Liga Leumit
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Liga Leumit |
|---|
 Liga Leumit 2008-09 |
| Founded |
| 1932 |
| Nation |
 Israel |
| Promotion To |
| Ligat ha'Al |
| Relegation To |
| Liga Artzit |
| Number of Teams |
| 12 |
| Cups |
| Israeli Cup Toto Cup |
| Current Champions |
| Hakoah Amidar Ramat Gan |
Liga Leumit (Hebrew: ליגה לאומית, lit. National League) is the second tier in the Israeli football league system below Ligat ha'Al. One Liga Leumit match is shown each week on Channel 1.
Contents |
[edit] Structure
There are 12 teams in the Liga Leumit. Each team plays thirty three rounds of matches as determined by the Israel Football Association and is awarded three points for a win, one for a draw and zero for a loss. From these points a league table is constructed. At the end of each season the top two teams are replaced by two teams that finished at the bottom of Ligat ha'Al. (One exception to this was in 1998, when Ligat ha'Al was about to form they reduced its numbers to 12. In that year, only one team was promoted, the top team. Similarly the eight teams which finished at the bottom of the Liga Leumit were relegated to the Liga Artzit.
Final League position is determined firstly by points obtained, then by goal difference, then goals scored, and if necessary, a mini-league of the results between two or more teams ranked using the previous three criteria and finally a series of one or more play off matches.
[edit] History
Liga Leumit came into existence at the start of the 1954-55 season, replacing Liga Alef as the top division in Israeli football. However, it was usurped as the top flight in 2000, when it was replaced by Ligat ha'Al. Since then it has operated as the second tier in the Israeli football league system.
[edit] Liga Leumit clubs, 2008–09
- Hapoel Acre
- Hapoel Be'er Sheva
- Hapoel Bnei Lod
- Hapoel Haifa
- Hapoel Jerusalem
- Hapoel Kfar Saba
- Hapoel Ra'anana
- Hapoel Ramat Gan
- Ironi Ramat HaSharon
- Maccabi Ahi Nazareth
- Maccabi Kiryat Ata
- Maccabi Herzliya
See also: 2008-09 season in Israeli football
[edit] Winners of Liga Leumit
| Season | Winner | Runner-Up | Teams relegated to Liga Artzit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999-00 | Tzafririm Holon | Maccabi Kiryat Gat¹ | Hapoel Ashkelon |
| 2000-01 | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | Maccabi Kiryat Gat | Hapoel Jerusalem, Ironi Kiryat Ata |
| 2001-02 | Hapoel Kfar Saba | Bnei Yehuda | Hakoakh Ramat Gan², Hapoel Beit She'an |
| 2002-03 | Maccabi Akhi Nazareth | Bnei Sakhnin | Beitar Avraham Be'er Sheva, Maccabi Kfar Kana |
| 2003-04 | Hapoel Haifa | Hapoel Nazareth Illit | Hapoel Ramat Gan, Maccabi Kiryat Gat³ |
| 2004-05 | Hapoel Kfar Saba | Maccabi Netanya | Maccabi Akhi Nazareth, Tzafririm Holon, |
| 2005-06 | Maccabi Herzliya | Hakoakh Ramat Gan | Hapoel Ironi Rishon LeZion, Maccabi Beersheba |
| 2006-07 | Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona | Bnei Sakhnin | Hapoel Ashkelon, Hapoel Jerusalem |
| 2007-08 | Hakoah Amidar Ramat Gan | Hapoel Petah Tikva | Ironi Rishon LeZion, Hapoel Nazareth Illit |
¹ Only one team was promoted in 1999-00, so Maccabi Kiryat Gat remained in Liga Leumit.
² Tzafririm Holon originally finished in the relegation zone, but were reprieved when Hakoakh Ramat Gan were demoted by the IFA.
³ Tzafririm Holon originally finished in the relegation zone, but were reprieved when Maccabi Kiryat Gat were demoted by the IFA.
[edit] External links
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Liga Leumit 2008-09
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| Hapoel Acre | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | Hapoel Bnei Lod | Hapoel Haifa | Hapoel Jerusalem | Hapoel Kfar Saba | Hapoel Ra'anana | Hapoel Ramat Gan | Ironi Nir Ramat HaSharon | Maccabi Ahi Nazareth | Maccabi Ironi Kiryat Ata | Maccabi Herzliya | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Second division football seasons in Israel
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1950-51 | 1951-52 | 1952-53 | 1953-54 | 1954-55 | 1955-56 | 1956-57 | 1957-58 | 1958-59 | 1959-60 |
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