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Israeli Premier League
Israeli Premier League.png
Organising body Israel Football Association
Founded 1999; 25 years ago (1999)
Country Israel
Confederation UEFA (Europe; 1980–81; 1991–present)
OFC (Oceania; 1985–89)
AFC (Asia; 1954–74)
Number of teams 14 (since 2013–14)
Level on pyramid 1
Relegation to Liga Leumit
Domestic cup(s) Israel State Cup
Toto Cup (Al)
Israel Super Cup
International cup(s) UEFA Champions League
UEFA Europa League
UEFA Europa Conference League
Current champions Maccabi Tel Aviv
(25th title)
(2023–24)
Most championships Maccabi Tel Aviv
(25 titles)
TV partners Charlton Sport, Sport5.co.il

The Israeli Premier League (Hebrew: ליגת העל, Ligat HaAl, lit. The Super League) is a professional association football (soccer) league, that operates as the highest-division of the Israeli football league. This top tier 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 15th in the UEFA coefficients of leagues based on performances in European competitions over the last five years.

Since 1932, a total of 15 clubs have been crowned champions of the Israeli Football League. Of the thirty 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 (ten times), Maccabi Tel Aviv (seven times), and Ironi Kiryat Shmona (once). The current champions are Maccabi Tel Aviv, who won the 2023–24 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.

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 second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League. The runners-up and the third-placed teams qualify for the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa Conference League.

In addition, the Israeli State Cup winners qualify for the first qualifying round of the UEFA Europa 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 UEFA Europa Conference League. In case the State Cup winners also win the Israeli Premier League then the second-placed league team will play in first qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League.

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

Clubs

A total of 31 clubs have played in the Israeli Premier League from its inception in 1999 and the start of the 2024–25 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 2024–25 season

The following 14 clubs will compete in the Israeli Premier League during the 2024–25 season.

Club
Position
in 2023–24
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 11th 1999–2000 25th 1999–2000 6th 2007–08
Bnei Sakhnin 6th 2009–10 19th 2020–21 0 Never
F.C. Ashdod 10th 1999–2000 24th 2016–17 0 Never
Hapoel Be'er Sheva 3rd 2001–02 19th 2009–10 5th 2017–18
Hapoel Hadera 12th 2018–19 6th 2018–19 0 Never
Hapoel Haifa 4th 1999–2000 19th 2009–10 1st 1998–99
Hapoel Jerusalem 7th 1999–2000 5th 2021-22 0 Never
Ironi Tiberias 2nd Liga Leumit 2024–2025 1st 2024–2025 0 Never
Ironi Kiryat Shmona 1st Liga Leumit 2007–2008 16th 2024–2025 1st 2011–12
Maccabi Bnei Reineh 5th 2022–23 3rd 2022–23 0 Never
Maccabi Haifa 2nd 1999–2000 25th 1999–2000 15th 2022–23
Maccabi Netanya 9th 2003–04 23rd 2017–18 5th 1982–83
Maccabi Petah Tikva 8th 1999–2000 22nd 2023–24 0 Never
Maccabi Tel Aviv 1st 1999–2000 25th 1999–2000 25th 2023–24

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)
  • 2005–2010: Toto Winner Organization – the Israeli Sports Betting Board (Ligat Toto)
  • 2010–2016: Toto Winner Organization – the Israeli Sports Betting Board (Ligat Winner)
  • 2016–2018: Toto Winner Organization – the Israeli Sports Betting Board (Ligat Ha'al)
  • 2018–2019: Japanika – Asian restaurant (Ligat Japanika)
  • 2019–2022: Tel Aviv Stock Exchange – Stock Exchange (Ligat Habursa Leniyarot Erech)
  • 2022–2024: ONE ZERO – Digital Bank (Ligat ONE ZERO)

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, 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:

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

UEFA league ranking

Country ranking in European Leagues

UEFA League Ranking for the 2019–2024 period:

Source: UEFA Coefficients Graphs, 2024 UEFA Country Ranking

Champions

For the complete list read the main article.

Performance by club

A star above the crest is awarded for every five titles.

Club Titles Runners-up Winning seasons
Maccabi Tel Aviv
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
25 12 1935–36, 1937, 1939, 1941–42, 1946–47, 1949–50, 1951–52, 1953–54, 1955–56, 1957–58, 1966–68, 1969–70, 1971–72, 1976–77, 1978–79, 1991–92, 1994–95, 1995–96, 2002–03, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2023–24
Maccabi Haifa
⭐⭐⭐
15 10 1983–84, 1984–85, 1988–89, 1990–91, 1993–94, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23
Hapoel Tel Aviv
⭐⭐
13 16 1933–34, 1934–35, 1938–39, 1940–41, 1943–44, 1956–57, 1965–66, 1968–69, 1980–81, 1985–86, 1987–88, 1999–2000, 2009–10
Hapoel Petah Tikva
6 10 1954–55, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1962–63
Beitar Jerusalem
6 6 1986–87, 1992–93, 1996–97, 1997–98, 2006–07, 2007–08
Maccabi Netanya
5 5 1970–71, 1973–74, 1977–78, 1979–80, 1982–83
Hapoel Be'er Sheva
5 3 1974–75, 1975–76, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18
Hakoah Ramat Gan 2 1964–65, 1972–73
Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv 1 3 1989–90
Hapoel Ramat Gan 1 1963–64
Hapoel Haifa 1 1 1998–99
Ironi Kiryat Shmona 1 1 2011–12
British Police 1 1931–32
Hapoel Kfar Saba 1 1981–82

Israeli Premier League (1999–present)

Maccabi
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.

Having won nine titles in the league's 23 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 (11)dagger Maccabi Haifa Hapoel Petah Tikva Tubi, AssiAssi Tubi (Maccabi Petah Tikva) 27
2000–01 Maccabi Haifa (6) Hapoel Tel Aviv Hapoel Haifadouble-dagger Nimni, AviAvi Nimni (Maccabi Tel Aviv) 25
2001–02 Maccabi Haifa (7) Hapoel Tel Avivdouble-dagger Maccabi Tel Avivdagger Refua, KobiKobi Refua (Maccabi Petah Tikva) 18
2002–03 Maccabi Tel Aviv (19) Maccabi Haifadouble-dagger Hapoel Tel Aviv Abargil, YanivYaniv 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 Haim, OfirOfir Haim (Hapoel Be'er Sheva) • Shay Holtzman (F.C. Ashdod) 16
2004–05 Maccabi Haifa (9) Maccabi Petah Tikva F.C. Ashdod Colautti, RobertoRoberto Colautti (Maccabi Haifa) 19
2005–06 Maccabi Haifa (10)double-dagger Hapoel Tel Aviv Beitar Jerusalem Holtzman, ShayShay Holtzman (F.C. Ashdod) 18
2006–07 Beitar Jerusalem (5) Maccabi Netanya Maccabi Tel Aviv Azran, YanivYaniv Azran (F.C. Ashdod) 15
2007–08 Beitar Jerusalem (6)dagger Ironi Kiryat Shmona Yeboah, SamuelSamuel Yeboah (Hapoel Kfar Saba) 15
2008–09 Maccabi Haifa (11) Hapoel Tel Aviv Beitar Jerusalemdagger Yitzhaki, BarakBarak Yitzhaki (Beitar Jerusalem) • Shimon Abuhatzira (Hapoel Petah Tikva)Eliran Atar (Bnei Yehuda) 14
2009–10 Hapoel Tel Aviv (13)dagger Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Tel Aviv Arbeitman, ShlomiShlomi Arbeitman (Maccabi Haifa) 28
2010–11 Maccabi Haifa (12) Hapoel Tel Aviv dagger Tamuz, TotoToto Tamuz (Hapoel Tel Aviv) 21
2011–12 Ironi Kiryat Shmona (1)double-dagger Hapoel Tel Aviv Bnei Yehuda Saba'a, AchmadAchmad Saba'a (Maccabi Netanya) 20
2012–13 Maccabi Tel Aviv (20) Maccabi Haifa Hapoel Tel Aviv Atar, EliranEliran Atar (Maccabi Tel Aviv) 22
2013–14 Maccabi Tel Aviv (21) Hapoel Be'er Sheva Ironi Kiryat Shmonadagger Zahavi, EranEran Zahavi (Maccabi Tel Aviv) 29
2014–15 Maccabi Tel Aviv (22)§ 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 Kjartansson, Viðar ÖrnViðar Örn Kjartansson (Maccabi Tel Aviv) 19
2017–18 Hapoel Be'er Sheva (5) Maccabi Tel Avivdouble-dagger Saba, DiaDia Saba (Maccabi Netanya) 24
2018–19 Maccabi Tel Aviv (23)double-dagger Maccabi Haifa Hapoel Be'er Sheva Sahar, BenBen Sahar (Hapoel Be'er Sheva) 15
2019–20 Maccabi Tel Aviv (24) Beitar Jerusalemdouble-dagger Rukavytsya, NikitaNikita Rukavytsya (Maccabi Haifa) 22
2020–21 Maccabi Haifa (13) Maccabi Tel Aviv§ Ashdod 19
2021–22 Maccabi Haifa (14)double-dagger Hapoel Be'er Shevadagger Maccabi Tel Aviv Atzili, OmerOmer Atzili (Maccabi Haifa) 20
2022–23 Maccabi Haifa (15) Hapoel Be'er Sheva Maccabi Tel Aviv 21
2023–24 Maccabi Tel Aviv (25)double-dagger Maccabi Haifa Hapoel Be'er Sheva David, DeanDean David (Maccabi Haifa)Eran Zahavi (Maccabi Tel Aviv) 20

"Big Four" dominance

"Big Four" since the start of the Israeli Premier League
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
2021–22 10 5 1 3
2022–23 8 10 1 3
2023–24 11 13 2 1

Since the 2015–16 season, the Big Four's Dominance has been challenged by Hapoel Be'er Sheva, winning 3 successive championships, they also finished runners up in the 2021-22 season.

Notably, three of the big four teams all finished near or at the bottom of the table at some point. (Hapoel Tel Aviv has been the only one to be relegated so far)

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 19
2021–22 Israel Omer Atzili 20
2022–23 21
2023–24 Israel Dean David 20 Maccabi Haifa
Israel Eran Zahavi 20 Maccabi Tel Aviv

Individual records

Player transfer fees

Top transfer fees received by Israeli Premier League clubs
Rank Player Fee (min.) Date Transfer Reference(s)
1 Israel Eran Zahavi €7.23M 29 June 2016 Maccabi Tel Aviv China Guangzhou R&F
2 Israel Oscar Gloukh €7M 27 January 2023 Maccabi Tel Aviv Austria Red Bull Salzburg
3 Israel Manor Solomon €6M 11 January 2019 Maccabi Petah Tikva Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk
4 Israel Daniel Peretz €5M 25 August 2023 Maccabi Tel Aviv Germany Bayern Munich
5 Serbia Predrag Rajković €5M 23 July 2019 Maccabi Tel Aviv France Reims
6 Nigeria Yakubu Ayegbeni €4.75M 6 January 2003 Maccabi Haifa England Portsmouth
7 Israel Dia Saba €4.37M 31 January 2019 Hapoel Be'er Sheva China Guangzhou R&F
8 Israel Liel Abada €4M 14 July 2021 Maccabi Petah Tikva Scotland Celtic
9 Israel Gadi Kinda €3.7M 23 January 2020 Beitar Jerusalem United States Kansas City
10 Israel Avi Nimni €3.5M 11 January 1998 Maccabi Tel Aviv Spain Atlético Madrid

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 2021–22 season. Teams in green are part of the 2024–25 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 23 769 412 181 176 1279 1.663 732 0.952 547 1417 9 6 63.53
2 Maccabi Tel Aviv 23 772 412 188 172 1253 1.623 659 0.854 594 1416 6 5 5 64.36
3 Hapoel Tel Aviv 22 721 326 203 192 1035 1.436 734 1.018 301 1167 2 6 2 1 55.57
4 Beitar Jerusalem 23 760 311 205 244 1035 1.362 894 1.176 141 1129 2 6 51.32
5 Maccabi Petah Tikva 21 684 242 193 249 782 1.143 819 1.197 –37 916 1 1 2 45.8
6 Hapoel Be'er Sheva 17 556 249 144 163 809 1.455 643 1.156 166 891 3 2 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 Ashdod 22 715 225 197 293 846 1.183 997 1.394 –151 872 2 1 41.52
9 Maccabi Netanya 20 650 227 178 245 814 1.252 867 1.334 –53 859 2 3 45.21
10 Hapoel Haifa 17 551 174 164 213 646 1.172 715 1.298 –69 686 1 3 42.88
11 Bnei Sakhnin 17 543 164 149 230 546 1.006 709 1.306 –163 639 1 39.94
12 Ironi Kiryat Shmona 14 447 167 124 156 545 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 1 3 39.08
14 Hapoel Kfar Saba 9 303 72 90 141 291 0.96 436 1.439 –145 303 5 33.67
15 Hapoel Ironi Acre 8 270 72 81 117 288 1.067 389 1.441 –101 295 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 Hadera 4 135 46 34 55 150 1.111 178 1.319 –28 172 43
18 Hapoel Rishon LeZion 5 180 41 41 98 195 1.083 316 1.756 –121 164 2 32.8
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 2 27.33
23 Hapoel Nof HaGalil 3 66 20 20 26 71 1.076 93 1.409 –22 80 1 40
24 Hapoel Jerusalem 2 72 14 15 43 58 0.806 123 1.708 –65 57 1 28.5
25 Hakoah Amidar Ramat Gan 2 66 12 21 33 58 0.879 100 1.515 –42 57 2 28.5
26 Sektzia Ness Ziona 2 66 13 18 30 54 0.818 102 1.545 –48 57 2 28.5
27 Maccabi Ahi Nazareth 2 68 15 13 40 73 1.074 143 2.103 –70 55 2 27.5
28 Maccabi Bnei Reineh 1 33 8 11 14 32 0.97 54 1.636 –22 35 35
29 Maccabi Kiryat Gat 1 33 7 6 20 34 1.03 58 1.758 –24 27 1 27
30 Hapoel Tzafririm Holon 1 38 4 4 30 25 0.658 85 2.237 –60 16 1 16
31 Ironi Tiberias 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 23 5,039 3,731 2724
3,731 12,761 2.532 13,857
23 45 629.86
League or status at 2024–25:
Ligat HaAl
Liga Leumit
Liga Alef
Liga Bet
Liga Gimel
Clubs that no longer exist

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Liga Premier de Israel para niños

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