The Palestine League, also known as The Eretz Israel League, was an

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 ...

league during the British Mandate of Palestine (now

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 ...

), which was contested from 1928 to 1948. It was organised by the Eretz Israel Football Association, and is therefore regarded as the original incarnation of the modern Israeli top flight league, which has existed since 1948.

Organisation and history

Organised by the ''Eretz Israel Football Association'', later to become 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 ...

, it is regarded as a predecessor of the modern

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League ( he, ליגת העל, ''Ligat Ha`Al'', ), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested b ...

, as well as a former part of 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 ...

. Because of

violent conflicts involving the Yishuv Prior to the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, the Yishuv was involved in several armed conflicts as part of the Intercommunal conflict in Mandatory Palestine: * 1920 Nebi Musa riots – Arab riots against Jews in and around the ...

, its scheduling was inconsistent and in some seasons no national championship was held. The league was suspended for two seasons after 1947 amidst the termination of the British Mandate over the country in May 1948, the independence of the

State of 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 ...

at the same time, and the subsequent war between Israel and several surrounding countries. The Palestine League was formally superseded in 1949 by the new Israeli League,

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 ...

. The Palestine League was first won by a team representing the British Police force, who finished the season unbeaten. They also won the People's Cup that season, in doing so winning the double. Except for

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

-based British Police's initial victory, only clubs from

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 ...

won the title during the Mandate period;

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 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 five and four championships respectively.

Seasons

;Key :''Full league standings and top scorer details not known at this time.''

Notes

References

{{UEFA leagues Defunct football leagues in Israel Football competitions in Mandatory Palestine Defunct top level football leagues in Europe

Organisation and history

Seasons

See also

Notes

References