 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "2003–04 Israeli Premier League" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(September 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Season | 2003–04 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Maccabi Haifa 8th title |
| Relegated | Maccabi Ahi Nazareth Maccabi Netanya |
| Top goalscorer | Shay Holtzman /Ofir Haim (16 goals) |
2004–05 → | |
The2003–04 Israeli Premier League season was held between 13 September 2003 and 22 May 2004, continuing a continuation of the top division football competition that started in 1931 and continues to the present day (as at 2025).[1] In the 2003-04 season there were twoIsraeli Arab clubs in the top division for the first time; beingMaccabi Ahi Nazareth andBnei Sakhnin.[2]
Maccabi Haifa won the title, whilst Nazareth andMaccabi Netanya were relegated. Bnei Sakhnin (who qualified for Europe by winning theState Cup) became the first Arab club to spend more than a single season in the top flight.
Twelve teams took part in the 2003–04 Israeli Premier League season, including ten teams from the2002-03 season, as well as two teams which were promoted from the2002-03 Liga Leumit.[2]
Maccabi Ahi Nazareth were promoted as champions of the2002-03 Liga Leumit.Bnei Sakhnin were promoted as runners up. Both made their debut in the top flight.
Hapoel Kfar Saba andIroni Rishon LeZion were relegated after finishing in the bottom two places in the2002-03 season.
^^ The club played their home games at a neutral venue because their own ground did not meet Premier League requirements.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maccabi Haifa(C) | 33 | 19 | 6 | 8 | 54 | 25 | +29 | 63 | Qualification for theChampions League third qualifying round |
| 2 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 33 | 16 | 9 | 8 | 35 | 22 | +13 | 57 | Qualification for theChampions League second qualifying round |
| 3 | Maccabi Petah Tikva | 33 | 16 | 8 | 9 | 49 | 35 | +14 | 56 | Qualification for theUEFA Cup second qualifying round |
| 4 | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 33 | 16 | 7 | 10 | 48 | 36 | +12 | 55 | Qualification for theIntertoto Cup first round |
| 5 | Hapoel Tel Aviv | 33 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 48 | 37 | +11 | 49 | |
| 6 | Bnei Yehuda | 33 | 12 | 9 | 12 | 34 | 42 | −8 | 45 | |
| 7 | F.C. Ashdod | 33 | 11 | 9 | 13 | 47 | 49 | −2 | 42 | |
| 8 | Hapoel Petah Tikva | 33 | 11 | 9 | 13 | 46 | 52 | −6 | 42 | |
| 9 | Beitar Jerusalem | 33 | 10 | 9 | 14 | 32 | 42 | −10 | 39 | |
| 10 | Bnei Sakhnin | 33 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 31 | 38 | −7 | 35 | Qualification for theUEFA Cup second qualifying round |
| 11 | Maccabi Netanya(R) | 33 | 8 | 7 | 18 | 28 | 52 | −24 | 31 | Relegated toLiga Leumit |
| 12 | Maccabi Ahi Nazareth[a](R) | 33 | 8 | 6 | 19 | 40 | 62 | −22 | 27 |
| Home \ Away | BEI | BnS | BnY | ASH | HBS | HPT | HTA | MAN | MHA | MNE | MPT | MTA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beitar Jerusalem | — | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 |
| Bnei Sakhnin | 0–2 | — | 2–3 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 |
| Bnei Yehuda | 1–1 | 0–1 | — | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| F.C. Ashdod | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | — | 1–2 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 3–5 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 0–2 |
| Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | — | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 |
| Hapoel Petah Tikva | 3–3 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | — | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Hapoel Tel Aviv | 4–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | — | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 |
| Maccabi Ahi Nazareth | 2–1 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–3 | 0–2 | — | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| Maccabi Haifa | 4–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 4–1 | — | 4–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 |
| Maccabi Netanya | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–3 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 4–3 | — | 3–0 | 0–1 |
| Maccabi Petah Tikva | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | — | 2–2 |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 0–2 | — |
| Home \ Away | BEI | BnS | BnY | ASH | HBS | HPT | HTA | MAN | MHA | MNE | MPT | MTA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beitar Jerusalem | — | — | — | 0–3 | — | 1–0 | 3–2 | — | 0–1 | — | 2–4 | — |
| Bnei Sakhnin | 0–0 | — | 1–1 | — | 0–1 | — | — | — | — | 0–1 | — | 0–0 |
| Bnei Yehuda | 2–0 | — | — | — | 1–6 | — | — | 0–2 | — | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| F.C. Ashdod | — | 4–1 | 3–0 | — | 1–1 | — | — | — | — | 2–1 | — | 1–1 |
| Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 0–1 | — | — | — | — | 0–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | — | 2–1 | 1–3 | — |
| Hapoel Petah Tikva | — | 1–3 | 1–2 | 0–3 | — | — | 2–2 | 4–1 | 0–2 | — | — | — |
| Hapoel Tel Aviv | — | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | — | — | — | 3–2 | 1–0 | — | — | 0–1 |
| Maccabi Ahi Nazareth | 0–0 | 1–0 | — | 3–0 | — | — | — | — | — | 2–2 | 2–3 | — |
| Maccabi Haifa | — | 4–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | — | — | 3–1 | — | — | — | 0–1 |
| Maccabi Netanya | 1–1 | — | — | — | — | 1–3 | 2–0 | — | 1–0 | — | 0–3 | — |
| Maccabi Petah Tikva | — | 2–1 | — | 2–2 | — | 2–1 | 2–1 | — | 0–1 | — | — | — |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | 1–0 | — | — | — | 1–0 | 3–0 | — | 1–1 | — | 2–0 | 0–0 | — |
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Shay Holtzman | F.C. Ashdod | 16 |
| Ofir Haim | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 16 | |
| 3 | Assi Tubi | Maccabi Ahi Nazareth | 13 |
| Manor Hassan | Hapoel Petah Tikva | 13 | |
| Omer Golan | Maccabi Petah Tikva | 13 | |
| 6 |  Tomislav Erceg | Hapoel Petah Tikva | 12 |
| 7 | Mate Baturina | Bnei Yehuda | 11 |
 Ibezito Ogbonna | Hapoel Tel Aviv | 11 | |
| 9 | Lior Asulin | Bnei Sakhnin | 10 |
 Gustavo Boccoli | Maccabi Ahi Nazareth | 10 |
.jpg)