Hapoel Nof HaGalil F.C.

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Hapoel Nof HaGalil
הפועל נוף הגליל סמל.jpg
Full nameHapoel Nof HaGalil Football Club
Founded1958; 63 years ago (1958)
GroundGreen Stadium, Nof HaGalil
Capacity5,200
OwnerNof HaGalil Municipality
ChairmanRoni Likwernik
ManagerYaron Hochenboim
LeagueIsraeli Premier League
2020–21Liga Leumit, 1st (promoted)
WebsiteClub website

Hapoel Nof HaGalil Football Club (Hebrew: מועדון כדורגל הפועל נוף הגליל, romanized: Moadon Kaduregel Hapoel Nof HaGalil, Arabic: هبوعيل نوف هچليل) is an Israeli football club based in the city of Nof HaGalil, which was known by the name "Nazareth Illit" until 2019 and the club accordingly as Hapoel Nazareth Illit F.C.. The club currently plays in Israeli Premier League.

History[]

The club was founded in 1962 as Hapoel Kiryat Nazareth and competed in Liga Gimel for several seasons, before promoting to Liga Bet at the end of the . The club changed its name in 1973 after Kiryat Nazareth gained city status and was renamed Nazareth Illit.

The club won 1975–76 Liga Bet, but, due to the league system restructuring, the club remained in the league system's third tier, which became Liga Alef. In 1978–79 the club won Liga Alef North division and was promoted to Liga Artzit, then the second tier. In 1983–84 they finished second from bottom, and were relegated to Liga Alef. Two seasons later the club finished second from bottom in Liga Alef and dropped to Liga Bet.

In 1998–99 the club finished as runners-up in Liga Alef North, and was promoted back to Liga Artzit, which was now the third tier following the formation of the Israeli Premier League in 1999. After narrowly avoiding relegation in 2000–01 when they finished one place above the relegation zone, the club finished as runners-up the following season, and were promoted back to the second tier. In 2003–04 they finished as runners-up (on goal difference), and were promoted to the top division for the first time in their history.

In their first season in the Premier League the club finished fifth. Home matches were initially played at Maccabi Ahi Nazareth's Ilut Stadium, whilst their home ground had floodlights installed. They returned home in February 2005. However, the following season, 2005–06, they finished second from bottom (on goal difference), and returned to Liga Leumit. In 2007–08 they finished bottom of Liga Leumit, and were relegated to Liga Artzit.

Despite only finishing seventh in Liga Artzit in 2008–09, F.C. Nazareth Illit were promoted back to Liga Leumit as restructuring meant the top seven clubs were automatically promoted. Since then, Nazareth Illit hasn't been relegated for 3 consecutive seasons, finishing seventh in 2009–10, 11th in 2010–11 and twelfth in 2011–12.

In the 2012–13 season the club signed several new players, including Ibrahim Basit, Eran Malchin and Moti Malka; they finished second in the league, but lost 3–1 at home in a crucial match against Hapoel Ra'anana in the play-offs,[1] with Ra'anana eventually promoted to the Israeli Premier League, whilst Nazareth Illit finished third and remained in Liga Leumit. In 2018–19 the club finished the regular season at the top of the table, but a collapse during the playoff phase, with the club collecting just 7 points out of 21, led the club to finish in third place and miss out on promotion.

On 4 July 2019, after the name of Nazareth Illit was changed to Nof HaGalil, the club changed its name to Hapoel Nof HaGalil[2]

Current squad[]

As of 31 August 2021.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK New Zealand NZL Stefan Marinovic
2 DF Israel ISR Viki Kahlon
4 DF Brazil BRA Guti
5 DF Israel ISR Jenia Berkman
6 MF Israel ISR Solomon Daniel
7 FW Israel ISR Oded Checkol (on loan from Maccabi Haifa)
8 MF Israel ISR Elad Shahaf
9 FW Israel ISR Stav Nahmani (on loan from Maccabi Haifa)
10 FW Jamaica JAM Kevaughn Frater
11 FW Uganda UGA Luwagga Kizito
13 DF Israel ISR Lavi Shukrun
14 FW Israel ISR Waheb Habiballah
15 DF Israel ISR Eli Balilty
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 MF Brazil BRA Pedro Sass
18 DF Israel ISR Reuven Gal
19 MF Israel ISR Bar Cohen
20 DF Israel ISR Dolev Azulay
21 DF Israel ISR Yarin Peretz
23 DF Israel ISR Itay Arazi
25 MF Israel ISR Rian Agwad
27 MF Israel ISR Timothy Muzie
29 DF Israel ISR Tom Skolvin (on loan from Maccabi Haifa)
44 DF Ghana GHA David Acquah (on loan from Maccabi Haifa)
55 MF Israel ISR Roei Shukrani
95 GK Israel ISR Matan Ambar
— MF Israel ISR Yaniv Segev

Honours[]

League[]

Cups[]

References[]

  1. ^ Three on top: 3–1 for Ra'anana over Nazareth Illit Best Ball, 26.4.2013 (in Hebrew)
  2. ^ הפועל נצרת עילית שינתה את שמה להפועל נוף הגליל David Ben Shimol, 4 July 2019, Ynet (in Hebrew)
  3. ^ a b http://jpress.org.il/Olive/APA/NLI_heb/SharedView.Article.aspx?href=MAR%2F1986%2F12%2F28&id=Ar04110&sk=067BC224 A Victory to Nazareth Illit over Bnei Nazareth in the City Derby] Ma'ariv, 28 December 1986, Historical Jewish Press (in Hebrew)

External links[]

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