Ligat Nashim ( he, ליגת נשים, lit. ''Women's League'') is the Israeli
women's football league. It has been run by 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 ...
since 1998.
Format
The league is divided into two divisions, with the top division, titled Women's Premier League (previously Ligat Nashim Rishona, lit. "First Women's League"), comprising 9 teams, and the second division, titled Women's Leumit League (previously Ligat Nashim Shniya, lit. "Second Women's League"), comprising a variable number of teams, depending on registration. In 2015, a third division was created, named Mama-Foot League (meaning: a football league for mothers) at first, and changed to Women's Artzit League in 2016. The third division is contested in smaller pitches, over two-halves of 15 minutes each and with unlimited substitutions and the winner does not promote to the second division.
Between
2007–08 and
2010–11 the league was made of one division of 12 teams in a
round-robin tournament
A round-robin tournament (or all-go-away-tournament) is a competition
Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero ...
with the top club winning the championship, with a deciding play-off match to decide the winner if the two teams were tied, as was the case in
2009–10. In 2010–11 the
IFA
IFA or Ifa may refer to:
Organisations
Economics
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* Index Fund Advisors
* Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, representing actuaries in the UK
* Institute of Ac ...
re-introduced a second division that previously existed in
2006–07.
Since 2011, the participating clubs first play a conventional
round-robin schedule, followed by a championship playoff contested by the four top teams, where they meet each other twice. Upon its conclusion, the first place team wins the Israeli championship and qualifies to participate in the
UEFA Women's Champions League
The UEFA Women's Champions League, previously called the UEFA Women's Cup (2001–2009), is a European women's association football competition. It involves the top club teams from countries affiliated with the European governing body UEFA.
The ...
. The bottom teams play each other once to avoid relegation, with the bottom club dropping to the second division.
The second division is played as a double round-robin schedule, each team playing its opponents four times, with the top club promoting to the top division.
Championship Regulations
IFA, pp. 74-81
Champions
A women's football league was organized in late 1998 and started playing during October 1998.
Avraham Kochen, Women's Football in Israel (via Internet Archive) [Iche Menache At the End of Ligat Nashim: It's a Year We'd Rather Forget](_blank)
Lior Weitz, 1 June 2014, walla.co.il [Women: If There's No League, At Least There's the Cup](_blank)
Lior Weitz, 17 May 2004, walla.co.il
Total championships
References
External links
Ligat Nashim Rishona
Israel Football Association
women.soccerway.com
Standings & results
{{Top level women's association football leagues around the world
Football leagues in Israel
Women's football in Israel
Isr
Professional sports leagues in Israel