The Syrian Basketball League (Arabic: الدوري السوري لكرة السلة) is the top-tier professional men's basketball league in Syria. It is organized annually as a national championship with playoffs and a national cup by the Syrian Basketball Federation. Both Aleppo teams, Al-Shabibeh and Al-Ittihad SC, dominated the league until 1993.[1]

History

SBL during the 2008 season

Al-Shabibeh dominated the league from 1956 until 1978. Then another team from Aleppo, Al-Ittihad SC, took all the titles until 1993.[2] Later on, Damascus clubs Al Wahda and Al-Jaish SC won some titles sporadically.[3] In 2021, for the first time in SBL history, the league was won by a club from the city of Homs, Al-Karamah.[4]

Sponsorship

As of 2022, the league's main partners are Sinalco,[5] Syriatel, Cham Wings Airlines, Sama TV and Syria TV.

Competition format

The SBL is played by the international FIBA rules. Since 2020–21 the SBL season has a new format. In the regular season, all teams play each other first home and away.[6]

Based on the order in the first round, the top four teams play the playoff system.[7] The semi-final consists of a series played in the twice-to-beat format of the best team with the worst and the second with the third of four.[7]

The final is played in the format of two advancing semi-finalists in a series of three winning matches in the best of five format.[8]

Promotion and relegation

The two worst teams relegate at the end of the season and the two best teams in Division 2 advance to the league.[6]

Current clubs

As of 2024, there are the basketball clubs currently in the Syrian Basketball League:[9]

Locations of teams in the Syrian Basketball League 2023–24

Team City Venue
Al-Shabibeh Aleppo Al-Assad Sports Arena
Al-Ittihad SC Aleppo Al-Hamadaniah Sports Arena
Al-Hurriya SC Aleppo Al-Assad Sports Arena
Al-Jaish SC Damascus Al-Fayhaa Arena
Al Wahda SC Damascus Al-Fayhaa Arena
Al-Karamah SC Homs Ghazwan Abu Zaid Arena
Homs Al Fidaa Homs Ghazwan Abu Zaid Arena
Al-Nawair SC Hama Naseh al-Wani Arena

Title holders

SeasonChampion
1956–57, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1978–79Al-Shabibeh
1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93Al-Ittihad SC
1993–94Al Wahda
1994–95Al-Ittihad SC
1995–96Al-Ittihad SC
1996–97Al Wahda
1997–98Al Wahda
1998–99Al Wahda
1999–00Al-Ittihad SC
2000–01Al Wahda
2001–02Al Wahda
2002–03Al Wahda
2003–04Al-Jaish SC
2004–05Al-Jaish SC
2005–06Al-Ittihad SC
2006–07Al-Shabibeh
2007–08Al-Shabibeh
2008–09Al-Shabibeh
2009–10Al-Jaish SC
2010–11Al-Shabibeh
2011–12Al-Shabibeh
2012–13No Championship
2013–14Al Wahda
2014–15Al Wahda
2015–16Al-Jaish SC
2016–17Al-Jaish SC
2017–18Al-Jaish SC
2018–19Al-Jaish SC
2019–20Season was suspended at the semi-finals due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Syria
2020–21Al-Karamah SC
2021–22Al-Ittihad SC
2022–23Al Wahda
2023–24Al Wahda
2024–25Al Wahda

Performances

Finals

Season Champions Score Runners-up
2003–04 Al-Jaish No play-offs Al-Shabibeh
2004–05 Al-Jaish No play-offs Al-Shabibeh
2005–06 Al-Ittihad No play-offs Al-Shabibeh
2006–07 Al-Shabibeh 2–0 Al-Ittihad
2007–08 Al-Shabibeh No play-offs Al-Jaish
2008–09 Al-Shabibeh 3–0 Al-Jaish
2009–10 Al-Jaish 2–1 Al-Shabibeh
2010–11 Al-Shabibeh 3–0 Al-Jaish
2011–12 Al-Shabibeh 2–0 Al-Ittihad
2012–13 No championship
2013–14 Al-Wahda 1–0 Al-Ittihad
2014–15 Al-Wahda 2–1 Al-Ittihad
2015–16 Al-Jaish 3–0 Al-Karamah
2016–17 Al-Jaish No play-offs —
2017–18 Al-Jaish No play-offs —
2018–19 Al-Jaish 3–1 Al-Shabibeh
2019–20 No championship
2020–21 Al-Karamah 2–1 Al-Wahda
2021–22 Al-Ittihad 3–0 Al-Karamah
2022–23 Al-Wahda 3–0 Al-Ittihad
2023–24 Al-Wahda 4–0 Al-Karamah
2024–25 Al-Wahda 3–1 Al-Ittihad

Performance by club

Club Winners Winning years
Al-Shabibeh 28 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012
Al-Ittihad SC 19 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2006, 2022
Al Wahda 12 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2014, 2015, 2023, 2024, 2025
Al-Jaish SC 7 2004, 2005, 2010, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
Al-Karamah SC 1 2021

Performance by city

City Winners Club(s)
Aleppo 47 Al-Shabibeh, Al-Ittihad SC
Damascus 19 Al Wahda, Al-Jaish SC
Homs 1 Al-Karamah SC

Women's league

These are the current teams in the women's league as of 2022:[10][11]

Team City Venue
Al-Shabibeh Aleppo Al-Jalaa Arena
Al-Ittihad SC Aleppo Al-Shaba Sports Arena
Ouroube SC Aleppo Al-Yarmouk Arena
Al-Thawra SC Damascus Al-Fayhaa Arena
Al-Wahda SC Damascus Al-Fayhaa Arena
Barada SC Damascus Al-Fayhaa Arena
Qasioun SC Damascus Al-Fayhaa Arena
Tishreen SC Latakia Latakia Sports Arena
Muhardeh SC Muhardeh Muhardeh Arena
Al-Sahel SC Tartous Basel al-Assad Arena

References

  1. ↑ "Al Jalaa, History". asia-basket. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  2. ↑ "Al-Ittihad, History". asia-basket. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  3. ↑ "Al Wahda, History". asia-basket. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  4. ↑ "Al-Karamah Homs, History". asia-basket. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  5. ↑ Sinalco Syria
  6. 1 2 "Syrian Basketball League, season 2020-2021". goalzz.com. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  7. 1 2 "Syrian Basketball League, season 2020-2021– Play-off". goalzz.com. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  8. ↑ "Syrian Basketball League, season 2020-2021 Final". goalzz.com. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  9. ↑ "Syrian Basketball League Teams". www.asia-basket.com. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  10. ↑ "Women League (Season 2021-22)". asia-basket.com. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  11. ↑ "Syrian Women Basketball League". goalzz.com. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_Basketball_League