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. Israel will be hosting the UEFA U-21 Championship in 2013.
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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.
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.
The structure of the Israeli league system is this:
In Israel, there are two major cup competitions: the State Cup and the Toto 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.
The Toto Cup (Hebrew: גביע הטוטו, Gvia HaToto) is the Israeli equivalent of the English 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.
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 second or third in the Premier League | If the second or third-placed club has already qualified for Europa League through the State Cup or if the Premier League champions won the State Cup as well, then the fourth-placed club of the Premier League get a Europa League spot |
| 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:
Israel hosted and won the 1964 AFC Asian Cup. Israel qualified for the World Cup in 1970 which was held in Mexico. Mordechai Spiegler scored in a 1–1 draw against Sweden. Israel's olympic football team qualified for the 1968 Summer Olympics and the 1976 Summer Olympics both times reaching the quarter finals.
Israel's highest FIFA ranking was 15th in November 2008.
Famous matches of the Israeli football team include the 3–2 win in France in the 1994 World Cup qualification, which ended up disqualifying the French team from the World Cup in the United States, the defeat of Austria 5–0 in 1999 during Euro 2000 qualifications, and a 2–1 win over Argentina in a friendly match in 1998, a game played in Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem.
During the British Mandate for 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 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 Tel Aviv beat Maccabi Hasmonean 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.
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 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.
In 1967, Hapoel Tel Aviv became the first club to win the Asian Club Championships. In the 2001–02 UEFA Cup Hapoel reached the quarter-finals after knocking out Chelsea, Lokomotiv Moscow and Parma.
The 1970s and early 1980 were dominated by Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C., Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C. and Maccabi Netanya. During the mid-1980s under the guidance of coach Shlomo Scharf Maccabi Haifa F.C. rose to power, winning its first two championship titles. In 1992, when Israel rejoined UEFA, Maccabi Haifa was bought by businessman Ya'akov Shahar who lead European standards of high quality managenemt in the Israeli club. This move paved the way for private ownerships of football clubs in Israel.
Successful Israeli players who also played outside Israel include Eli Ohana, Mordechai Spiegler, Giora Spiegel, Ronny Rosenthal, Avi Cohen, Eyal Berkovich, Haim Revivo, Dudu Aouate, Yossi Benayoun, Tal Ben Haim, Elyaniv Barda and Biram Kayal.
The first decade of the 21st century was dominated by Maccabi Haifa F.C. who won 7 out of 11 possible chamionship titles, and also recored nice achievement in European tournament such as the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup.
Israeli teams were also qualified four time to the UEFA Champions League group stage, including Maccabi Haifa in the 2002–03 and 2009–10 seasons, Maccabi Tel Aviv in the 2004–05 season and Hapoel Tel Aviv in the 2010–11 season.
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