Israeli Premier League

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Israeli Premier League
Israeli Premier League.png
Organising bodyIsrael Football Association
Founded1999; 23 years ago (1999)
CountryIsrael
ConfederationUEFA
Number of teams14 (since 2013–14)
Level on pyramid1
Relegation toLiga Leumit
Domestic cup(s)Israel State Cup
Toto Cup (Al)
Israel Super Cup
International cup(s)UEFA Champions League
UEFA Europa Conference League
Current championsMaccabi Haifa
(13th title)
(2020–21)
Most championshipsMaccabi Tel Aviv
(23 titles)
TV partnersCharlton Sport, Sport5.co.il
Websitefootball.co.il
Current: 2021–22 Israeli Premier League

The Israeli Premier League (Hebrew: ליגת העל, Ligat Ha`Al, lit. The Supreme League), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested by 14 clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with its second division Liga Leumit. Seasons run from August to May, with teams playing between 33 and 36 matches each, totalling 240 matches in every season.

The competition formed in 1999 following the decision of the Israel Football Association to form a new league. It is also ranked 21st in the UEFA coefficients of leagues based on performances in European competitions over the last five years.[1]

Since 1932, a total of 15 clubs have been crowned champions of the Israeli Football League. Of the twenty-nine clubs to have competed since the inception of the Israeli Premier League in 1999, six have won the title: Beitar Jerusalem (twice), Hapoel Be'er Sheva (three times), Hapoel Tel Aviv (twice), Maccabi Haifa (seven times), Maccabi Tel Aviv (six times), and Ironi Kiryat Shmona (once). The current champions are Maccabi Haifa, who won the 2020–21 season.

Background[]

The Israeli Premier League was founded in 1999 to replace its predecessor Liga Leumit (which became the second division) when the Israel Football Association decided to reshuffle all the leagues in hopes of improving competition. In its first season there were 14 clubs; the top thirteen clubs from the 1998–99 season and the top place club from the Liga Artzit (then, the third division). That season three clubs were relegated and one from Liga Leumit was promoted.

Competition[]

There are 14 clubs in the league. At the end of each season, the two lowest-placed teams are relegated to Liga Leumit while two highest-placed teams of Liga Leumit are promoted in their place. For the 2012–13 season the league was decreased from 16 to 14 clubs as a result of reforms passed by the IFA on 27 June 2011.[2]

The participating clubs first play a conventional round-robin schedule for a total of 26 matches.

Following this, the top six teams play in a championship playoff, where they meet each other twice. Upon its conclusion, the first place team wins the Israeli championship and qualifies to participate in the first qualifying round of the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League. The runners-up and the third-placed teams qualify for the second qualifying round of the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League.

In addition, the Israeli State Cup winners qualify for the second qualifying round of the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League.

If the State Cup winners are also one of the teams to finish in the league's top three places then the fourth-placed team will also play in Europa League. In case the State Cup winners also win the Israeli Premier League then the fourth-placed league team will play in second qualifying round of the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League.

In addition, the bottom eight teams will play each other once to avoid two relegation spots.

Clubs[]

A total of 29 clubs have played in the Israeli Premier League from its inception in 1999 and the start of the 2020–21 season. For a list of winners and runners-up of the Israeli Premier League since its inception, and top scorers for each season, see List of Israeli football champions.

Three clubs have been members of the Israeli Premier League for every season since its inception. This group is composed of Beitar Jerusalem, Maccabi Haifa, and Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Members of the 2021–22 season[]

Israeli Premier League is located in Israel
F.C. Ashdod
F.C. Ashdod
Hapoel Hadera
Hapoel Hadera
Hapoel Haifa Maccabi Haifa
Hapoel Haifa
Maccabi Haifa
Hapoel Jerusalem Beitar Jerusalem
Hapoel Jerusalem
Beitar Jerusalem
Ironi Kiryat Shmona
Ironi Kiryat Shmona
Maccabi Netanya
Maccabi Netanya
Maccabi Petah Tikva
Maccabi Petah Tikva
Bnei Sakhnin
Bnei Sakhnin
Hapoel Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv
Hapoel Tel Aviv
Maccabi Tel Aviv
Locations of the 2021–22 Israeli Premier League teams

The following 14 clubs will compete in the Israeli Premier League during the 2021–22 season.

Club
Position
in 2020–21
First season in
the Israeli Premier League
Number of seasons
in the Israeli Premier League
First season of
current spell in
Israeli Premier League
Top division
titles
Last top division title
Beitar Jerusalem[a][b] 10th 1999–2000 22 1999–2000 6 2007–08
Bnei Sakhnin 12th 2009–10 16 2020–21 0 Never
Hapoel Nof HaGalil 1st Liga Leumit 2004-05 3 2021-22 0 Never
F.C. Ashdod 3rd 2009–10 21 2013–14 0 Never
Hapoel Be'er Sheva 4th 2001–02 16 2009–10 5 2017–18
Hapoel Haifa[b] 9th 1999–2000 16 2009–10 1 1998–99
Hapoel Hadera 8th 2018–19 4 2018–19 0 Never
Hapoel Jerusalem[b] 2nd Liga Leumit 1999–2000 2 2021-22 0 Never
Ironi Kiryat Shmona 6th 2003–04 13 2007–08 1 2011–12
Hapoel Tel Aviv[b] 11th 1999–2000 21 2018–19 14 2009–10
Maccabi Haifa[a][b] 1st 1999–2000 22 1999–2000 13 2020-21
Maccabi Netanya 7th 2003–04 20 2017–18 5 1982–83
Maccabi Petah Tikva[b] 5th 1999–2000 20 2020–21 0 Never
Maccabi Tel Aviv[a][b] 2nd 1999–2000 22 1999–2000 23 2019–20
  1. ^ a b c Never been relegated from the Israeli Premier League
  2. ^ a b c d e f g One of the original Israeli Premier League teams

Sponsorship[]

In recent years, the league has been sponsored. The sponsor has been able to determine the league's sponsorship name. The list below details who the sponsors have been and what they called the competition:

  • 1999–2002: Pelephone – a mobile phone company (Ligat Pelephone)[3]
  • 2005–2010: Toto Winner Organization – the Israeli Sports Betting Board (Ligat Toto)
  • 2010–2016: Toto Winner Organization – the Israeli Sports Betting Board (Ligat Winner)[4]
  • 2016–2018: Toto Winner Organization – the Israeli Sports Betting Board (Ligat Ha'al)[5]
  • 2018–2019: Japanika – Asian restaurant (Ligat Japanika)[6]
  • 2019–present: Tel Aviv Stock Exchange – Stock Exchange (Ligat Habursa Leniyarot Erech)[7]

Number of foreigners[]

Teams are limited to six foreign players per team. Special circumstances such as Druze players from the Golan (no citizenship) or cases such as that of Toto Tamuz, do not count against the foreign player limit. In addition, players who play in the league for 6 consecutive years do not count against the foreign player limit. Also, Jewish players and players who are married to Israelis are exempt from these restrictions, as they are entitled to Israeli citizenship.

Broadcast Rights[]

Television[]

Israeli Premier League games are broadcast live on , Sport 1 HD, and Sport 2 channels, with the big match of the week which is reserved to be shown by Sport 5 and Channel 1 HD network television. There is also a league review show on Saturday nights at Sport 5 channel.

Abroad, rights to broadcasting in Hebrew are owned by The Israeli Network which broadcasts the matches in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Panama, Costa Rica and in Europe.

In the United Kingdom, William Hill broadcasts matches live with English commentary on their online television service, William Hill TV.

Radio[]

The rights of broadcasting on the radio belongs to Radio Tel Aviv since 2011, which broadcast alongside Radio Haifa, Radio Darom, Radio Galei Zahal and Radio Darom 101.5 in a show called Saturday of Football which also broadcasts live on ONE TV channel.

Internet[]

The big match of the week is shown on the Channel 1 website. Since 2010, games summaries are shown online by Ynet, ONE and Sport 5.

Cellular[]

Since 2012, ONE owns the broadcasting rights, which was previously owned by Sport 5.

Revenue[]

Main sources of revenue for the clubs:

  • Television
  • Ticket sales
  • Merchandise
  • Toto Winner – The Israeli Sports Betting Council
  • Sponsorship

UEFA league ranking[]

In European Leagues:

Source: UEFA Coefficients Graphs, 2022 UEFA Country Ranking
  • 19. -2 (17) Switzerland Swiss Super League (26.225)
  • 20. -2 (18) Greece Super League Greece (26.000)
  • 21 2 (23) Israel Israeli Premier League (24.375)
  • 22. 0 (22) Norway Eliteserien (21.000)
  • 23. -2 (21) Sweden Allsvenskan (20.500)


Champions[]

For the complete list read the main article.

Israeli Premier League (1999–present)[]

A stand full of football supporters clad in yellow and blue, beside a pitch.
Maccabi Tel Aviv celebrating their league winners title at the end of the 2012–13 season

When the Israeli Premier League became the top division of Israeli football in 1999–2000, Liga Leumit became the second division. Since then, only six clubs have won the title; Hapoel Tel Aviv, Ironi Kiryat Shmona, Maccabi Haifa, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Beitar Jerusalem and Hapoel Be'er Sheva. Hapoel Tel Aviv, Maccabi Haifa, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Beitar Jerusalem are sometimes referred to as the "Big Four" of Israeli football.[8]

Having won seven titles in the league's 21 seasons, the most successful club during this period is Maccabi Haifa; during the same period Maccabi Tel Aviv have added six to their total while Beitar Jerusalem and Hapoel Tel Aviv have won two championships each. Although Hapoel Tel Aviv have only finished top of the league twice since 1999—in 1999–2000 and ten years later in 2009–10—they have won the double on both occasions.

This achievement was matched by Beitar Jerusalem in 2007–08. Ironi Kiryat Shmona won their first championship during the 2011–12 season, thereby becoming the first northern title-winners. Maccabi Tel Aviv then won three titles in a row, including a Treble in 2014–15.

Key
dagger Won the Israel State Cup during the same season.
double-dagger Won the League Cup during the same season.
§ Won both cups during the same season.
(titles) A running tally of the total number of championships won by each club is kept in brackets.
Season Winners (titles) Runners-up Third place Top scorer Goals Notes
1999–2000 Hapoel Tel Aviv (12)dagger[a] Maccabi Haifa Hapoel Petah Tikva Assi Tubi (Maccabi Petah Tikva) 27
2000–01 Maccabi Haifa (6) Hapoel Tel Aviv Hapoel Haifadouble-dagger[b] Avi Nimni (Maccabi Tel Aviv) 25 [11]
2001–02 Maccabi Haifa (7) Hapoel Tel Avivdouble-dagger[b] Maccabi Tel Avivdagger[a] Kobi Refua (Maccabi Petah Tikva) 18
2002–03 Maccabi Tel Aviv (18) Maccabi Haifadouble-dagger[b] Hapoel Tel Aviv Yaniv Abargil (Hapoel Kfar Saba)Shay Holtzman (Ironi Rishon LeZion / F.C. Ashdod) 18
2003–04 Maccabi Haifa (8) Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Petah Tikvadouble-dagger[b] Ofir Haim (Hapoel Be'er Sheva)Shay Holtzman (F.C. Ashdod) 16
2004–05 Maccabi Haifa (9) Maccabi Petah Tikva F.C. Ashdod Roberto Colautti (Maccabi Haifa) 19
2005–06 Maccabi Haifa (10)double-dagger[b] Hapoel Tel Aviv Beitar Jerusalem Shay Holtzman (F.C. Ashdod) 18
2006–07 Beitar Jerusalem (5) Maccabi Netanya Maccabi Tel Aviv Yaniv Azran (F.C. Ashdod) 15
2007–08 Beitar Jerusalem (6)dagger[a] Ironi Kiryat Shmona Samuel Yeboah (Hapoel Kfar Saba) 15
2008–09 Maccabi Haifa (11) Hapoel Tel Aviv Beitar Jerusalemdagger[a] Barak Yitzhaki (Beitar Jerusalem)Shimon Abuhatzira (Hapoel Petah Tikva)Eliran Atar (Bnei Yehuda) 14
2009–10 Hapoel Tel Aviv (13)dagger[a] Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Tel Aviv Shlomi Arbeitman (Maccabi Haifa) 28
2010–11 Maccabi Haifa (12) Hapoel Tel Aviv dagger[a] Toto Tamuz (Hapoel Tel Aviv) 21
2011–12 Ironi Kiryat Shmona (1)double-dagger[b] Hapoel Tel Aviv Bnei Yehuda Achmad Saba'a (Maccabi Netanya) 20
2012–13 Maccabi Tel Aviv (19) Maccabi Haifa Hapoel Tel Aviv Eliran Atar (Maccabi Tel Aviv) 22
2013–14 Maccabi Tel Aviv (20) Hapoel Be'er Sheva Ironi Kiryat Shmonadagger[a] Eran Zahavi (Maccabi Tel Aviv) 29
2014–15 Maccabi Tel Aviv (21)§[c] Ironi Kiryat Shmona Hapoel Be'er Sheva 27
2015–16 Hapoel Be'er Sheva (3) Maccabi Tel Aviv Beitar Jerusalem 35
2016–17 Hapoel Be'er Sheva (4) double-dagger[b] Viðar Örn Kjartansson (Maccabi Tel Aviv) 19
2017–18 Hapoel Be'er Sheva (5) Maccabi Tel Avivdouble-dagger[b] Dia Saba (Maccabi Netanya) 24
2018–19 Maccabi Tel Aviv (22)double-dagger[b] Maccabi Haifa Hapoel Be'er Sheva Ben Sahar (Hapoel Be'er Sheva) 15
2019–20 Maccabi Tel Aviv (23) Beitar Jerusalemdouble-dagger[b] Nikita Rukavytsya (Maccabi Haifa) 22
2020–21 Maccabi Haifa (13) Maccabi Tel Aviv§[c] Ashdod 19
  1. ^ a b c d e f g Won the Israel State Cup during the same season.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Won the League Cup during the same season.
  3. ^ a b Won both cups during the same season.

"Big Four" dominance[]

"Big Four" since the start of the Israeli Premier League[12]
Season BEI HTA MHA MTA
1999–2000 5 1 2 6
2000–01 5 2 1 4
2001–02 10 2 1 3
2002–03 9 3 2 1
2003–04 9 5 1 2
2004–05 4 9 1 8
2005–06 3 2 1 6
2006–07 1 4 5 3
2007–08 1 7 5 6
2008–09 3 2 1 6
2009–10 5 1 2 3
2010–11 11 2 1 3
2011–12 9 2 5 6
2012–13 10 3 2 1
2013–14 7 4 5 1
2014–15 4 8 5 1
2015–16 3 9 4 2
2016–17 3 14 6 2
2017–18 3 10 2
2018–19 7 8 2 1
2019–20 3 5 2 1
2020–21 10 11 1 2

Since the 2013–14 season, the Big Four's Dominance has been challenged by Hapoel Be'er Sheva, even winning 3 successive championships.

Top scorers by season[]

Season Player Goals Club
1999–2000 Israel Assi Tubi 27 Maccabi Petah Tikva
2000–01 Israel Avi Nimni 25 Maccabi Tel Aviv
2001–02 Israel Kobi Refua 18 Maccabi Petah Tikva
2002–03 Israel Yaniv Abargil 18 Hapoel Kfar Saba
Israel Shay Holtzman 18 Ironi Rishon LeZion / FC Ashdod
2003–04 Israel Ofir Haim 16 Hapoel Be'er Sheva
Israel Shay Holtzman 16 FC Ashdod
2004–05 Israel Roberto Colautti 19 Maccabi Haifa
2005–06 Israel Shay Holtzman 18 FC Ashdod
2006–07 Israel Yaniv Azran 15
2007–08 Ghana Samuel Yeboah 15 Hapoel Kfar Saba
2008–09 Israel Barak Yitzhaki 14 Beitar Jerusalem
Israel Shimon Abuhatzira 14 Hapoel Petah Tikva
Israel Eliran Atar 14 Bnei Yehuda
2009–10 Israel Shlomi Arbeitman 28 Maccabi Haifa
2010–11 Israel Toto Tamuz 21 Hapoel Tel Aviv
2011–12 Israel Ahmad Saba'a 20 Maccabi Netanya
2012–13 Israel Eliran Atar 22 Maccabi Tel Aviv
2013–14 Israel Eran Zahavi 29
2014–15 27
2015–16 35
2016–17 Iceland Viðar Örn Kjartansson 19
2017–18 Israel Dia Saba 24 Maccabi Netanya
2018–19 Israel Ben Sahar 15 Hapoel Be'er Sheva
2019–20 Australia Nikita Rukavytsya 22 Maccabi Haifa
2020–21 Australia Nikita Rukavytsya 19 Maccabi Haifa

All-time table[]

The All-time Israeli Premier League table is a cumulative record of all match results, points and goals of every team that has played in the Israeli Premier League since its inception in 1999. The table that follows is accurate as of the end of the 2020–21 season. Teams in green are part of the 2021–22 Israeli Premier League. Numbers in bold are the record (highest) numbers in each column.

Pos. Club S Pld W D L GF GFPG GA GAPG GD Pts R Avg. Pts
1 Maccabi Haifa 22 769 412 181 176 1279 1.663 732 0.952 547 1417 8 6 63.53
2 Maccabi Tel Aviv 22 772 412 188 172 1253 1.623 659 0.854 594 1416[nb 1] 6 5 4 64.36
3 Hapoel Tel Aviv 21 721 326 203 192 1035 1.436 734 1.018 301 1167[nb 2] 2 6 2 1 55.57
4 Beitar Jerusalem 22 760 311 205 244 1035 1.362 894 1.176 141 1129[nb 3] 2 6 51.32
5 Maccabi Petah Tikva 20 684 242 193 249 782 1.143 819 1.197 –37 916[nb 4] 1 1 2 45.8
6 Hapoel Be'er Sheva 16 556 249 144 163 809 1.455 643 1.156 166 891 3 1 2 1 55.69
7 Bnei Yehuda 20 688 233 186 269 780 1.134 868 1.262 –88 885 1 3 44.25
8 F.C. Ashdod 21 715 225 197 293 846 1.183 997 1.394 –151 872 2 1 41.52
9 Maccabi Netanya 19 650 227 178 245 814 1.252 867 1.334 –53 859 2 3 45.21
10 Hapoel Haifa 16 551 174 164 213 646 1.172 715 1.298 –69 686 1 3 42.88
11 Bnei Sakhnin 16 543 164 149 230 546 1.006 709 1.306 –163 639[nb 5] 1 39.94
12 Ironi Kiryat Shmona 13 447 167 124 156 545 1.219 509 1.139 36 625 1 1 2 1 48.08
13 Hapoel Petah Tikva 13 448 135 115 198 548 1.223 678 1.513 –130 508[nb 6] 1 3 39.08
14 Hapoel Kfar Saba 9 303 72 90 141 291 0.96 436 1.439 –145 303[nb 7] 5 48.2
15 Hapoel Ironi Acre 8 270 72 81 117 288 1.067 389 1.441 –101 295[nb 8] 2 36.88
16 Hapoel Ra'anana 8 269 66 81 122 251 0.933 367 1.364 –116 279 1 34.88
17 Hapoel Rishon LeZion 5 180 41 41 98 195 1.083 316 1.756 –121 164 2 32.8
18 Hapoel Hadera 3 102 35 25 42 116 1.137 135 1.324 –19 130 43.33
19 Hapoel Nir Ramat HaSharon 3 106 32 23 51 97 0.9 154 1.5 –57 119 1 39.67
20 Maccabi Herzliya 3 105 25 24 56 113 1.076 180 1.714 –67 99 2 33
21 Hapoel Ashkelon 3 101 20 25 56 80 0.792 159 1.574 –79 85 2 28.33
22 Hapoel Ramat Gan 3 103 19 29 55 95 0.922 161 1.563 –66 82[nb 9] 2 27.33
23 Hapoel Nof HaGalil 2 66 20 20 26 71 1.076 93 1.409 –22 80 1 40
24 Hakoah Amidar Ramat Gan 2 66 12 21 33 58 0.879 100 1.515 –42 57 2 28.5
25 Maccabi Ahi Nazareth 2 68 15 13 40 73 1.074 143 2.103 –70 55[nb 10] 2 27.5
26 Sektzia Nes Tziona 1 33 8 8 17 23 0.697 46 1.394 –23 32 1 32
27 Maccabi Kiryat Gat 1 33 7 6 20 34 1.03 58 1.758 –24 27 1 27
28 Hapoel Jerusalem 1 39 6 6 27 33 0.846 82 2.103 –49 24 1 24
29 Hapoel Tzafririm Holon 1 38 4 4 30 25 0.658 85 2.237 –60 16 1 16
Total 22 5,039 3,731 2724
[nb 11]
3,731 12,761 2.532 13,857
[nb 12]
22 45 629.86
League or status at 2021–22:
Ligat HaAl
Liga Leumit
Liga Alef
Liga Bet
Liga Gimel
Clubs that no longer exist

Notes[]

  1. ^ Maccabi Tel Aviv were deducted 7 points and had 0-0 tie without points
  2. ^ Hapoel Tel Aviv were deducted 13 points and had 0-0 tie without points
  3. ^ Beitar Jerusalem were deducted 9 points
  4. ^ Maccabi Petah Tikva were deducted 3 points
  5. ^ Bnei Sakhnin were deducted 2 points
  6. ^ Hapoel Petah Tikva were deducted 12 points
  7. ^ Hapoel Kfar Saba were deducted 3 points
  8. ^ Hapoel Ironi Acre were deducted 2 points
  9. ^ Hapoel Ramat Gan were deducted 4 points
  10. ^ Maccabi Ahi Nazareth were deducted 3 points
  11. ^ 2724 games ended up with a draw, resulting up with 5,448 points
  12. ^ 58 points were deducted over the years

References[]

  1. ^ "UEFA Country Ranking 2021". kassiesa.net. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  2. ^ "This season will have no halving of points" (in Hebrew). . ONE. 27 June 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  3. ^ Daskal, Oriel (7 August 2013). "80 מיליון שקל על ליגת העל, לא הגזמנו?" [80 million shekel for the Premier League, haven't we exaggerated?]. Calcalist (in Hebrew).
  4. ^ "ליגת העל בכדורגל היא מהיום "ליגת ווינר"" [The Football Premier League is from now on "Winner League"]. Maariv (in Hebrew). 1 July 2010.
  5. ^ Blech, Dor (18 July 2016). "כך ייראה הסכם השיווק הבא של ליגת העל" [This is how the next sponsorship deal of the Premier League will look]. Haaretz (in Hebrew).
  6. ^ "ליגת העל תיקרא מעתה "ליגת ג'פניקה"" [The Premier League will be called "Japanika League" from now on]. ynet (in Hebrew). 23 August 2018.
  7. ^ Ben Shimol, David (28 May 2019). "שמה החדש של ליגת העל: ליגת הבורסה לניירות ערך" [The New Name of the Premier League: The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange League]. ynet (in Hebrew).
  8. ^ Sinai, Allon (2011-07-20). "Local Soccer: Season schedule released". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2011-08-06.
  9. ^ Bleicher, Yaniv (13 September 2009). "Israel 2000/01". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
  10. ^ Adar, Shaul (October 2010). "Walid objection". When Saturday Comes. Archived from the original on 4 November 2011. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
  11. ^ Maccabi Haifa's final match of the 2000–01 season, at home against Maccabi Tel Aviv, was abandoned after 82 minutes with Maccabi Haifa 3–2 ahead when supporters attempted to invade the pitch, resulting in a crush which injured 41 people. Maccabi Tel Aviv were awarded a 2–0 victory.[9][10]
  12. ^ "Israel Football Association". Archived from the original on 2012-07-23. Retrieved 2008-06-17.

External links[]

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