# 2021–22 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1

The 2021–22 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 (Tunisian Professional League) season was the 96th season of top-tier football in Tunisia.
Espérance de Tunis were the defending champions and successfully defended their title, winning their record-extending 6th consecutive title and 32nd title overall.
The VAR was used in the playoff.

## Teams

A total of 16 teams contested the league.

### Stadiums and locations

| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Avenir de Rejiche | Mahdia | Stade Ahmed Khouaja | 3,000 |
| Avenir de Soliman | Soliman | Stade Municipal de Soliman | 3,000 |
| Club Africain | Tunis (Bab Jedid) | Stade Hammadi Agrebi | 60,000 |
| Club Bizertin | Bizerte | Stade 15 Octobre | 20,000 |
| Croissant Chebbien | Chebba | Stade de Chebba | 3,000 |
| Club de Hammam-Lif | Tunis (Hammam-Lif) | Stade Bou Kornine | 15,000 |
| Club Sfaxien | Sfax | Stade Taïeb Mhiri | 22,000 |
| Espoir de Hammam Sousse | Hammam Sousse | Stade Bou Ali Lahouar | 6,500 |
| Étoile de Métlaoui | Métlaoui | Stade Municipal de Métlaoui | 6,000 |
| Étoile du Sahel | Sousse | Stade Olympique de Sousse | 42,000 |
| Espérance de Tunis | Tunis (Bab Souika) | Stade Hammadi Agrebi | 60,000 |
| Espérance de Zarzis | Zarzis | Stade Abdessalam Kazouz | 7,000 |
| Olympique Béja | Béja | Boujemaa Kmiti Stadium | 15,500 |
| Union de Ben Guerdane | Ben Guerdane | Stade du 7 Mars | 10,000 |
| Union Monastirienne | Monastir | Stade Mustapha Ben Jannet | 20,000 |
| Union de Tataouine | Tataouine | Stade Municipal Bir Lahmar | 5,000 |

### Return of Croissant Chebbien

On 11 September 2021, Croissant Chebbien returned to the league following a vote by the Ordinary General Assembly of the Tunisian Football Federation.

## Competition
### First round
#### Group A
##### Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Espérance de Tunis | 14 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 20 | 7 | +13 | 27 | Advance to Playoff |
| 2 | Club Sfaxien | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 10 | +2 | 21 | Advance to Playoff |
| 3 | Union de Ben Guerdane | 14 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 8 | +2 | 21 | Advance to Playoff |
| 4 | Union de Tataouine | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 15 | −2 | 21 | Qualification for Ranking games |
| 5 | Club Bizertin | 14 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 13 | 15 | −2 | 19 | Qualification for Ranking games |
| 6 | Étoile de Métlaoui | 14 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 15 | −4 | 17 | Qualification for Playout |
| 7 | Espoir de Hammam Sousse | 14 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 16 | Qualification for Playout |
| 8 | Club de Hammam-Lif (R) | 14 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 18 | −9 | 10 | Relegation to Ligue 2 |

##### Results

| Home \ Away | CAB | CSHL | CSS | ESHS | ESM | EST | USBG | UST |
| Club Bizertin | | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 |
| Club de Hammam-Lif | 0–1 | | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 |
| Club Sfaxien | 1–2 | 2–0 | | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| Espoir de Hammam Sousse | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 |
| Étoile de Métlaoui | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| Espérance de Tunis | 4–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | | 0–0 | 3–0 |
| Union de Ben Guerdane | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | | 0–0 |
| Union de Tataouine | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | |

##### Clubs season-progress

| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| CAB | L | D | L | W | W | W | L | L | L | L | W | L | W | W |
| CSHL | W | L | L | L | L | D | L | D | L | D | L | W | D | L |
| CSS | W | L | W | W | D | L | W | L | W | L | D | D | L | W |
| ESHS | L | D | W | L | D | L | W | D | W | D | D | D | D | L |
| ESM | L | D | D | W | L | D | L | W | L | W | D | W | D | L |
| EST | W | W | W | D | W | L | W | D | L | W | D | L | W | W |
| USBG | L | D | L | D | W | W | W | D | W | W | D | D | D | L |
| UST | W | W | D | L | L | W | L | W | W | L | D | D | L | W |

#### Group B
##### The Club Africain v Croissant Chebbien match case

On 18 April 2022, the match of the last round was held between Club Africain and Croissant Chebbien at Stade Hammadi Agrebi, Tunis and ended with a 1–0 win for the hosts, a result that made Croissant Chebbien relegated to the Ligue 2, but Croissant Chebbien protested the presence of Club Africain president, Youssef Elmi, on the bench despite his suspension from punishment by the Football Federation, and demanded that they would be given a penal victory, and they decided to take the case to CAS.
On 29 September, the CAS decided to reintegrate Croissant Chebbien in the Ligue 1, which forced the federation to add a 16th team for 2022–23 season so that the number of teams would be even, and the identity of this team was determined by two playoff matches, the first between Club de Hammam-Lif and Espérance de Zarzis, and the second between the winner of the first match and Étoile de Métlaoui.
On 27 March 2023, the CAS decided to give Croissant Chebbien a 2–0 penal victory. Since this decision affects the arrangement of the table in the first round and the added points for the coronation playoff and playout, and since this decision came late and after the start of the new season, the effect of this result in the second round was not calculated.

##### Table before CAS decision

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Club Africain | 14 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 6 | +5 | 25 | Advance to Playoff |
| 2 | Union Monastirienne | 14 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 23 | Advance to Playoff |
| 3 | Étoile du Sahel | 14 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 14 | 8 | +6 | 22 | Advance to Playoff |
| 4 | Avenir de Rejiche | 14 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 20 | Qualification for Ranking games |
| 5 | Avenir de Soliman | 14 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 9 | −2 | 17 | Qualification for Ranking games |
| 6 | Olympique Béja | 14 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 10 | −1 | 16 | Qualification for Playout |
| 7 | Espérance de Zarzis | 14 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 13 | −7 | 13 | Qualification for Playout |
| 8 | Croissant Chebbien (R) | 14 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 10 | −4 | 13 | Relegation to Ligue 2 |

##### Table after CAS decision

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Union Monastirienne | 14 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 23 | Advance to Playoff |
| 2 | Étoile du Sahel | 14 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 14 | 8 | +6 | 22 | Advance to Playoff |
| 3 | Club Africain | 14 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 8 | +2 | 22 | Advance to Playoff |
| 4 | Avenir de Rejiche | 14 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 20 | Qualification for Ranking games |
| 5 | Avenir de Soliman | 14 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 9 | −2 | 17 | Qualification for Ranking games |
| 6 | Croissant Chebbien | 14 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 9 | −1 | 16 | Qualification for Playout |
| 7 | Olympique Béja | 14 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 10 | −1 | 16 | Qualification for Playout |
| 8 | Espérance de Zarzis | 14 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 13 | −7 | 13 | Relegation to Ligue 2 |

##### Results

| Home \ Away | ASR | ASS | CA | CSCH | ESS | ESZ | OB | USM |
| Avenir de Rejiche | | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 |
| Avenir de Soliman | 1–0 | | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 |
| Club Africain | 1–1 | 1–0 | | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| Croissant Chebbien | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| Étoile du Sahel | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 |
| Espérance de Zarzis | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–3 | | 0–2 | 0–1 |
| Olympique Béja | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | | 0–0 |
| Union Monastirienne | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | |
* ↑ Awarded

##### Clubs season-progress

| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| ASR | D | L | D | W | W | D | D | L | W | W | W | D | L | L |
| ASS | D | L | L | D | D | W | D | L | L | W | L | W | D | W |
| CA | D | L | W | W | D | W | D | W | D | L | L | W | W | L |
| CSCH | L | D | W | L | W | L | D | D | L | W | L | L | D | W |
| ESS | D | W | L | D | L | D | D | W | D | D | W | W | W | D |
| ESZ | L | D | D | D | D | L | L | W | W | L | L | L | L | W |
| OB | W | W | L | L | L | L | D | L | W | L | W | D | D | D |
| USM | W | W | W | D | D | W | W | D | L | D | W | L | D | L |

#### Goals scored per round

This graph represents the number of goals scored during each round:

### Playoff
#### Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Espérance de Tunis (C) | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 16 | 8 | +8 | 24 | Qualification for Champions League |
| 2 | Union Monastirienne | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 9 | +7 | 22 | Qualification for Champions League |
| 3 | Club Sfaxien | 10 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 7 | +3 | 16 | Qualification for Confederation Cup |
| 4 | Club Africain | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 10 | −4 | 15 | Qualification for Confederation Cup |
| 5 | Étoile du Sahel | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 11 | +2 | 13 | |
| 6 | Union de Ben Guerdane | 10 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 19 | −16 | 3 | |
* 1 2 Club Africain and Espérance de Tunis were added 3 points (1st of the groups in the first round).
* 1 2 Club Sfaxien and Union Monastirienne were added 2 points (2nd of the groups in the first round).
* 1 2 Étoile du Sahel and Union de Ben Guerdane were added 1 point (3rd of the groups in the first round).

#### Results

| Home \ Away | CA | CSS | ESS | EST | USBG | USM |
| Club Africain | | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 |
| Club Sfaxien | 3–0 | | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 |
| Étoile du Sahel | 0–0 | 1–1 | | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–4 |
| Espérance de Tunis | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| Union de Ben Guerdane | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–5 | 0–3 | | 0–2 |
| Union Monastirienne | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 0–0 | |

#### Positions by round

The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards.
| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Club Africain | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Club Sfaxien | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Étoile du Sahel | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Espérance de Tunis | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Union de Ben Guerdane | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Union Monastirienne | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
* Leader
* 2022–23 CAF Champions League
* 2022–23 CAF Confederation Cup

#### Clubs season-progress

| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Club Africain | L | W | D | L | L | W | W | L | D | D |
| Club Sfaxien | L | D | D | W | L | D | W | W | D | D |
| Étoile du Sahel | W | D | L | L | W | W | L | L | D | D |
| Espérance de Tunis | W | W | D | W | W | D | L | W | D | W |
| Union de Ben Guerdane | L | L | D | D | L | L | L | L | L | L |
| Union Monastirienne | W | L | W | D | W | L | W | W | W | D |

#### Goals scored per round

This graph represented the number of goals scored during each round:

### Playout
#### Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Relegation |
| 1 | Espoir de Hammam Sousse | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 9 | |
| 2 | Olympique Béja | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 9 | |
| 3 | Étoile de Métlaoui | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 9 | Relegation to Ligue 2 |
| 4 | Espérance de Zarzis (R) | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 6 | Relegation to Ligue 2 |
* 1 2 Étoile de Métlaoui and Olympique Béja were added 1 point (6th of the groups in the first round).

#### Results

| Home \ Away | ESHS | ESM | ESZ | OB |
| Espoir de Hammam Sousse | | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Étoile de Métlaoui | 2–1 | | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| Espérance de Zarzis | 1–1 | 1–1 | | 1–0 |
| Olympique Béja | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | |

#### Clubs season-progress

| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Espoir de Hammam Sousse | L | W | D | W | D | D |
| Étoile de Métlaoui | W | D | L | L | W | D |
| Espérance de Zarzis | L | D | D | W | L | D |
| Olympique Béja | W | L | W | L | D | D |

### Ranking games

The ranking games round were played between the 4th and the 5th from each group from the first round.

#### Ninth place match
## Season statistics
### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Mohamed Ali Ben Hammouda | ASS then EST | 10 |
| 2 | Aymen Harzi | CSS | 6 |
| 2 | Hazem Mastouri | ESM | 6 |
| 2 | Walid Karoui | CSS | 6 |
| 5 | Lassaad Jaziri | USBG | 5 |
| 5 | Yassine Amri | ESS | 5 |
| 5 | Youssef Ben Souda | ESHS | 5 |
| 5 | Youssef Abdelli | USM | 5 |
| 9 | Zied Ben Salem | CSHL | 4 |
| 9 | Yassine Chamakhi | CA | 4 |
| 9 | Houssem Louati | UST | 4 |
| 9 | Alkhaly Bangoura | CAB | 4 |
| 9 | Moumen Rahmani | UST | 4 |
| 9 | Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane | EST | 4 |
| 9 | Zied Aloui | USM | 4 |
| 9 | Fakhreddine Ouji | USBG | 4 |
| 17 | Boling Dembélé | CAB | 3 |
| 17 | Amine Khaloufi | ESHS | 3 |
| 17 | Vinny Bongonga Kombe | ESS | 3 |
| 17 | Omar Sammari | ASR | 3 |
| 17 | Oussama Bouguerra | OB | 3 |
| 17 | Farouk Mimouni | EST | 3 |
| 17 | Iheb Msakni | ESS | 3 |
| 17 | Nader Ghandri | CA | 3 |
| 17 | Mohamed Amine Tougai | EST | 3 |
| 17 | Fousseny Coulibaly | EST | 3 |
| 17 | Hamdou Elhouni | EST | 3 |
| 17 | Youssouf Oumarou | USM | 3 |
| 17 | Roger Aholou | USM | 3 |

### Final ranking

| Rank | Team |
| 1 | Espérance de Tunis |
| 2 | Union Monastirienne |
| 3 | Club Sfaxien |
| 4 | Club Africain |
| 5 | Étoile du Sahel |
| 6 | Union de Ben Guerdane |
| 7 | Union de Tataouine |
| 8 | Avenir de Rejiche |
| 9 | Club Bizertin |
| 10 | Avenir de Soliman |
| 11 | Espoir de Hammam Sousse |
| 12 | Olympique Béja |
| 13 | Étoile de Métlaoui |
| 14 | Espérance de Zarzis |
| 15 | Croissant Chebbien |
| 16 | Club de Hammam-Lif |

## Number of teams by Governorate

| Position | Governorate | Number | Teams |
| 1 | Tunis | 2 | Club Africain, Espérance de Tunis |
| 1 | Sousse | 2 | Espoir de Hammam Sousse, Étoile du Sahel |
| 1 | Medenine | 2 | Espérance de Zarzis, Union de Ben Guerdane |
| 1 | Mahdia | 2 | Avenir de Rejiche, Croissant Chebbien |
| 2 | Sfax | 1 | Club Sfaxien |
| 2 | Nabeul | 1 | Avenir de Soliman |
| 2 | Ben Arous | 1 | Club de Hammam-Lif |
| 2 | Bizerte | 1 | Club Bizertin |
| 2 | Monastir | 1 | Union Monastirienne |
| 2 | Gafsa | 1 | Étoile de Métlaoui |
| 2 | Béja | 1 | Olympique Béja |
| 2 | Tataouine | 1 | Union de Tataouine |

## Awards

Each month, Internet users voted for the player of the month sponsored by Foot24 and Coca-Cola.
| Month | Player of the Month | Player of the Month |
| Month | Player | Club |
| October | Bilel Ifa | Club Africain |
| March | Nader Ghandri | Club Africain |
| April | Larry Azouni | Club Africain |
| May | Ghailene Chaalali | Espérance de Tunis |

## Media coverage

Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 Media Coverage :
| Country | Television Channel |
| Tunisia | Hannibal |
| Tunisia | Attessia |
| Tunisia | Home teams YouTube Channels |
| Qatar | Al-Kass Sports Channel |