| Football in Israel | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Teddy Stadium, home ofIsrael national football team and two Israeli clubs | |
| Country | Israel |
| Governing body | Israel Football Association |
| National team | 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) | |
Football (Hebrew:כַּדוּרֶגֶל,Kaduregel,lit. 'legball'), also known as soccer, is the most popularsport in Israel.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Approximately 55% of the people in Israel are considered association football fans.[8] Football as an organised sport, first developed in theUnited Kingdom, who controlledMandatory Palestine during the days of theBritish Mandate.
TheIsrael Football Association joined theAsian Football Confederation in 1954, but was expelled in 1974 due to political pressure from Arab and Muslim members in the context of theArab–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 inFIFA competitions occasionally inOFC,UEFA andCONMEBOL qualifying tournaments. Finally, it was admitted toUEFA 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.
TheIsrael 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.[9][10]
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.
The current structure of the Israeli league system is this:
In Israel, there are two major cup competitions: theState Cup and theToto Cup.
TheState Cup (Hebrew:גביע המדינה,Gvia HaMedina) is the Israeli equivalent of the EnglishFA Cup, and is open to all Israeli clubs, with clubs at the higher levels entering in the later rounds. It is a straightforward knock-out cup. The winner qualifies for theUEFA Europa Conference League.
TheToto Cup (Hebrew:גביע הטוטו,Gvia HaToto) is the Israeli equivalent of the EnglishLeague Cup, the main difference being that there is a separate cup for the top and second divisions. The cup is played first in a group stage, with the highest placed teams qualifying for the knock-out stages. The winner does not qualify for theUEFA Europa Conference League.
| Legend |
|---|
| Won all 3 titles in the same year |
| Won 2 titles in the same year |
Clubs who do well in either the Premier League or State Cup qualify to compete in variousUEFA-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:
Israel hosted and won the1964 AFC Asian Cup. Israel qualified for theWorld Cup in 1970 which was held in Mexico.Mordechai Spiegler scored in a 1–1 draw againstSweden. Israel's Olympic football team qualified for the1968 Summer Olympics and the1976 Summer Olympics both times reaching the quarter-finals.
Israel's highestFIFA ranking was 15th in November 2008.
Famous matches of the Israeli football team include the 1-2 and 0-1 defeat against Iran respectively in1968 AFC Asian Cup and1974 Asian Games, both held in Tehran when Israel and Iran were on friendly terms, the 3–2 win inFrance in the1994 World Cup qualification, which ended up disqualifying the French team from theWorld Cup in the United States, the defeat ofAustria 5–0 in 1999 duringEuro 2000 qualifications, and a 2–1 win overArgentina in a friendly match in 1998, a game played inTeddy Stadium inJerusalem.
During theBritish Mandate for Palestine, organised football consisted mainly of British and Jewish clubs, although Arab clubs also existed and took part inIFA competitions. As early as 1906,Maccabi Tel Aviv was formed as a social club, followed by a string of Maccabi clubs in other cities and towns, such asJerusalem,Petah Tikva,Haifa,Zikhron Ya'akov andHadera. On 24 April 1924,Hapoel Haifa was formed.[11] Shortly after formation, they joined the WorldMaccabi Organization. The first membership cards read "Club Hapoel Sport, Cultural OrganizationHaifa" (A member of the World Maccabi Organization). Later, during a meeting of Hapoel labourers inAfula, it was decided to break off from the World Maccabi Organization and create theHapoel (Labor) Organization, followed by Hapoel teams fromTel Aviv,Jerusalem,Herzliya and other cities and towns. Later, during the 1930s and the 1940s other sport organisations were formed, such asBeitar (founded by the right-wing revisionist party), Elitzur (formed by the religiousHapoel HaMizrachi party) and the short lived Hakoah 09 (formed by former members ofHakoah Vienna).
In February 1928, the first everTel 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 thePeople's Cup began. This cup would later be known as Palestine Cup and, after theIsraeli Declaration of Independence, the Israel State Cup. In thefirst final, played inTel Aviv two Jewish clubs,Hapoel Tel Aviv metMaccabi 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 theBritish 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 eitherMaccabi Tel Aviv (4 titles) orHapoel Tel Aviv (5 titles).
During the British Mandate period, theIFA representative team competed under the title of Eretz Israel/Palestine, operating as a virtually all-Jewish combination. The first international match was aqualifying match for the1934 World Cup againstEgypt in Cairo, which resulted in a 7–1 defeat. The second leg played inTel 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 includeMaccabi Haifa tour of the United States in 1927, Maccabi Eretz Israel tour ofAustralia in 1939 andHapoel Tel Aviv tour of the US in 1947. In return, many internationally famed clubs visited Mandatory Palestine and played Jewish and British clubs. Among these clubs areHakoah Vienna,MTK Budapest andHajduk Split.
Just four months after Israel gained independence, theIsraeli national team travelled toNew York City to play theirAmerican counterparts in a friendly at thePolo Grounds. Over 40,000 spectators witnessed the newly formed Israeli side lose to the Americans 3–1.Shmuel Ben Dror went down in history as the first goal scorer in the history of the Israeli national team.
In 1967,Hapoel Tel Aviv became the first club to win theAsian Club Championships. In the2001–02 UEFA Cup Hapoel reached the quarter-finals after knocking outChelsea,Lokomotiv Moscow andParma.
The 1970s and early 1980 were dominated byMaccabi Tel Aviv,Hapoel Tel Aviv andMaccabi Netanya. During the mid-1980s under the guidance of coachShlomo ScharfMaccabi Haifa F.C. rose to power, winning its first two championship titles. In 1992, when Israel rejoinedUEFA, Maccabi Haifa was bought by businessmanYa'akov Shahar who lead European standards of high quality management in the Israeli club. This move paved the way for private ownerships of football clubs inIsrael.
SuccessfulIsraeli players who also played outside Israel includeEli Ohana,Mordechai Spiegler,Giora Spiegel,Ronny Rosenthal,Avi Cohen,Eyal Berkovich,Haim Revivo,Dudu Aouate,Yossi Benayoun,Tal Ben Haim,Elyaniv Barda andBiram Kayal.
The 2000s (decade) was dominated byMaccabi Haifa F.C. who won seven out of 11 possible championship titles, and also recorded good results in European tournaments such as theUEFA Champions League andUEFA Cup.
Israeli teams have also qualified for theUEFA Champions League group stage six times:Maccabi Haifa in the2002–03,2009–10 and2022-23 seasons;Maccabi Tel Aviv in the2004–05 and2015-16 seasons; andHapoel Tel Aviv in the2010–11 season.[12]
After 2018, whenWilli Ruttensteiner was appointed as technical director ofthe national team, a national football academy was founded, and three supporting development centers were established. As well the training of the coaches was strengthened.[13]
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