Football in Israel
Football in Israel | |
---|---|
Country | Israel |
Governing body | Israel Football Association |
National team(s) | Men's national team |
National competitions | |
Club competitions | |
International competitions | |
UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League UEFA Conference League Super Cup FIFA Club World Cup FIFA World Cup (National Team) European Championship (National Team) UEFA Nations League (National Team) |
The Israel Football Association joined the Asian Football Confederation in 1954, but was expelled in 1974 due to political pressure from Arab and Muslim members in the context of the Arab–Israeli conflict. In the late 1970s and 1980s, the Israel Football Association was not affiliated with any confederation. During this period, the Israeli national teams were only playing in FIFA competitions occasionally in OFC, UEFA and CONMEBOL qualifying tournaments. Finally, it was admitted to UEFA as an associate member in 1992 and as a full member in 1994, therefore their teams compete as part of Europe in all international competitions.
Israel Football Association
The Israel Football Association (IFA) is the governing body of football in the State of Israel. All of Israel's professional football clubs must be members, and hundreds of semi-professional and amateur clubs also belong.[8][9]
League system
As of the 19-20 season, the Israeli football league system has five levels and 16 different divisions, all run by the IFA. Promotion and relegation operate between each level, allowing clubs to progress from bottom to top within four seasons.
Structure
The current structure of the Israeli league system is this:
- Israeli Premier League: the top division operates at the national level and has 14 member clubs
- Liga Leumit: the second division operates at the national level and has 16 member clubs
- Liga Alef: the third division is split into two regional leagues (north and south) and has 32 member clubs (16 in each division)
- Liga Bet: the fourth division is split into four regional leagues (two in the north, two in the south) and has 64 member clubs (16 in each division)
- Liga Gimel: the fifth division is split into eight regional leagues and has 114 member clubs (between 11 and 16 in each division)
Cups
In Israel, there are two major cup competitions: the State Cup and the Toto Cup.
State Cup
The
Toto Cup
The
Title Holders
Legend |
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Won all 3 titles in the same year |
Won 2 titles in the same year |
Qualification for European competitions
Clubs who do well in either the Premier League or State Cup qualify to compete in various UEFA-organised Europe-wide competitions in the following season (as well as continuing to play in domestic competitions). The number of Israeli clubs playing in Europe in any one season can range from four to six, depending on the qualification scenarios. Currently, Israel is awarded the following places in European competitions:
Competition | Who qualifies | Notes |
---|---|---|
UEFA Champions League | Premier League champions | |
UEFA Europa League | State Cup winners | If one of the top 3 teams in the Premier League also wins the State Cup, the fourth-placed team will be granted a Conference League spot. |
UEFA Europa Conference League
|
Clubs finishing second or third in the Premier League | If the second or third-placed club has already qualified for the Conference League through the State Cup, then the fourth-placed club of the Premier League get a Conference League spot. |
Any Israeli club that wins the UEFA Europa Conference League and has not already qualified for the Champions League or Europa League or Conference League | By the UEFA Europa Conference League regulations (Regulation 1.07), this club's entry into the UEFA Europa Conference League will not be at the expense of any other entries to which its national federation is entitled |
In addition, once in a European competition, it becomes possible to qualify for others:
- All the losers of the UEFA Champions League Preliminary Round and First qualifying round go forward to the UEFA Europa League Second qualifying round
- All the losers of the UEFA Champions League Second qualifying round go forward to the UEFA Europa League Third qualifying round
- All the losers of the UEFA Champions League Third qualifying round go forward to the UEFA Europa League Play-off round
- All the losers of the UEFA Champions League Play-off round go forward to the UEFA Europa League Group stage.
- Any clubs playing in the UEFA Champions League that will finish third in the group stage will go into the UEFA Europa League round of 32
Israel national team
Israel hosted and won the 1964 AFC Asian Cup. Israel qualified for the World Cup in 1970 which was held in Mexico. Mordechai Spiegler scored in a 1–1 draw against Sweden. Israel's Olympic football team qualified for the 1968 Summer Olympics and the 1976 Summer Olympics both times reaching the quarter-finals.
Israel's highest
Famous matches of the Israeli football team include the 1-2 and 0-1 defeat against Iran respectively in
History
British Mandate
During the
In February 1928, the first ever Tel Aviv derby took place. Maccabi won 3–0 and thus the oldest rivalry in Israel was born.
During the 1920s, and before the IFA was established, two cup competitions were held, one which acted as an unofficial national cup, which was dominated by British military teams, and one named Magen Shimshon, which was open to Maccabi clubs. In 1928 the People's Cup began. This cup would later be known as Palestine Cup and, after the Israeli Declaration of Independence, the Israel State Cup. In the first final, played in Tel Aviv two Jewish clubs, Hapoel Tel Aviv met Maccabi Hasmonean Jerusalem and won by a score of 2–0, but the cup was shared since Maccabi appealed to the newly formed IFA that Hapoel had fielded an ineligible player.
Nine teams started the first league in 1932. The first winner of the league was the British Police, who, under the guidance of Police Chief Speiser, were the best-organised club in the country; Speiser would later serve as the first chairman of the football association. The league was held inconsistently, and only 10 titles were won between 1932 and 1947, all of which, beside the first title, were one by either Maccabi Tel Aviv (4 titles) or Hapoel Tel Aviv (5 titles).
During the British Mandate period, the IFA representative team competed under the title of Eretz Israel/Palestine, operating as a virtually all-Jewish combination. The first international match was a qualifying match for the 1934 World Cup against Egypt in Cairo, which resulted in a 7–1 defeat. The second leg played in Tel Aviv, resulted in a 4–1 defeat and an 11–2 aggregate loss. Earlier, in 1931, a mixed team of Palestinians, Jews, and British police played an international match in Egypt.
During this period Jewish teams took international tours in order to promote both football in Mandatory Palestine and the Zionist cause. Such tours include
Post independence
Just four months after Israel gained independence, the
In 1967,
The 1970s and early 1980 were dominated by
Successful
The 2000s (decade) was dominated by
Israeli teams have also qualified for the
After 2018, when Willi Ruttensteiner was appointed as technical director of the national team, a national football academy was founded, and three supporting development centers were established. As well the training of the coaches was strengthened.[12]
See also
References
- ^ Gross, Tom. "Tom Gross on Soccer & Israel on National Review Online". Old.nationalreview.com. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
- ^ "FIFA asks Israel to assist Palestinian soccer - CBC Sports - Soccer". Cbc.ca. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
- ^ "Israeli soccer club fans say no to Muslim players". Alarabiya.net. 28 January 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
- ^ Greenberg, Joel (11 February 2013). "Soccer racism raises concern in Israel - Washington Post". Articles.washingtonpost.com. Archived from the original on 25 February 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
- ^ Ackerman, Gwen (9 September 2013). "Israel-Based Football Website Is Turning Fans' Love of the Game Into a New Media Business". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
- ^ "How German football is embracing Israel - CNN.com". Edition.cnn.com. 13 June 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
- ^ "Football in Israel, the not-so-beautiful game | The Jewish Chronicle". Thejc.com. 28 August 2008. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
- ^ "When Saturday Comes - Israel". Wsc.co.uk. 9 July 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
- ^ "When Saturday Comes - Anti-Arab league". Wsc.co.uk. 9 July 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
- ^ "The Establishment of "Hapoel" - Hapoel Sport Association". www.hapoel.org.il. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
- ^ von Mittelstaedt, Juliane (19 September 2012). "Israeli Soccer Champion Sparks Urban Revival". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
- ^ "Willi Ruttensteiner is no longer team boss of Israel". Der Standard (in German). 7 February 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2022.