Beitar The Betar Movement ( he, תנועת בית"ר), also spelled Beitar (), is a Revisionist Zionist youth movement founded in 1923 in Riga, Latvia, by Vladimir (Ze'ev) Jabotinsky. Chapters sprang up across Europe, even during World War II. After t ...

Haifa F.C. ( he, מ.כ. בית"ר חיפה) is an Israeli football club based in

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

. The club currently plays in the North A division of

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 ...

. Their main rivals are Hapoel Ahva Haifa.Derby of the suburbs
walla.co.il, 9.4.2010

History

The club was founded in 1939 and played mostly in the lower divisions of Israeli football. During its early days, Beitar played mostly against other

Haifa region Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

teams and military teams.Sport
Hamashkif, 30.4.1939, Historical Jewish Press Sport
Hamashkif, 3.7.1939, Historical Jewish Press Liga Bet Football competition
Hamashkif, 5.4.1940, Historical Jewish Press Sport
Hamashkif, 12.4.1942, Historical Jewish Press After the

Israeli Declaration of Independence The Israeli Declaration of Independence, formally the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel ( he, הכרזה על הקמת מדינת ישראל), was proclaimed on 14 May 1948 ( 5 Iyar 5708) by David Ben-Gurion, the Executive ...

, Beitar joined

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 ...

of the

Israel 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 ...

In 1953. The club reached

following a merger with another club from Haifa, Beitar Tel Amal, in the 1960–61 season. In the 1963–64 season they finished runners-up in Liga Bet North A division and were promoted for the first time in their history to

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 ...

(then the second division). In 1965–66, they finished bottom of the league and were relegated back to Liga Bet. At the end of the 1966–68 season they dropped further tier, to Liga Gimel, and eventually folded, while its players were released for Beitar Kiryat Tiv'on, following an order from Beitar sports association.Beitar Kiryat Tiv'on (Page 2)
Hadshot HaSport, 4.6.1969, archive.football.co.il In the early 1970s, the club was re-established.Promise in Beitar Haifa: Soon in Liga Leumit (Page 4)
Hadshot HaSport, 31.5.1983, archive.football.co.il In the early 1980s, The club started a progress after they won Liga Gimel Haifa division in the 1979–80 season and were promoted to Liga Bet.Beitar Haifa promoted to Liga Bet in a salvo of 10 goals
Maariv, 4.5.1980, Historical Jewish Press In the following season won Liga Bet North B division and were promoted to Liga Alef. In 1982–83, they won Liga Alef North division, after being undefeated throughout the entire season, and were promoted to

Liga Artzit Liga Artzit ( he, ליגה ארצית, lit. ''Country League'') is the defunct third division of Israeli Football League, beneath its highest division Premier League and the second division Liga Leumit. Before being cancelled in 2009, it was run b ...

(then the second division). Thus, they achieved three promotions within four years. After finished 9th in 1983–84 and 13th in 1984–85, In 1985–86 they finished bottom of Liga Artzit, winning only two league matches all season, and were relegated back to Liga Alef. In 1989–90 Beitar finished bottom of Liga Alef North division and were relegated to Liga Bet. In 1992–93 they dropped into Liga Gimel. In 2001–02 the club finished second in the Haifa division of Liga Gimel, and were promoted back to Liga Bet. In 2005–06 they finished second in Liga Bet North A division and were promoted to Liga Alef after play-off victory over Maccabi Tamra. They were relegated back to Liga Bet at the end of the 2007–08 season, this time after they lost to Maccabi Tamra in the relegation play-offs.

Honours

League League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

Cups

References

External links

Beitar Haifa Ya'akov
Israel Football Association {{Football in Israel

Football clubs in Haifa

Association football clubs established in 1939 1939 establishments in Mandatory Palestine