Football in Bahrain

The Bahrain national team playing Australia on June 10, 2009, in a World Cup qualifier

Country| Bahrain
Governing body| Bahrain Football Association
National team(s)| men's national team

National competitions

Bahraini Premier League
Bahraini Second Division
Bahraini King's Cup
Bahraini FA Cup
Bahraini Super Cup

International competitions

AFC Cup
AFC Champions League
FIFA World Cup
Asian Cup

The sport of football in the country of Bahrain is run by the Bahrain Football Association, and significantly the most popular sport in the nation.[1][2]

Bahrain has its own top-tier domestic professional football league, the Bahraini Premier League. It features 10 football clubs that play a two-round robin set, with each team playing a total of 18 fixtures.[3] The winners of the domestic championship qualify for the AFC Cup.

The league uses a promotion and relegation system in association with the Bahraini Second Division, Bahrain's second-tier football league. The season usually starts in September and concludes in May, as in other football leagues. The first season was held in 1952. Although games are played on a home and away basis, most games are played at the Bahrain National Stadium.

The relegation of the lowest season finishing team is decided by a relegation/promotion playoff match against the second lowest finishing team. The most successful club in the league's history is Al-Muharraq SC.

## Total championships

[edit]

As of 2019–20 season.

Club
| Number of Championships

|

Muharraq Club | 34
Bahrain Riffa Club (includes West Riffa) | 12
Bahrain Club | 5
Al-Ahli (Manama) | 5
Al-Hidd | 2
Al-Nasr | 1
Arabi Club | 1
Al Hala SC | 1
East Riffa Club | 1
Busaiteen | 1
Malkiya SCC | 1

## League system

[edit]

Level  | League(s)/Division(s)

|

1  | Premier League
12 clubs
| ↓↑ 2 clubs
2  | Second Division
12 clubs

## The Bahrain national football team

[edit]

The most significant achievement of the Bahrain national football team is reaching the semi-finals of the 2004 AFC Asian Cup.[4][5] The national football team of Bahrain lost against Japan in the semi-finals of the tournament.

## Football stadiums in Bahrain

[edit]

# | Stadium | City | Capacity | Home team(s) | Image

|
|
|
|
|

1 | Bahrain National Stadium | Riffa | 24,000 | Bahrain national football team, Al-Khaldiya SC, Al-Riffa SC |
2 | Al Muharraq Stadium | Arad | 20,000 | Al-Muharraq SC |
3 | Khalifa Sports City Stadium | Isa Town | 15,000 |  |
4 | Al-Ahli Stadium | Manama | 10,000 | Al-Ahli Club |

## See also

[edit]

* Sport in Bahrain
* Bahrain national football team
* Lists of stadiums

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Team sports in Bahrain". TimeOut Bahrain. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
2. ^ "Football in Bahrain: A house divided". The Economist. 2011-08-13. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
3. ^ Bahraini Premier League, Goalzz.com, retrieved on 15 June 2012.
4. ^ "Flashback: When Bahrain stunned the continent to reach the 2004 AFC Asian Cup Semi-finals". 3 August 2017.
5. ^ "When Bahrain stunned the continent to reach the 2004 AFC Asian Cup semi-finals". 3 August 2017.

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Football in Bahrain

Bahrain Football Association

National teams|

| Men|

* Men's
* U-23
* U-20
* U-17

|

Women|

* Women's

League system|

| Men|

* Premier League
* Second Division

|

Women|

* W-Football League

Domestic cups|

| Men|

* Elite Cup
* King's Cup
* FA Cup
* Bahraini Crown Prince Cup (Default)
* Super Cup
* Khalid Bin Hamad Cup

|

Women|

* Bahraini W-Cup

* List of Clubs
* Bahraini football records

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Football in Asia

Sovereign states|

* Afghanistan
* Armenia
* Azerbaijan
* Bahrain
* Bangladesh
* Bhutan
* Brunei
* Cambodia
* China
* Cyprus
* Egypt
* Georgia
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* Philippines
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* Russia
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* Singapore
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* Syria
* Tajikistan
* Thailand
* Timor-Leste (East Timor)
* Turkey
* Turkmenistan
* United Arab Emirates
* Uzbekistan
* Vietnam
* Yemen

States with
limited recognition|

* Abkhazia
* Northern Cyprus
* Palestine
* South Ossetia
* Taiwan

Dependencies and
other territories|

* British Indian Ocean Territory
* Christmas Island
* Cocos (Keeling) Islands
* Hong Kong
* Macau

* Category
* Asia portal

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League systems in sport

* League system
* Sports league
* Professional sports league organization
* Division (sport)
* Promotion and relegation
* Closed league
* Semi-closed league

American football|

* Germany

Association
football|

| AFC|

* Afghanistan
* Australia
* Bahrain
* Bangladesh
* China
* East Timor
* Guam
* Hong Kong
* India
* Indonesia
* Iran
* Iraq
* Japan
* Jordan
* South Korea
* Kuwait
* Lebanon
* Macau
* Malaysia
* Mongolia
* Myanmar
* Nepal
* Northern Mariana Islands
* Pakistan
* Qatar
* Saudi Arabia
* Singapore
* Taiwan
* Tajikistan
* Thailand
* Turkmenistan
* United Arab Emirates
* Vietnam

|

CAF|

* Algeria
* Burkina Faso
* Burundi
* Cameroon
* Cape Verde
* Central African Republic
* Comoros
* Djibouti
* Egypt
* Equatorial Guinea
* Ghana
* Guinea-Bissau
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* Madagascar
* Mauritius
* Morocco
* Mozambique
* Nigeria
* Réunion
* São Tomé and Príncipe
* Seychelles
* Somalia
* South Africa
* Tunisia

CONCACAF|

* Anguilla
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* Aruba
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* Canada
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* Trinidad and Tobago
* Turks and Caicos Islands
* United States
* United States Virgin Islands

CONMEBOL|

* Argentina
* Bolivia
* Brazil
* Chile
* Colombia
* Ecuador
* Paraguay
* Peru
* Uruguay
* Venezuela

OFC|

* French Polynesia
* New Caledonia
* New Zealand
* Papua New Guinea
* Tuvalu

UEFA|

* Albania
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* Austria
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Basketball|

| Continental|

* Europe
* South America

|

National|

* France
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* Greece
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* Iceland
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Handball|

* Denmark
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Ice hockey|

* United States

Rugby league|

* Great Britain
* France

Rugby union|

* England
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* Ireland
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Shinty|

* Scotland

Sumo|

* Japan

Tennis|

* Davis Cup
* Billie Jean King Cup

Water polo|

* Hungary

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