 The Israeli Premier League logo |
|
| Country | Israel |
|---|---|
| Confederation | UEFA (Europe) |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Number of teams | 14 |
| Levels on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | Liga Leumit |
| Domestic cup(s) | State Cup Toto Cup Al |
| International cup(s) | Champions League Europa League |
| Current champions | Maccabi Tel Aviv (2012–13) |
| Most championships | Maccabi Haifa (7 titles) |
| TV partners | Charlton Sport, Channel 1 |
| Website | football.org.il |
 2013–14 Israeli Premier League |
|
The Israeli Premier League (Hebrew: ליגת העל, Ligat HaAl, lit. Super League) is an Israeli professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Israeli football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 14 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Liga Leumit. Seasons run from August to May, with teams playing 32 matches each, totalling 224 matches in the season. Five games are played on Saturdays, with one game played on Sundays and one game on Mondays. It is sponsored by Toto Winner and therefore officially known as Ligat Winner (Hebrew: ליגת ווינר).[1]
The competition formed on 1999 following the decision of the Israeli Football Association to form a new league. It is also ranked nineteenth in the UEFA coefficients of leagues based on performances in European competitions over the last five years, ahead of the Belarusian Premier League and Poland's Ekstraklasa.[2]
Since 1923, a total of 14 clubs have been crowned champions of the Israeli football system. Of the twenty-six clubs to have competed since the inception of the Israeli Premier League in 1999, five have won the title: Beitar Jerusalem (twice), Hapoel Tel Aviv (twice), Maccabi Haifa (seven times), Maccabi Tel Aviv (twice), and Ironi Kiryat Shmona (once). The current champions are Maccabi Tel Aviv, who won the 2012–13 season.
Contents |
Background[edit]
The Israeli Premier League was created in 1999 to replace Liga Leumit (which became the second tier) 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 second division). That season three clubs were relegated and one from Liga Leumit was promoted. Over the years the league has changed names though the new names were simply commercial rebranding, including Ligat Pelephone, Ligat Toto and Ligat Winner.
Competition[edit]
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.[3]
The participating clubs first play a conventional round-robin schedule for a total of 26 matches.
Following this, the top six teams first play in a championship playoff. To determine the champion. Then the six clubs play each team twice. Upon its conclusion, the first place team wins the Israeli championship and qualifies to participate in the second qualifying round of the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League. The runners-up and the third-placed teams qualify for the second qualifying round round of the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League.
The Israeli State Cup winners qualify for the third qualifying round of the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League. If the State Cup winners finish in the league top three places than the fourth-placed team will also play in Europa League. In case the State Cup winners also wins the Israeli Premier League than the second-placed league team will play in Europa League third qualifying round and the fourth-placed league team would play in the Second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League.
In addition, the bottom eight teams will play each other once to avoid two relegation spots.
Clubs[edit]
A total of 27 clubs have played in the Israeli Premier League from its inception in 1999 and the start of the 2011–12 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.
Five clubs have been members of the Israeli Premier League for every season since its inception. This group is composed of Beitar Jerusalem, F.C. Ashdod, Hapoel Tel Aviv, Maccabi Haifa, and Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Members for 2012–13[edit]
The following 14 clubs will compete in the Israeli Premier League during the 2012–13 season.
| Club |
Position in 2011–12 |
First season in 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 Jerusalemab | 11th | 1999–2000 | 14 | 1999–2000 | 6 | 2007–08 |
| Bnei Sakhnin | 8th | 2003–04 | 8 | 2007–08 | 0 | Never |
| Bnei Yehudab | 3rd | 1999–2000 | 13 | 2002–03 | 1 | 1989–90 |
| F.C. Ashdodab | 7th | 1999–2000 | 14 | 1999–2000 | 0 | Never |
| Hapoel Acrea | 10th | 2009–10 | 4 | 2009–10 | 0 | Never |
| Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 13th | 2001–02 | 9 | 2009–10 | 2 | 1975–76 |
| Hapoel Haifab | 12th | 1999–2000 | 8 | 2009–10 | 1 | 1998–99 |
| Hapoel Ramat Gan | 1st; Liga Leumit |
2009–10 | 3 | 2012–13 | 1 | 1963–64 |
| Hapoel Tel Avivab | 2nd | 1999–2000 | 14 | 1999–2000 | 13 | 2009–10 |
| Ironi Kiryat Shmona | 1st | 2007–08 | 5 | 2010–11 | 1 | 2011–12 |
| Ironi Ramat HaSharona | 11th | 2011–12 | 2 | 2011–12 | 0 | Never |
| Maccabi Haifaab | 5th | 1999–2000 | 14 | 1999–2000 | 12 | 2010–11 |
| Maccabi Netanyab | 4th | 1999–2000 | 13 | 2005–06 | 5 | 1982–83 |
| Maccabi Tel Avivab | 6th | 1999–2000 | 14 | 1999–2000 | 20 | 2012–13 |
a: Never been relegated from the Israeli Premier League
b: One of the original 14 Israeli Premier League teams
Sponsorship[edit]
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:
- 2002–2004: Pelephone – a mobile phone company (Ligat Pelephone)
- 2005–2010: Toto Winner Organization – the Israeli Sports Betting Board (Ligat Toto)
- 2010–present: Toto Winner Organization – the Israeli Sports Betting Board (Ligat Winner)
Number of foreigners[edit]
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 Tamuz, do not count against the foreign player limit.
Broadcast Rights[edit]
Television[edit]
Israeli Premier League games are broadcasted live on Sport 1, Sport 1 HD, and Sport 2 channels, with the big match of the week which is reserved to be shown by Channel 1 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[edit]
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[edit]
The big match of the week are shown in Channel 1 website. Since 2010, games summary are shown online by Ynet, ONE and Sport 5.
Cellular[edit]
Since 2012, ONE owns the broadcasting rights, which was previously owned by Sport 5.
Revenue[edit]
Main sources of revenue for the clubs:
- Television
- Ticket sales
- Merchandise
- Toto Winner – The Israeli Sports Betting Council
- Sponsorship
UEFA league ranking[edit]
- 17
Gambrinus liga - 18
Liga I - 19
Israeli Premier League - 20
Belarusian Premier League - 21
Ekstraklasa
Champions[edit]
- See also: Israeli football champions
Champions[edit]
|
Total championships[edit]
|
"Big Four" dominance[edit]Main article: Big Four (Israeli football)
|
Top goalscorers by season[edit]
All-time table[edit]
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 2011–12 season. Teams in bold are part of the 2012–13 Israeli Premier League. Numbers in bold are the record (highest) numbers in each column.
| Pos. | Club | Seasons | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GFPG | GA | GAPG | GD | Pts | 1° | 2° | 3° | Relegated | Avg. Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maccabi Haifa | 13 | 448 | 266 | 103 | 79 | 809 | 1.806 | 392 | 0.875 | 417 | 901 | 7 | 3 | 69.31 | ||
| 2 | Hapoel Tel Aviv | 13 | 448 | 231 | 121 | 97 | 727 | 1.623 | 412 | 0.92 | 315 | 810[nb 1] | 2 | 6 | 1 | 62.31 | |
| 3 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 13 | 448 | 199 | 116 | 133 | 631 | 1.408 | 456 | 1.018 | 177 | 707[nb 2] | 1 | 1 | 4 | 54.38 | |
| 4 | Beitar Jerusalem | 13 | 448 | 176 | 117 | 145 | 604 | 1.348 | 521 | 1.163 | 83 | 669[nb 3] | 2 | 2 | 51.46 | ||
| 5 | Maccabi Petah Tikva | 13 | 444 | 162 | 126 | 156 | 532 | 1.198 | 524 | 1.18 | 8 | 609[nb 4] | 1 | 1 | 46.85 | ||
| 6 | Maccabi Netanya | 12 | 413 | 151 | 118 | 144 | 518 | 1.254 | 525 | 1.271 | –4 | 568 | 2 | 1 | 47.33 | ||
| 7 | F.C. Ashdod | 13 | 448 | 151 | 114 | 182 | 563 | 1.257 | 640 | 1.429 | –49 | 567 | 1 | 43.62 | |||
| 8 | Bnei Yehuda | 12 | 415 | 142 | 109 | 164 | 482 | 1.161 | 555 | 1.337 | –73 | 535 | 1 | 1 | 44.58 | ||
| 9 | Hapoel Petah Tikva | 12 | 415 | 127 | 87 | 181 | 505 | 1.217 | 618 | 1.489 | –113 | 476[nb 5] | 1 | 4 | 39.67 | ||
| 10 | Hapoel Haifa | 7 | 248 | 82 | 94 | 92 | 308 | 1.242 | 304 | 1.226 | 4 | 320 | 1 | 2 | 45.71 | ||
| 11 | Bnei Sakhnin | 8 | 270 | 82 | 72 | 116 | 276 | 1.022 | 341 | 1.263 | –65 | 316[nb 6] | 1 | 39.5 | |||
| 12 | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 7 | 235 | 86 | 56 | 93 | 310 | 1.319 | 341 | 1.451 | –31 | 314 | 1 | 44.86 | |||
| 13 | Ironi Kiryat Shmona | 4 | 138 | 56 | 40 | 42 | 172 | 1.246 | 149 | 1.08 | 23 | 208 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 52 | |
| 14 | Hapoel Kfar Saba | 5 | 171 | 40 | 55 | 76 | 191 | 1.117 | 272 | 1.591 | –81 | 172[nb 7] | 3 | 34.4 | |||
| 15 | Hapoel Rishon LeZion | 5 | 180 | 41 | 41 | 98 | 195 | 1.083 | 316 | 1.756 | –121 | 164 | 2 | 32.8 | |||
| 16 | Hapoel Acre | 3 | 105 | 32 | 34 | 39 | 138 | 1.314 | 143 | 1.362 | –5 | 130 | 43.33 | ||||
| 17 | Maccabi Herzliya | 3 | 105 | 25 | 24 | 56 | 112 | 1.067 | 179 | 1.705 | –67 | 99 | 2 | 33 | |||
| 18 | Hapoel Nazareth Illit | 2 | 66 | 20 | 20 | 26 | 71 | 1.076 | 93 | 1.409 | –22 | 80 | 1 | 40 | |||
| 19 | Hakoah Amidar Ramat Gan | 2 | 66 | 12 | 21 | 33 | 58 | 0.879 | 100 | 1.515 | –42 | 57 | 2 | 28.5 | |||
| 20 | Maccabi Ahi Nazareth | 2 | 68 | 15 | 13 | 40 | 73 | 1.074 | 143 | 2.103 | –70 | 55[nb 8] | 2 | 27.5 | |||
| 21 | Hapoel Ramat Gan | 2 | 70 | 12 | 20 | 38 | 58 | 0.829 | 114 | 1.629 | –56 | 52[nb 9] | 1 | 26 | |||
| 22 | Ironi Ramat HaSharon | 1 | 37 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 37 | 1 | 45 | 1.2 | –8 | 46 | 46 | ||||
| 23 | Hapoel Ra'anana | 1 | 35 | 6 | 10 | 19 | 33 | 0.943 | 58 | 1.657 | –25 | 28 | 1 | 28 | |||
| 24 | Maccabi Kiryat Gat | 1 | 33 | 7 | 6 | 20 | 34 | 1.03 | 58 | 1.758 | –24 | 27 | 1 | 27 | |||
| 25 | Hapoel Jerusalem | 1 | 39 | 6 | 6 | 27 | 33 | 0.846 | 82 | 2.103 | –49 | 24 | 1 | 24 | |||
| 26 | Hapoel Ashkelon | 1 | 35 | 9 | 5 | 21 | 33 | 0.943 | 66 | 1.886 | –33 | 17 | 1 | 17 | |||
| 27 | Hapoel Tzafririm Holon | 1 | 38 | 4 | 4 | 30 | 25 | 0.658 | 85 | 2.237 | –60 | 16 | 1 | 16 | |||
| Total | 13 | 2,933 | 2,161 | 772[nb 10] | 2,161 | 7,530 | 2.567 | – | 7,255[nb 11] | 13 | 28 | 558.08 | |||||
Notes[edit]
- ^ Hapoel Tel Aviv were deducted 3 points
- ^ Maccabi Tel Aviv were deducted 6 points
- ^ Beitar Jerusalem were deducted 6 points
- ^ Maccabi Petah Tikva were deducted 3 points
- ^ Hapoel Petah Tikva were deducted 12 points
- ^ Bnei Sakhnin were deducted 2 points
- ^ Hapoel Kfar Saba were deducted 3 points
- ^ Maccabi Ahi Nazareth were deducted 3 points
- ^ Hapoel Ramat Gan were deducted 4 points
- ^ 772 games ended up with a draw, resulting up with 1,544 points
- ^ 42 points were deducted over the years
References[edit]
- ^ "Israeli Premier League will now be known as "Ligat Winner"". (Hebrew). ONE. 1 July 2010. Retrieved 1 July 2010.
- ^ "UEFA ranking of European leagues". UEFA. 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
- ^ "This season will have no halving of points". (Hebrew). ONE. 27 June 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
- ^ Israel Football Association
External links[edit]
- Israel Football Association
- Ligat Al Soccerway
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
A portion of the proceeds from advertising on Digplanet goes to supporting Wikipedia.
