Hapoel Ahva Haifa ( he, הפועל אחוה 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

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 ...

Samaria Samaria (; he, שֹׁמְרוֹן, translit=Šōmrōn, ar, السامرة, translit=as-Sāmirah) is the historic and biblical name used for the central region of Palestine, bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The first ...

division and play home matches at the

Avi Ran Avi Ran (August 25, 1963 – July 11, 1987) was a goalkeeper at the Israeli football club Maccabi Haifa. Widely considered one of the greatest football players in Israel, he had a promising future which was cut short by a fatal accident. Foot ...

Ground in

. Their main rivals are Beitar Haifa.

History

The club was founded in 1959 and was one of the first

Arab-Israeli The Arab citizens of Israel are the largest ethnic minority in the country. They comprise a hybrid community of Israeli citizens with a heritage of Palestinian citizenship, mixed religions (Muslim, Christian or Druze), bilingual in Arabic an ...

football clubs in

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 ...

. According to the club's founder and chairman, Issa Houri, "Following the dissolution of Ahva Notzrit Haifa (in 1956),Teams dissolved – Teams founded
Maariv, 30.12.1956, Historical Jewish Press Ahva (which means "brotherhood" in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

) was founded in the meaning of brotherhood of people. The club is proud in a squad consisting of Christians, Muslims and Jews".New at website: Weekly journey following the amateur leagues
Israel Football Association, 3.12.2009 Ahva Haifa played mostly in the lower divisions of Israeli football. The club reached

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 ...

(then the third tier), for the first time in the 1971–72 season and finished ninth in North B division. However, in the following season they were relegated back to

after second bottom finish. 28 years later, in the 2001–02 season, the club returned to Liga Bet (now as the fifth tier), and in the 2005–06 season, they won Liga Bet North B division and were promoted 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 ...

.Liga Bet North B
One In the 2007–08 season, the club finished second bottom in Liga Alef North and relegated back to Liga Bet. The club suffered further relegation at the end of the 2012–13 season, after they lost in the Liga Bet North A relegation play-offs to Hapoel Ihud Bnei Sumei and Hapoel Sakhnin and relegated to Liga Gimel, now the fifth and lowest tier of Israeli football, where they play today.

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

Hapoel Ahva Haifa Sayid Houri
Israel Football Association {{Liga Gimel Ahva Haifa Football clubs in Haifa Ahva Haifa Association football clubs established in 1959 1959 establishments in Israel