The Israeli football league system is a series of interconnected leagues for club football in Israel. The system has a hierarchical format with promotion and relegation between leagues at different levels, and allows even the smallest club to dream of rising to the very top of the system. There are five levels, containing a total of 15 divisions. It is run by the Israel Football Association (IFA).

Contents 1 Structure 2 League restructuring 3 About the Leagues 3.1 Premier League 3.1.1 Current Premier League clubs (2009–10) 3.2 Liga Leumit 3.2.1 Current Liga Leumit clubs (2009–10) 3.3 Liga Alef 3.4 Liga Bet 3.5 Liga Gimel 3.6 Football clubs in Israel 4 References

[edit] Structure

The top division of Israeli football is the Premier League. Liga Leumit is the second tier, These two divisions all operate at the national level.

Below Liga Leumit the divisions are split into regionalised leagues. Liga Alef is the third tier, and is split into north and south divisions. Liga Bet, the fourth tier, is divided into four regionalised leagues. Liga Gimel, the bottom division of Israeli football, is split into seven regionalised leagues, three in the north and four in the south.

[edit] League restructuring

On June 23, 2008 the IFA decided to reform the league structure.^[1] At the start of the 2009–10 season, the Premier League and Liga Leumit were expanded to 16 clubs and Liga Artzit was abolished.

In the Premier League, playoff games will be added. The teams will play each other once, with the points gained in the regular league being cut in half.

• The top six teams will go into the championship and UEFA Europa League playoffs. The top team will win the championship and a place in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers, and the second and third place will win a place in UEFA Europa League qualifiers.
• The four teams ranked between seventh and tenth will play ranking playoffs. The team ranked highest will receive the highest ranking grant. The second ranked team will receive the second highest grant etc.
• The last six teams will fight against relegation to Liga Leumit.

Level		League/Division(s)
1		Israeli Premier League 16 clubs
2		Liga Leumit 16 clubs
3		Liga Alef North 16 clubs						Liga Alef South 16 clubs
4		Liga Bet North A 16 clubs			Liga Bet North B 16 clubs			Liga Bet South A 16 clubs				Liga Bet South B 16 clubs
5		Liga Gimel North Upper Galilee 16 clubs		Liga Gimel North Jezreel 14 clubs		Liga Gimel North Shomron 13 clubs		Liga Gimel South Sharon 14 clubs		Liga Gimel South South 11 clubs		Liga Gimel South Tel Aviv 13 clubs		Liga Gimel South Central 12 clubs

[edit] About the Leagues

[edit] Premier League

The Israeli Premier League (Hebrew: ליגת העל‎, Ligat HaAl, lit. Super League), is the highest league in Israeli football and has 16 member clubs. Winning the Premier League is the top prize in Israeli football and guarantees a berth in the UEFA Champions League.

The league was created in 1999 as the IFA aimed to realign the leagues to improve competition. This is the first season the league will have sixteen clubs, two relegated teams will be replaced by two Liga Leumit teams, and one team from each of the top two divisions will compete in a play-off to determine which team will play the next season in the top division and which will be at the second tier.

[edit] Current Premier League clubs (2009–10)

• Beitar Jerusalem
• Bnei Yehuda
• Bnei Sakhnin
• F.C. Ashdod
• Hapoel Acre
• Hapoel Be'er Sheva
• Hapoel Haifa
• Hapoel Ramat Gan
• Hapoel Ra'anana
• Hapoel Petah Tikva
• Hapoel Tel Aviv
• Maccabi Ahi Nazareth
• Maccabi Haifa
• Maccabi Netanya
• Maccabi Petah Tikva
• Maccabi Tel Aviv

[edit] Liga Leumit

Liga Leumit (Hebrew: ליגה לאומית‎, lit. National League) is the second tier of Israeli football, a position it has held since 1999, having originally been the top division prior to the Premier League's creation. It has 16 member clubs, the top two teams are promoted to the Premier League while the third placed team will compete in a play-off round against the 14th placed team in the Premier League to determine which team will compete in the top division and which in the second tier, The bottom two teams are relegated to Liga Alef at the end of each season and the 14th placed team will face a team from Liga Alef in a play-off round to determine which will be at the second tier and which in the third tier.

[edit] Current Liga Leumit clubs (2009–10)

• Ahva Arraba
• Beitar Shimshon Tel Aviv
• Hakoah Amidar Ramat Gan
• Hapoel Ashkelon
• Hapoel Bnei Lod
• Hapoel Jerusalem
• Hapoel Kfar Saba
• Hapoel Marmorek
• Hapoel Nazareth Illit
• Ironi Bat Yam
• Ironi Kiryat Shmona
• Ironi Rishon LeZion
• Ironi Ramat HaSharon
• Maccabi Be'er Sheva
• Maccabi Herzliya
• Sektzia Nes Tziona

[edit] Liga Alef

Liga Alef (Hebrew: ליגה א'‎, lit. A League) is the third tier of Israeli football, a position it has held since 2009. Between 1999 and 2009 it was the fourth tier after Liga Artzit, Between 1974 and 1999 it was the third tier after Liga Artzit, and between 1949 and 1974 it was the second division. Liga Alef consists of two divisions and has 32 member clubs. The divisions are based on the clubs' geographical position in the country and are split into a north and south category. The top club from each division is promoted at the end of the season to Liga Leumit, one team will compete in promotion play-off against a club from the second tier and one team will compete in a relegtion play-off against a club from the fourth tier, the bottom two clubs (from each division) are relegated at the end of the season to Liga Bet.

[edit] Liga Bet

Liga Bet (Hebrew: ליגה ב'‎, lit. B League) is the fourth tier of Israeli football, a position it has held since 2009. Between 1999 and 2009 it was the fifth tier after Liga Alef, Between 1974 and 1999 it was the fourth tier after the creation of Liga Artzit, and between 1949 and 1974 it was the third division. Liga Bet consists of four divisions and has 64 member clubs. The divisions are based on the clubs geographical position in the country and are split into two north categories and two south categories. The top club from each division is promoted at the end of the season to the Liga Alef and the bottom two clubs (from each division) are relegated at the end of the season to Liga Gimel (if there are enough clubs coming up to replace them).

[edit] Liga Gimel

Liga Gimel (Hebrew: ליגה ג'‎, lit. C League) is the fifth and bottom tier of Israeli football, a position it has held since 2009. Between 1999 and 2009 it was the sixth tier after Liga Bet, Between 1974 and 1999 it was the fifth tier after the creation of Liga Artzit, and between 1949 and 1974 it was the fourth division. Liga Gimel consists of seven divisions of varying size, three in the north and four in the less-populated south. At the start of the 2009–10 season there are a total of 93 member clubs. If they meet criteria laid down by the IFA, the top club from each division is promoted at the end of the season to the Liga Bet. As it is the lowest division, no clubs are relegated.

[edit] Football clubs in Israel

For a full list of clubs see List of football clubs in Israel.

[edit] References

v • d • e Football in Israel Domestic leagues Premier League (2009–10) · Liga Leumit (2009–10) · Liga Alef · Liga Bet  · Liga Gimel · Noar Leumit (2009–10) Domestic cups State Cup (2008–09) · Toto Cup (2009–10 Al, 2009–10 Leumit) European competitions Champions League · Europa League National teams National Team (Records) · U-21 · U-19 Related to national team Dror Kashtan Lists and categories Clubs · Champions · Transfers · Foreign players · League System · Records · Venues (by capacity) Israel Football Association (IFA)