The 1955–56 season was the 8th 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 ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and the 30th season under the

Israeli Football Association The Israel Football Association (IFA; he, ההתאחדות לכדורגל בישראל, ''HaHit'aḥdut leKaduregel beIsrael'', literally "The Association of Football in Israel") is the governing body of football in Israel. It organizes a variet ...

, established in 1928, during the British Mandate.

Review and Events

* The league started with the completion of competitions started during the previous season including all league competitions and the state cup. * At the end of the league season, the

Israeli football league system The Israeli football league system is a series of interconnected leagues for club football in Israel. The system has a hierarchical format with promotion and relegation between leagues at different levels, and allows even the smallest club to dream ...

was reorganized. At the top, a new league was formed,

Liga Leumit Liga Leumit ( he, ליגה לאומית, lit. ''National League'') is the second division of the Israeli Football League, and below its Premier League. Structure There are 16 clubs in the league. At the end of each season, the two lowest-place ...

, pushing the rest of the league down a tier. Liga Leumit was set to have 12 teams, down from 14 teams. At the end of the season, the bottom two teams were set to relegate to second-tier

Liga Alef Liga Alef ( he, ליגה א', , League A) is the third tier of the Israeli football league system. It is divided into two regional divisions, north and south. History League football began in Israel in 1949–50, a year after the Israeli Declar ...

and the 11th and 12th placed team played a promotion/relegation play-offs with the two Liga Alef winners. In the second tier, the division was set to have 12 teams in one national division. Beneath that,

Liga Bet Liga Bet ( he, ליגה ב', lit. ''League B'') is the fourth tier of the Israeli football league system. It is divided into four regional divisions. History League football started in Israel in 1949–50, a year after the Israeli Declaration of ...

was designated as third tier, with two regional divisions of 12 teams in each division.

Liga Gimel Liga Gimel ( he, ליגה ג', lit. ''League C'') is the fifth and bottom division of Israeli Football League, a position it has held since 2009. From Liga Alef and downwards to this, each league is separated by region as well. History Liga Gimel ...

was designated as fourth tier, divided to regional divisions.
The new league structure entered a new season beginning in December 1956. The league season was completed by June 1956. At the end of the season, the top division was reduced to 10 clubs, with two clubs relegating to

and the 10th placed team playing a promotion/relegation play-off against the top club in 1955–56 Liga Alef. * On 14 September 1955, with a match between a Haifa XI and Tel Aviv XI,

Kiryat Eliezer Stadium The Haifa Municipal Stadium ( he, האצטדיון העירוני חיפה, ''Etztadion HaIroni Haifa''), more commonly known as Kiryat Eliezer (), was a multi-use stadium in the Kiryat Eliezer neighborhood of Haifa, Israel. It was mostly used fo ...

was officially opened. * The national team participated in the 1956 Olympics qualification, playing against the USSR.

Domestic leagues

1954–55 Liga Alef The 1954–55 Liga Alef season was the last in which it was the Israel's top football league, as the following season it was replaced by Liga Leumit

The league, which started during the previous season, was completed on 16 October 1955 and was won by

Hapoel Petah Tikva Hapoel Petah Tikva F.C. ( he, הפועל פתח תקווה) is an Israeli football club based in the city of Petah Tikva, currently playing in the Liga Leumit. Its most successful period was throughout the 1950s and 1960s, in which the club won ...

, its first ever championship. At the bottom, Hapoel Hadera and Hapoel Balfouria relegated to 1955–56 Liga Alef.

Beitar Jerusalem Beitar Jerusalem Football Club ( he, מועדון כדורגל בית"ר ירושלים, Moadon Kaduregel Beitar Yerushalayim), commonly known as Beitar Jerusalem () or simply as Beitar (), is an Israeli football club based in the city of Jeru ...

and

Hapoel Kfar Saba Hapoel Kfar Saba F.C. ( he, מועדון כדורגל הפועל כפר סבא, ''Moadon Kaduregel Hapoel Kfar Saba'') is an Israeli football club based in Kfar Saba. The club competes in the Liga Leumit and plays home matches at Levita Stadiu ...

finished 11th and 12th and faced 1954–55 Liga Bet regional divisions' winners, Hapoel Kiryat Haim and Maccabi Jaffa, at the end of which, Hapoel Kfar Saba retained its place in the top division, joined by Maccabi Jaffa.

Final table

Promotion/relegation play-offs

1955–56 Liga Leumit

The league started on 3 December 1955 and was played until 2 June 1956.

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 ...

won the title, while

Maccabi Rehovot Maccabi Rehovot F.C. ( he, מכבי רחובות) is an Israeli football club based in Rehovot. The club was a founding member of the Israeli League in 1949 and competed in the top division during the 1950s, but today plays in Liga Gimel, the ...

and

finished bottom and relegated to

1956–57 Liga Alef The 1956–57 Liga Alef season saw Hapoel Kfar Saba win the title. originally, the top two clubs were due to gain promotion to Liga Leumit. However, due to irregularities during the season, an IFA committee decided to hold a promotion play-off be ...

. Maccabi Jaffa, who finished 10th, played a promotion/relegation play-offs against Hakoah Tel Aviv, and won both matches to stay in the top division.

Final table

Promotion/relegation playoffs

The 10th-placed Maccabi Jaffa faced 1955–56 Liga Alef winner, Hakoah Tel Aviv. The matches took place on June 10 and 17, 1956. Maccabi Jaffa won 4–1 on aggregate and remained in Liga Leumit. Hakoah Tel Aviv remained in Liga Alef.

Domestic cups

1954–55 Israel State Cup

The competition, which started on 22 January 1955, was played until autumn 1956, with the final being played on 19 November 1956.

had beaten

3–1 in the final.

Final

1956–57 Israel State Cup The1956–57 Israel State Cup ( he, גביע המדינה, ''Gvia HaMedina'') was the 19th season of Israel's nationwide football cup competition and the fourth after the Israeli Declaration of Independence. Although the competition began on 11 F ...

The competition started on 11 February 1956 and was completed during the next season.

Netanya 25th Anniversary Cup

In October and November, while the promotion playoffs and the State Cup were being played, two cup competitions were organized by Liga Leumit Clubs, the second edition of the Shapira Cup, and the Netanya 25th Anniversary Cup. The Shapira Cup, in which Hapoel Tel Aviv,

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 ...

and

participated, was abandoned after two rounds of play.

Maccabi Netanya Maccabi Netanya F.C. ( he, מועדון כדורגל מכבי נתניה, ''Football Club Maccabi Netanya'') is an Israeli football club based in Netanya. Established in 1934, the club was a founding member of the Israeli League in 1949. Afte ...

, Beitar Tel Aviv,

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 ...

and

Hapoel Ramat Gan Hapoel Ramat Gan Givatayim F.C. ( he, מועדון כדורגל הפועל רמת-גן גבעתיים, ''Moadon Kaduregel Hapoel Ramat Gan Givatayim'') is an Israeli football club from Ramat Gan and Givatayim. They currently play in Liga Leumit, ...

took part in a second cup competition, dedicated to the 25th anniversary of

Netanya Netanya (also known as Natanya, he, נְתַנְיָה) is a city in the Northern Central District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between Poleg stream and Wingate I ...

Table

National Teams

National team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

After more than a year of inactivity, the national team was reorganized under a new coach,

Jack Gibbons Jack Gibbons (born 2 March 1962) is an English classical composer and virtuoso pianist. Biography Gibbons was born in England. His father was a scientist and his mother a visual artist. He began his piano studies in Stockton-on-Tees, later ...

. The national team played several matches against local teams and visiting teams, travelled to the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

to play an American Soccer League XI in an Israeli

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...

celebration and competed against the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

in the 1956 Olympics qualification. The national team was also due to participate in the 1956 AFC Asian Cup qualification and was drawn to play

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

in the first round and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

in the second round. However, both teams declined playing Israel. As all the other teams in the western zone withdrew, the national team qualified as regional winner.

1956 Olympics qualification

1955–56 matches

International club matches

Visiting foreign teams

FK Sarajevo Fudbalski klub Sarajevo (; English: Sarajevo Football Club) is a professional football club based in Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina and is one of the most successful clubs in the country. Founded on 24 October 1946, FK Sara ...

Kapfenberger SV Kapfenberger SV is an Austrian association football club from Kapfenberg. They won the 2007–08 Austrian Football First League and advanced to the Austrian Bundesliga. The club was founded in 1919 as ''Kapfenberger SC''. The club was renamed ...

In February 1956 the Israeli government lifted the ban on hosting teams from

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and

Hapoel Hapoel ( he, הפועל, lit. ''the worker'') is an Israeli Jewish sports association established in 1926 by the Histadrut Labor Federation. History During the Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate of Palestine period Hapoel had a bitter rivalry ...

and Maccabi

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva ( he, פֶּתַח תִּקְוָה, , ), also known as ''Em HaMoshavot'' (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of ...

invited

Kapfenberger SV Kapfenberger SV is an Austrian association football club from Kapfenberg. They won the 2007–08 Austrian Football First League and advanced to the Austrian Bundesliga. The club was founded in 1919 as ''Kapfenberger SC''. The club was renamed ...

to a tour of Israel. The visit was met with criticism from right-wing politicians and acts of sabotage in order to stop the Austrian team from playing,The Day the Goals Went Aflame
Nisim Kalderon, 1 July 2014, P.T. Neto but the matches went ahead as planned.

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

Rampla Juniors

São Cristóvão São Cristóvão (, ''Saint Christopher'') is a Brazilian municipality in the Northeastern state of Sergipe. Founded at the mouth of the Vaza-Barris River on January 1, 1590, the municipality is the fourth oldest settlement in Brazil. São Crist� ...

First Vienna First Vienna FC is an Austrian association football club based in the Döbling district of Vienna. Established on 22 August 1894, it is the country's oldest team and has played a notable role in the history of the game there. It is familiarly k ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1955-56 in Israeli football Seasons in Israeli football