University sports return with Lebanon cup

The Lebanese University Sports Federation has launched the Lebanon Universities Cup, a multi-sport competition bringing together universities from across the country in what amounts to a defiant return to the playing field. It entails fifteen championships, hundreds of student athletes, and one message: Lebanese university sports are back.

The Beiruter spoke with Ziad Saade, President of the Lebanese Universities Sports Federation, to learn more about the tournament and its significance.  "We weren't able to organize the Lebanese University Championship because of the war," says Saade, "but we insisted on holding the Universities Cup so that university sports would continue. We managed to do it."

The Cup spans a sweeping range of disciplines, from combat sports like taekwondo and Muay Thai, to racket sports including tennis, squash, and padel, to classic team competitions in football, basketball, volleyball, handball, and futsal. This year also marks the first-ever inclusion of Ultimate Frisbee in the competition, a milestone that reflects the federation's ambition to grow the scope of university athletics in Lebanon.

Universities battle it out

On the courts and fields, Saint Joseph University (USJ) emerged as the tournament's dominant force. The university claimed the women's futsal title after defeating the Lebanese American University (LAU) 4-1, swept the men's and women's badminton championships, won the men's handball title 32–22 over LAU, and topped the women's competitions in padel, tennis, table tennis, chess, and taekwondo. It was a performance that announced USJ as a powerhouse of university sport in Lebanon.

LAU answered with a formidable campaign of its own, completing a basketball double by winning both the men's and women's titles, and claiming the women's handball championship 21-14 over the American University of Beirut. The university also took first place in men's padel, men's tennis, and women's Muay Thai, cementing its place as USJ's closest rival across the board.

Other universities made their mark as well. Antonine University claimed the men's football championship after defeating LAU 4-3 on penalties following a 1-1 draw, and topped the men's taekwondo standings with 22 points. The Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK) won the men's volleyball title, Beirut Arab University earned gold in men's table tennis and men's chess, and the Lebanese International University topped the men's Muay Thai competition.

The Lebanon Cup is still ongoing, with finals across remaining sports set to conclude by the end of the week.

From Beirut to the world

But for Saade, the Cup is only part of the story. What happens next is where it gets remarkable. Five Lebanese university national teams have qualified to compete in World University Championships organized by the International University Sports Federation this summer. The Muay Thai team has already departed for Brazil, where around 50 countries will compete. The men's and women's futsal teams are headed to Poland, padel to Spain, and handball to France.

"Our women's futsal team is among the strongest university teams in Asia," Saade says, a statement that would surprise many who don't follow university sport closely, but that speaks to the quiet excellence that has been developing within Lebanese campuses even through the country's most turbulent years.

Lack of institutional support

What makes all of this more striking is that it is happening with virtually no institutional support. When asked about government funding, Saade is blunt. "At the moment, there is no budget allocated to the federations by the ministry. They've told everyone that there is simply no budget available."

The federation funds itself, operates independently, and is now actively pursuing private sponsorships to help athletes travel and compete internationally. "We're doing everything we can to bring in sponsorships so we can help athletes travel and support the national teams," Saade says.

The Lebanon Universities Cup is a reminder that sport, and the people who refuse to let it die, can outlast even the hardest of circumstances.