Ligat ha'Al
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ligat ha'Al | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Sport | Football |
| Founded | 1999 |
| No. of teams | 12 |
| Country |  Israel |
| Current champions | Maccabi Haifa |
- For Ligat ha'Al basketball, see Ligat Winner.
Ligat ha'Al (Hebrew: ליגת העל) (often referred to as the Israeli Premier League or Ligat Toto) is a league competition for Israeli Football clubs located at the top of the Israeli football league system, making it Israel's primary football competition.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
Ligat ha'Al (Premier League) comprises the top 12 football clubs in the Israeli football league system. It was created in 1999, when the Israel Football Association decided to reshuffle all the leagues in hopes to improve competition. The first season's 14 clubs were the top thirteen clubs from the 1998-99 season and the top place club from the Liga Artzit. That season bottom three clubs were relegated and the top finisher from the Liga Leumit was promoted. Over the years the league has changed names though the new names were simply commercial rebranding, including Ligat Pelephone and Ligat Toto.
[edit] Competition
There are 12 clubs in the league. During the course of a season each club plays the others three times and a total of 396 games in a league season. At the end of each season the two lowest placed teams are relegated into the Liga Leumit and the top two teams from the Leumit are promoted in their place.
The top team in the league qualifies for the early qualification stages of the UEFA Champions League, this means they must win a two-legged knockout tie in order to enter the group phase. The second and third placed teams (as well as the Israel State Cup winner) qualify for the early qualification stages of the UEFA Cup. If the State Cup champions finish in the top three of the league, the State Cup's UEFA Cup spot goes to the fourth placed team in the League.
[edit] Sponsorship
For the past couple of years, Ligat ha'Al 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:
- 2002–2004: Pelephone (Ligat Pelephone ליגת פלאפון)
- 2005–present: Toto Organization (Ligat Toto ליגת טוטו)
[edit] Worldwide reach
Currently, league matches are mostly followed by Israeli expatriates living abroad.
[edit] Number of foreigners
Teams are limited to five foreign players per team. Special circumstances such as Druze players from the Golan (no citizenship) or cases such as that of Toto Tammuz, do not count against the foreign player limit.
Ligat ha'Al was represented at the 2006 World Cup, with 3 players in the competition, all playing for the Republic of Ghana.
[edit] Television broadcasting rights
The rights to the league have been owned by Hot, Israel's cable provider who decided to broadcast the league for the first time on a Pay Per View basis. One big match a week is reserved to be shown by Israel 10 network television on Sunday nights. There is also a league review show on Saturday nights on Sport 5 channel.
Abroad, rights to broadcasting in Hebrew are owned by The Israeli Network which broadcasts the matches in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Panama, Costa Rica and Europe. Currently, no company has purchased the rights to broadcast matches abroad in any other language.
[edit] Revenue
Main sources of revenue for the clubs:
- Television
- Ticket sales
- Merchandise
- Toto - The Israel Sports Betting Board
- Sponsorship
[edit] History
The championship of Israel exists under various names since 1932 (before 1948 as League A).
[edit] 2006/07 League Table
The first game was moved one week later because of the northern teams request after the Israel-Lebanon conflict.
| Key to colors in league table |
| Ligat ha'Al Champion and Qualify for UEFA Champions League |
| Qualify for UEFA Cup |
| Qualify for UEFA Intertoto Cup |
| Relegated to Lower division at the end of season |
| Club name | Matches | Wins | Draws | Loses | Goals for | Goals against | Goals difference | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beitar Jerusalem | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 8 | +7 | 16 |
| 2 | Maccabi Netanya | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 7 | +3 | 12 |
| 3 | M.S Ashdod | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 8 | +2 | 12 |
| 4 | Hapoel Kfar Saba | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 10 | +4 | 11 |
| 5 | Hapoel Tel-Aviv | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 7 | +4 | 10 |
| 6 | Maccabi Tel-Aviv | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 8 | +3 | 10 |
| 7 | Maccabi Petach Tikva | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 10 |
| 8 | Bnei Yehuda | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 12 | -2 | 8 |
| 9 | Maccabi Haifa | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 10 | -2 | 8 |
| 10 | Hakoah Amidar/Ramat Gan | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 14 | -6 | 6 |
| 11 | Hapoel Petah Tikva | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 12 | -6 | 4 |
| 12 | Maccabi Herzliya | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 12 | -7 | 4 |
[edit] Champions
[edit] Before Israeli Independence
- 1932 :
British Police - 1934 : Hapoel Tel Aviv
- 1935 : Hapoel Tel Aviv
- 1936 : Maccabi Tel Aviv
- 1937 : Maccabi Tel Aviv
- 1940 : Hapoel Tel Aviv
- 1941 : Maccabi Tel Aviv
- 1943 : Hapoel Tel Aviv
- 1947 : Maccabi Tel Aviv
[edit] Israel Championship
|
|
|
[edit] Total Championships
| Club |
Number of Championships |
|---|---|
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | 18 |
| Hapoel Tel Aviv | 11 |
| Maccabi Haifa | 10 |
| Hapoel Petah Tikva | 6 |
| Maccabi Netanya | 5 |
| Beitar Jerusalem | 4 |
| Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 2 |
| Hakoah Maccabi Amidar/Ramat Gan | 2 |
| Hapoel Haifa | 1 |
| Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv | 1 |
| Hapoel Kfar Saba | 1 |
| Hapoel Ramat Gan | 1 |
| British Police | 1 |
