| Boxwidth: | 250 |
| Football in Bahrain | |
| Union: | Bahrain Football Association |
| Country: | Bahrain |
| Sport: | association football |
| Nationalteam: | men's national team |
| National List: | Bahraini Premier League Bahraini Second Division Bahraini King's Cup Bahraini FA Cup Bahraini Super Cup |
| Intl List: | 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.
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 |
| Level | League(s)/Division(s) | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Premier League 12 clubs | ||||||||||||
| ↓↑ 2 clubs | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Second Division 12 clubs | ||||||||||||
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.