The Israeli Beach Soccer League ( he, הליגה הישראלית בכדורגל חופים), currently known as Ligat Bank Yahav ( he, ליגת בנק יהב) for sponsorship reasons, is the top division in the Israeli Beach Soccer league. In July 2007 the league was inaugurated under the supervision 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 varie ...

. To celebrate the launch of the league, a friendly game between national teams of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

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 ...

was played, with the Israelis winning 6–5.

Background

The league first edition took place every Friday at Netanya Poleg beach on newly built beach sports stadium. The players participating in ''ligat San-Miguel'' were active and retired football players,

Futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players each, one of whom is ...

players and some talents who was found by the league

scouts Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpack ...

. At the end of the season, "Netanya's diamonds" won the championship, after beating "MZ

Rosh HaAyin Rosh HaAyin ( he, רֹאשׁ הָעַיִן, lit="fountainhead", , ar, روش هاعين) is a city in the Central District of Israel. To the west of Rosh HaAyin is the fortress of Antipatris and the source of the Yarkon River. To the southea ...

" 5–2 in the final. An average of 9.23 goals per match was scored during the season, higher average than the average in most of the beach soccer World Cups. The second season of the Israeli Beach Soccer League featured ten teams divided to two groups of five. Each team played one game against the teams in its group. The top four teams in each group qualified to the quarter finals, which was played on July 18 and 25, 2008.
The final-four matches and the relegation playoff were played on August 1. ''90FM''

Hadera Hadera ( he, חֲדֵרָה ) is a city located in the Haifa District of Israel, in the northern Sharon region, approximately 45 kilometers (28 miles) from the major cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa. The city is located along 7 km (5&nb ...

's Princes won the championship in its first season in the league, after a 7–6 win against ''Shav'e Shav'e''

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

.
The average number of goals dropped drastically in comparison with the first season, with 261 goals in 33 games, an average of 7.9 goals in a match. The third season of the Israeli Beach Soccer won by Ironi ''Misadot Achla'' Petah Tikva after a 2–0 win against Netanya's Diamonds in the final on August 14, 2009. The fourth season of the Israeli Beach Soccer won by "Kidmat Eden"

Kfar Saba Kfar Saba ( he, כְּפַר סָבָא), officially Kefar Sava, is a city in the Sharon region, of the Central District of Israel. In 2019 it had a population of 110,456, making it the 16th-largest city in Israel. The population of Kfar Saba i ...

after a 5–3 win against Netanya's Diamonds in the final on August 20, 2010. The fifth season of the Israeli Beach Soccer won by Ironi "Electis"

after an 8-5 win against Netanya's Diamonds in the final on July 29, 2011. The sixth season of the Israeli Beach Soccer won by Bnei

Kafr Qasim Kafr Qasim ( ar, كفر قاسم, he, כַּפְר קָאסִם), also spelled as Kafr Qassem, Kufur Kassem, Kfar Kassem and Kafar Kassem, is a hill-top city in Israel with an Arab citizens of Israel, Arab population. It is located about east ...

after a 2-1 penalty shoot out (the game ended at a 4-4 draw, after Rosh Ha'Ayin lead 4-0) against Ironi

Rosh Ha'Ayin Rosh HaAyin ( he, רֹאשׁ הָעַיִן, lit="fountainhead", , ar, روش هاعين) is a city in the Central District of Israel. To the west of Rosh HaAyin is the fortress of Antipatris and the source of the Yarkon River. To the southea ...

in the final on 20 July 2012. The seventh season of the Israeli Beach Soccer won by Bnei

after a 5-3 win against Maccabi "Doron Motors" Netanya in the final on 26 July 2013.

Champions

Israeli teams in Europe

After the first season of the league, the champion, Netanya's Diamonds, was invited to participate in the European Beach Soccer champions league. Netanya finished fourth, after defeating the

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

n champions 10–4 in the quarterfinals, losing to the

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

champions 7–8 after extra time in the semifinals, and losing to the Spanish champions 6–8 in the match for third place.
The runner-up, ''MZ''

, was invited to the

Capital Cup Coined as the "Oldest Rivalry in the South", the Capital Cup is one of the longest-running college football rivalries in the United States. Contested yearly between the University of Richmond Spiders and College of William & Mary Tribe, ...

, the equivalent of

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...

. Rosh HaAyin won the tournament, after defeating AEK Limasol 3–1, Apoel Nicosia 5–2, AEK

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

3–2 and Boca Juniors 6–3 in the final.

National team

In June 2007 newborn Israeli national team first participated in Group B qualifying games of

Euro Beach Soccer League The Euro Beach Soccer League (EBSL) is the premier competition in beach soccer contested between European men's national teams. The competition has been held annually since its establishment in 1998, making it the oldest beach soccer tournament in ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. After 6–6 draw they lose by penalty kicks to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, and celebrated first ever victory on

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

2–1.

Diamonds Tournament

In August 2007 first ever

Pro Beach Soccer Tour The BSWW Tour is a series of international events in beach soccer. It is organised by Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW), an organization responsible for promotion and development of beach soccer sport. BSWW Tour is an international exhibition tour in be ...

"Diamonds Tournament" was held in

. Four teams:

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

led by

Eric Cantona Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona (; ; born 24 May 1966) is a French actor, director, producer, and former professional footballer. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, Cantona is credited as having made Manchester United a d ...

, took part. In the final Israel won Germany 4–3.

2008 Challenge Cup

In June 2008 the FIFA Beach Soccer Challenge Cup was held in Israel. The six national teams competed to achieve single ticket to Group A of

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

took part. Israeli national team won the tournamentIsrael thrills in Challenge Cup and reaches final
www.beachsoccer.com beating in final Germany 4–3.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beach Soccer In Israel Football leagues in Israel

Israeli Beach Soccer League The Israeli Beach Soccer League ( he, הליגה הישראלית בכדורגל חופים), currently known as Ligat Bank Yahav ( he, ליגת בנק יהב) for sponsorship reasons, is the top division in the Israeli Beach Soccer league. In Jul ...

National beach soccer leagues