013–14, 2014–15, 2018–19
- Runners-up (2): 2016–17, 2017–18
- Lebanese Women's Super Cup
- Winners (1): 2016–17
- Runners-up (3): 2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19
Continental
- WAFF Women's Clubs Championship
- Runners-up (1): 2019
See also
References
- "ABAAD Official Sponsor of the "Stars Academy for Sports"". ABAAD. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
- "Lebanon (Women) 2014/15". RSSSF. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
- "Lebanon - List of Women Champions". RSSSF. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
- "ترخيص جمعية رياضية بإسم «جمعية نجوم الرياضة»". Lebanese University. 14 July 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
- "Lebanon (Women) 2018/19". RSSSF. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
- "Lebanon - List of Women Cup Winners". RSSSF. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
- "Women clubs to vie for West Asian history". www.the-afc.com. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
- "SAS's magnificent seven, Kusi stars for hosts". www.the-afc.com. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
- "SAS, Shabab Al Ordon set up blockbuster clash with crucial wins". www.the-afc.com. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
- "Shabab Al Ordon within touching distance of title". www.the-afc.com. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
- "SAS finish second as goals fly in on final day". www.the-afc.com. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
- "SAS champions the 2019-20 Lebanese Women's Football League!". FA Lebanon. 1 March 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
- نجوم الرياضة بطلا لدوري السيدات للمرة السادسة. Lebanese Football Association (in Arabic). 31 July 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- نجوم الرياضة بطل دوري السيدات للمرة السابعة. Lebanese Football Association (in Arabic). 16 August 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
- "Stars Association for Sports". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
- Afiouni, Nadim (4 March 2020). "Women's National Team head coach Wael Gharzeddine: the best is yet to come". FA Lebanon. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
- توصلت ادارة فريق ستارز اكاديمي للسيدات لاتفاق مع المدرب المميز سعيد وهبي للاشراف على بطلات لبنان للموسم الجديد [The management of the Stars Academy Women's team reached an agreement with the special coach Said Wehbe to supervise the Lebanese champions for the new season] (in Arabic). الدوري اللبناني. 17 March 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2022 – via Facebook.
- "We would like to announce that our new coach for the upcoming season 2020/2021 will be "The One And Only" Farid Njeim". Stars Association for Sports. 15 October 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2022 – via Facebook.
External links
- Stars Association for Sports at the-waff.com