Syrian Premier League


Prime Premier League formerly known as the is a professional association football league in Syria and the top division of the Syrian football league system. The league comprises 16 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Syrian League 1st Division. The league was founded in 1966 and, as of 2025, operates under a new name and branding as part of a wider restructuring and modernization process.
The first team to win the title was Al-Ittihad Ahli in 1967, whilst Al-Jaish has the record with 17 league titles. Their closest rivals, Al-Karamah, have won the league 8 times.
In the beginning, the main tournament was the first division, then the Syrian Football Association developed the competition in a historic step that allowed the participation of foreign players to turn the competition into a professional league.

Competition format

The Prime Premier League consists of 16 teams competing throughout the football season under a full league system. The competition is played in a double round-robin format, in which each team faces every other team twice—once at home and once away—resulting in 30 matches per team per season.
Teams are awarded three points for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss, in accordance with international football regulations. League standings are determined by total points accumulated, with goal difference, goals scored, and head-to-head results used as tie-breaking criteria when teams are level on points.
The club finishing at the top of the table at the end of the season is crowned Prime Premier League champion. At the lower end of the table, relegation to the Syrian First Division is applied to the lowest ranked teams, while promotion is granted to the top-performing clubs from the second tier, subject to regulations set by the Syrian Football Association. In exceptional seasons, promotion and relegation rules may be modified.

Number of teams

Qualification for Asian competitions

As of December 2025

Qualification criteria for 2022

At present, the winners of Prime Premier League qualify for the AFC Champions League play-off, and the league runners-up qualify for the AFC Cup group stage alongside the winners of Syrian Cup.
If the cup winners are also the league winners or runners-up, the third-placed team in the league qualifies for the AFC Cup group stage. The winners of the AFC Champions League and AFC Cup may earn an additional qualification for the subsequent season's AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs if they have not already qualified.
The number of places allocated to the Syrian clubs in AFC competitions is dependent upon the position the country holds in the AFC Club Competitions Ranking, which is calculated based upon the performance of teams in AFC competitions in the previous four years.

Current clubs (2025–26)

Stadiums and locations


TeamLocationStadiumCapacity
Al-WahdaDamascusAl-Fayhaa Stadium
Al-JaishDamascusAl-Jalaa Stadium
Al-ShortaDamascusAl-Jalaa Stadium
Damascus Al-AhliDamascusAl-Jalaa Stadium
Al-Ittihad AhliAleppoAl-Hamadaniah Stadium
Al-HurriyaAleppoAl-Hamadaniah Stadium
Al-KaramahHomsKhalid ibn al-Walid Stadium
Homs Al FidaaHomsKhalid ibn al-Walid Stadium
Al-TaliyaHamaHama Municipal Stadium
TishreenLatakiaLatakia Municipal Stadium
HutteenLatakiaLatakia Municipal Stadium
JablehJablehJableh Stadium
Al-FotuwaDeir ez-ZorDeir ez-Zor Municipal Stadium
Al-ShoulehDaraaSports City Stadium
OmayaIdlibIdlib Municipal Stadium
Khan ShaykhunKhan Shaykhun

1: Al-Karamah and Al-Wathba also use Bassel al-Assad Stadium as a home stadium.

List of seasons

Champions so far are:

Performances

Performance by club

Performance by city

Doubles

Five teams have won the double of the Syrian Premier League and the Syrian Cup in the same season.
ClubNumber of titlesWinning seasons
Al-Karamah51983, 1996, 2007, 2008, 2009
Al-Jaish41986, 1998, 2002, 2018
Al-Fotuwa31990, 1991, 2024
Al-Shorta11980
Al-Hurriya11992

Records and statistics

All seasons top goalscorers

All time top goalscorers

Boldface indicates a player still active in Syrian Premier League.
No.PlayerGoalsYears
1Raja Rafe1942000–2021
2Mohammed Al Wakid1732004–
3Aref Al Agha1611995–2009

League participation

As of 2022, 35 clubs have participated. The tallies since its establishment in 1966 until the end of the 2021–22 season.
  • 50 seasons: Al-Ittihad Ahli

    Records

  • The highest points average for the league champion: 64 points.
  • The fastest goal in the history of the league was scored by Al-Majd player Samer Awad against Qardaha, the 2005–06 season, after just 16 seconds.