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Football (Hebrew: כדורגל‎, Kaduregel) is the most popular sport in Israel. Football as an organised sport first developed in the United Kingdom who controlled Israel during the days of the British Mandate.

[edit] The 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.

[edit] League system

Main article: Israeli football league system

The Israeli football league system has five levels and 15 different divisions, all run by the IFA. Promotion and relegation operates between each level, theoretically allowing clubs to progress from bottom to top within six seasons.

[edit] Structure

The structure of the Israeli league system is this:

Israeli Premier League: the top division operates at the national level and has 16 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 seven regional leagues (three in the north, four in the south)

[edit] Cups

In Israel, there are two major cup competitions: the State Cup and the Toto Cup

[edit] State Cup

The State Cup (Hebrew: גביע המדינה‎, Gvia HaMedina) is the Israeli equivalent of the English FA 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 final is played at the Ramat Gan Stadium and the winner qualifies for the UEFA Europa League.

[edit] Toto Cup

The Toto Cup (Hebrew: גביע הטוטו‎, Gvia HaToto) is the Israeli equivalent of a League Cup, the main difference being that there is a separate cup for each of the three national divisions. The cup is played first in a group stage, with the highest placed teams qualifying for the knock-out stages. Like the State Cup, the final is played at the National Stadium, though the winner does not qualify for the UEFA Europa League.

[edit] 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	Clubs finishing 2nd or 3rd or 4th in Premier League	If the third-placed club has already qualified for Europe through the State Cup, then the next-highest Premier League finishers get this place
	State Cup winners
	Any Israeli club that wins the UEFA Europa League and has not already qualified for the Champions League or UEFA Europa League	By the UEFA Europa League regulations (Regulation 1.07), this club's entry into the UEFA Europa 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 winners of the Champions League Third Qualifying Round go forward to the Champions League
All the losers of the Champions League Third Qualifying Round go forward to the UEFA Europa League
All the winners of the UEFA Europa League Second Qualifying Round go forward to the UEFA Europa League
Any clubs playing in the Champions League that finish third in the group stage go into the UEFA Europa League Third Round

[edit] Israel national team

Main article: Israel national football team

Israel at the 1970 World Cup

The Israel national football team played their very first international football match in Cairo, against Egypt in 1934 as Palestine/Eretz Yisrael. Their greatest triumph to date was qualifying for the World Cup in 1970. Otherwise, one can mention the 3-2 win in France in the 1994 world championship qualifying games, which ended up disqualifying the French team from the championship in the United States. Another remembered moment was the defeat of Austria 5-0 in the late 1990's.

[edit] History

[edit] British Mandate

During the British Mandate of Palestine, organized football consisted of British and Jewish clubs. As early as 1906, Maccabi Tel Aviv was formed as a social group. On 24 April 1924, history was made when Hapoel Haifa was formed. Shortly after formation, they joined the World Maccabi Organization. The first membership cards read "Club Hapoel Sport, Cultural Organization Haifa" (A member of the World Maccabi Organization). Later, during a meeting of Hapoel laborers in Afula, it was decided to break off from the World Maccabi Organization and create the Hapoel (Labor) Organization.

In February 1928, the first ever derby took place in the British Mandate between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Allenby Tel Aviv. Maccabi won 3-0 and was the start to the oldest rivalry that takes place today in modern-day Israel.

When a cup competition was formed, British teams dominated until 26 May 1928, when two Jewish clubs made it to the final in Jerusalem. Hapoel Allenby Tel Aviv beat Maccabi HaShmonai Jerusalem by a score of 2-0, but the cup was shared since Maccabi alleged to British officials that Hapoel had fielded an ineligible player.

Nine teams started the first league in 1932. The first winner of the league were 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.

During the British Mandate period, the international team competed under the title of Palestine, despite operating as a virtually all-Jewish organisation. The first international match was a qualifying match for the 1934 World Cup qualifier 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 Palestinian Jews and British played an international match.

One of the first big tours of the international team was to Australia on the eve of World War II. The team was composed of players from both Hapoel and Maccabi organizations. Three players eventually ended up staying in Australia; two of those (Avraham Beit Halevi, and Menahem Marimovich) died while serving in the Australian army in attacks against the Japanese.

[edit] Post-independence

Just four months after Israel gained independence, the Israeli national team traveled to New York City to play their American counterparts in a friendly at the Polo Grounds. Over 40,000 spectators (mostly American Jews) 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.

[edit] Stadia

For more details on this topic, see List of Israeli football stadia by capacity.

[edit] External links

Israel Football Association

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