The 1938–39 season was the 12th season of competitive

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

in the

British Mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to: * Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan. * Mandatory P ...

IFA Competitions

1938–39 Palestine League

Matches of the

1938–39 Palestine League The 1938–39 Palestine League was the sixth season of league football in the British Mandate for Palestine. The defending champions were Maccabi Tel Aviv. According to the Israel Football Association, Hapoel Tel Aviv won the title. League matc ...

were due to be continued after the summer break. However, as the

Arab revolt The Arab Revolt ( ar, الثورة العربية, ) or the Great Arab Revolt ( ar, الثورة العربية الكبرى, ) was a military uprising of Arab forces against the Ottoman Empire in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. On t ...

intensified in fall 1938 and with the High commissioner issuing restrictive orders on travel throughout

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

, the

EIFA The Eifa, also called Eifabach, is a tributary of the Schwalm in the East Hesse Highlands in Central Hesse's Vogelsberg district and is part of the river system and catchment area of the Weser. Hydrography The Eifa starts in the Ottrauer Berglan ...

created a two-tiered league for the

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

region, with matches played in the league counting towards the national league. The Tel Aviv League was completed on 14 January 1939 and in February 1939 a new league season began, with teams playing in regionalized divisions instead a national league.

League table

1939 Palestine League

Shortly after the previous league season was abandoned, a new season was initiated. With the

Arab Revolt The Arab Revolt ( ar, الثورة العربية, ) or the Great Arab Revolt ( ar, الثورة العربية الكبرى, ) was a military uprising of Arab forces against the Ottoman Empire in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. On t ...

still raging, the league played regionally, split into Tel Aviv, Samaria and Southern regional leagues League matches were not completed by the end of the season and continued after the summer break.

1939 Palestine Cup

Hapoel Tel Aviv Hapoel Tel Aviv ( he, הפועל תל אביב) is a sports club in Israel, founded in the 1920s, and part of the Hapoel association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, suc ...

, defeating Maccabi Avshalom Petah Tikva 2–1 in the final, completed a third consecutive cup triumph.

British-run leagues

British Army authorities organized leagues in Jerusalem, Haifa and Tiberias, competed by teams from the different army units, as well as several local and national cup competitions. In Haifa and Tiberias local Jewish teams (

Hapoel Haifa Hapoel Haifa Football Club ( he, מועדון הכדורגל הפועל חיפה, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Haifa'') is an Israeli football club located in the city of Haifa. The club won one championship (1998–99) and 4 Israeli cups ( ...

Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa ( he, מכבי חיפה) is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football ...

, Hapoel Kfar Ata in Haifa and Hapoel Tiberias in Tiberias) participated in the leagues, due to travelling difficulties to meet other Jewish clubs. 2nd Battalion Black Watch won the Jerusalem Services and Police League, while the Haifa league was abandoned midway of the second round of fixtures.

Maccabi Tel Aviv Tour of Australia

On 24 May 1938,

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...

embarked on a five-month tour of Australia, playing 19 matches throughout the tour, appearing in some matches as Palestine.Australia V Palestine Football Match 1939
British Pathe
Michal Margalit, 6 May 2014, ynet.co.il Maccabi won 11 of the matches, drawn 3 and lost 5, with a goal difference of 92–49, striker

Gaul Machlis Gaul Machlis ( he, גאול מכליס; 21 May 1918 – 19 February 1995) was an Israeli football player and manager. As a player, he played as a forward or attacking midfielder for Maccabi Petah Tikva and Maccabi Tel Aviv at club level, and for ...

scoring 28 of the goals for Maccabi. List of matches: * 24 June 1939,

Olympic Park An Olympic Park is a sports campus for hosting the Olympic Games. Typically it contains the Olympic Stadium and the International Broadcast Centre. It may also contain the Olympic Village or some of the other sports venues, such as the aquatics c ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

– Maccabi Tel Aviv 1–7 * 27 June 1939,

– Maccabi Tel Aviv 0–8 * 1 July 1939,

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

– Maccabi Tel Aviv 6–4 * 4 July 1939,

Cessnock, New South Wales Cessnock is a city in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, about by road west of Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle. It is the administrative centre of the City of Cessnock Local government in Australia, LGA and was named after a ...

: Northern Districts – Maccabi Tel Aviv 3–1 * 8 July 1939,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

– Palestine 7–5 * 12 July 1939,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

– Maccabi Tel Aviv 1–5 * 15 July 1939,

– Palestine 2–1 * 17 July 1939,

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

– Maccabi Tel Aviv 1–8 * 18 July 1939,

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 C ...

– Maccabi Tel Aviv 3–13 * 22 July 1939,

– Palestine 1–2 * 24 July 1939,

Woonona, New South Wales Woonona () is a northern suburb of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia, south of Sydney. It is served by Woonona Station on the South Coast (Illawarra) Line, and by the Princes Highway. The suburb has a strip of commerce along the highway ...

: Woonona XI – Maccabi Tel Aviv 2–3 * 29 July 1939,

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

– Palestine 4–1 * 30 July 1939, Cessnock:

– Maccabi Tel Aviv 2–2 * 5 August 1939,

– Palestine 4–4 * 8 August 1939,

– Maccabi Tel Aviv 4–3 * 12 August 1939,

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

– Maccabi Tel Aviv 2–4 * 16 August 1939,

– Maccabi Tel Aviv 0–8 * 26 August 1939,

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

– Maccabi Tel Aviv 4–4 * 28 August 1939,

– Maccabi Tel Aviv 3–7 The return journey took almost a month, as the team's ship, which was headed to

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

was rerouted to

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, as

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

broke out. Maccabi played two matches against local teams, winning 8–0 and 7–0, before departing via

Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...

and

Port Said Port Said ( ar, بورسعيد, Būrsaʿīd, ; grc, Πηλούσιον, Pēlousion) is a city that lies in northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal. With an approximate population of 6 ...

back to Palestine.

Notable Events

CAM Timișoara Clubul Athletic Muncitoresc Timișoara or shorter as CAM Timișoara was a football club based in Timișoara, western Romania. It was founded in the summer of 1936 after the merger of ''Reuniunea de Gimnastică a Muncitorilor din Timișoara'' (Wo ...

played six matches in late January 1939, twice against

, drawing 1–1 and winning 3–0; Twice against

, winning 5–2 and 4–0 and once against a combined Maccabi and Hapoel Tel Aviv XI, losing 1–3, and against

Maccabi Petah Tikva Maccabi Petah Tikva F.C. ( he, מכבי פתח תקווה) (Full name: "Maccabi Avshalom Ironi Petah Tikva F.C., ) is an Israeli football club based in the city of Petah Tikva. It is part of the Maccabi World Union for international Jewish spo ...

, winning 2–1. This was

Eliezer Spiegel Eliezer Spiegel ( he, אליעזר שפיגל; 20 June 1922 – 26 November 2017) was a footballer and manager, who played for Maccabi Petah Tikva, Beitar Tel Aviv and for the Israel national football team in the 1940s and 1950s. Playing car ...

's debut in Maccabi Petah Tikva senior squad, at the age of 16.Football in Red Shoes
Yechiel Arazi, 22 May 1955, Hadshot HaSport, via archive.football.org.il

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1938-39 in Mandatory Palestine football