Ligat ha'Al
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ligat ha'Al |
|---|
 Ligat ha'Al 2008-09 |
 |
| Founded |
| 1932 |
| Nation |
 Israel |
| Relegation To |
| Liga Leumit |
| Number of Teams |
| 12 |
| European Qualification |
| Champions League UEFA Cup Intertoto Cup |
| Cups |
| Israeli Cup Toto Cup |
| Current Champions |
| Beitar Jerusalem |
| Website |
Ligat ha'Al (Hebrew: ליגת העל, lit. Super League), often referred to as the Israeli Premier League and currently known as Ligat Toto (Hebrew: ליגת טוטו) for sponsorship reasons, is the top division in the Israeli football league system.
Contents |
[edit] Background
Ligat ha'Al 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 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, with the third round matches scheduled according to positions after the first two rounds. At the end of each season the two lowest placed teams are relegated to Liga Leumit and the top two teams from Liga 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 together with the State Cup winner qualify for the early qualification stages of the UEFA Cup, though if the State Cup champions finish in the top three, the State Cup's UEFA Cup spot goes to the fourth placed team in the League.
If the cup winner is not one of the top four clubs in the table, the forth club qualifies for the second stage of the UEFA Intertoto Cup that leads to qualify in the UEFA Cup. If the cup winner is one of the top four clubs in the table, the ticket to the Intertoto Cup moves to the fifth place in this league.
[edit] Ligat ha'Al clubs, 2008–09
- Beitar Jerusalem
- Bnei Sakhnin
- Bnei Yehuda
- FC Ashdod
- Hakoah Amidar Ramat Gan
- Ironi Kiryat Shmona
- Hapoel Petah Tikva
- Hapoel Tel Aviv
- Maccabi Haifa
- Maccabi Netanya
- Maccabi Petah Tikva
- Maccabi Tel Aviv
See also: 2008/09 season in Israeli football
[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 - a mobile phone company (Ligat Pelephone ליגת פלאפון)
- 2005-present: Toto Organization - the football pools company (Ligat Toto ליגת טוטו)
[edit] Worldwide reach
Currently, league matches are mostly followed by Israeli expatriates living abroad and by Israeli citizens living in Israel.
[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
Sport 5 Has purchased the rights for IFL over the internet.The games are broadcasted live at JumpTv.com since December 2006
[edit] UEFA ranking
Current National League Ranking
- 17
Swiss League - 18
Norwegian League - 19 Israeli League
- 20
Serbian League - 21
Danish League - Full List
[edit] History
The championship of Israel exists under various names since 1932 (before 1948 as League A).
[edit] Champions
[edit] Before Israeli independence
- 1932 :
British Police - 1934 : Hapoel Tel Aviv
- 1935 : Hapoel Tel Aviv
- 1936 : Hapoel Tel Aviv
- 1937 : Maccabi Tel Aviv
- 1938 : Hapoel Tel Aviv
- 1939 : Maccabi Tel Aviv
- 1940 : Hapoel Tel Aviv
- 1941 : Maccabi Tel Aviv
- 1943 : Hapoel Tel Aviv
- 1947 : Maccabi Tel Aviv
[edit] Israel Championship
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|
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[edit] Total Championships
| Club |
Number of Championships |
|---|---|
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | 19 |
| Hapoel Tel Aviv | 13 |
| Maccabi Haifa | 10 |
| Beitar Jerusalem | 6 |
| Hapoel Petah Tikva | 6 |
| Maccabi Netanya | 5 |
| Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 2 |
| Hakoah Ramat Gan | 2 |
| Hapoel Haifa | 1 |
| Bnei Yehuda | 1 |
| Hapoel Kfar Saba | 1 |
| Hapoel Ramat Gan | 1 |
| British Police | 1 |
[edit] Top goalscorers by season
| Season | Player | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997-98 | Alon Mizrahi |
|
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| 1998-99 |  Andrzej Kubica |
|
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| 1999-00 | Assi Tubi |
|
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| 2000-01 | Avi Nimni |
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| 2001-02 | Kobi Refua |
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| 2002-03 | Yaniv Abarjil Shay Holtzman |
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| 2003-04 | Ofir Haim Shay Holtzman |
|
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| 2004-05 | Roberto Colautti |
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| 2005-06 | Shay Holtzman |
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| 2006-07 | Yaniv Azran |
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| 2007-08 |  Samuel Yeboah |
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[edit] All-time top goalscorers
| Name | Years | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Alon Mizrahi | 1989 – 2005 | 207 |
| Oded Machnes | 1974 – 1990 | 196 |
| Moshe Romano | 1965 – 1982 | 193 |
| Avi Nimni | 1989 – 2008 | 172 |
| Mordechai Spiegler | 1963 – 1977 | 168 |
