The 1938–39 season was the 12th season of competitive

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

in the British Mandate of Palestine.

IFA Competitions

1938–39 Palestine League

Matches of the

1938–39 Palestine League The 1938–39 Palestine League was the sixth season of league football in the British Mandate for Palestine. The defending champions were Maccabi Tel Aviv. According to the Israel Football Association, Hapoel Tel Aviv won the title. League match ...

were due to be continued after the summer break. However, as the

Arab revolt The Arab Revolt ( ), also known as the Great Arab Revolt ( ), was an armed uprising by the Hashemite-led Arabs of the Hejaz against the Ottoman Empire amidst the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. On the basis of the McMahon–Hussein Co ...

intensified in fall 1938 and with the High commissioner issuing restrictive orders on travel throughout

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

, the EIFA created a two-tiered league for the

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

region, with matches played in the league counting towards the national league. The Tel Aviv League was completed on 14 January 1939 and in February 1939 a new league season began, with teams playing in regionalized divisions instead a national league.

League table

1939 Palestine League

Shortly after the previous league season was abandoned, a new season was initiated. With the

Arab Revolt The Arab Revolt ( ), also known as the Great Arab Revolt ( ), was an armed uprising by the Hashemite-led Arabs of the Hejaz against the Ottoman Empire amidst the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. On the basis of the McMahon–Hussein Co ...

still raging, the league played regionally, split into Tel Aviv, Samaria and Southern regional leagues League matches were not completed by the end of the season and continued after the summer break.

1939 Palestine Cup

Hapoel Tel Aviv Hapoel Tel Aviv () is a sports club in Israel, founded in the 1920s, and part of the Hapoel association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as football, basketball, w ...

, defeating Maccabi Avshalom Petah Tikva 2–1 in the final, completed a third consecutive cup triumph.

British-run leagues

British Army authorities organized leagues in Jerusalem, Haifa and Tiberias, competed by teams from the different army units, as well as several local and national cup competitions. In Haifa and Tiberias local Jewish teams (

Hapoel Haifa Hapoel Haifa Football Club (, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Haifa'') is an Israeli professional football club located in the city of Haifa. The club won one championship (1998–99) and 4 Israeli cups (1962–63, 1965–66 and 1973–74, 2 ...

Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa () is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football, Basketball, Weightl ...

, Hapoel Kfar Ata in Haifa and Hapoel Tiberias in Tiberias) participated in the leagues, due to travelling difficulties to meet other Jewish clubs. 2nd Battalion Black Watch won the Jerusalem Services and Police League, while the Haifa league was abandoned midway of the second round of fixtures.

Maccabi Tel Aviv Tour of Australia

On 24 May 1938,

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv () 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 as football, basketball, j ...

embarked on a five-month tour of Australia, playing 19 matches throughout the tour, appearing in some matches as Palestine.Australia V Palestine Football Match 1939
British Pathe
Michal Margalit, 6 May 2014, ynet.co.il Maccabi won 11 of the matches, drawn 3 and lost 5, with a goal difference of 92–49, striker

Gaul Machlis Gaul Machlis (; 21 May 1918 – 19 February 1995) was an Israeli football player and manager. As a player, he played as a forward or attacking midfielder for Maccabi Petah Tikva and Maccabi Tel Aviv at club level, and for Mandatory Palestine int ...

scoring 28 of the goals for Maccabi. List of matches: * 24 June 1939,

Olympic Park An Olympic Park is a sports campus for hosting the Olympic Games. Typically it contains the Olympic Stadium and the International Broadcast Centre. It may also contain the Olympic Village or some of the other sports venues, such as the aquatics ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

– Maccabi Tel Aviv 1–7 * 27 June 1939,

– Maccabi Tel Aviv 0–8 * 1 July 1939,

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

– Maccabi Tel Aviv 6–4 * 4 July 1939,

Cessnock, New South Wales Cessnock () is a city in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia, about by road west of Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle. It is the administrative centre of the City of Cessnock Local government in Australia, LGA and was named afte ...

: Northern Districts – Maccabi Tel Aviv 3–1 * 8 July 1939,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

– Palestine 7–5 * 12 July 1939,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

– Maccabi Tel Aviv 1–5 * 15 July 1939,

– Palestine 2–1 * 17 July 1939,

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

– Maccabi Tel Aviv 1–8 * 18 July 1939,

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( ), nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar', is a city on the border of South East Queensland and Darling Downs regions of Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital, Brisbane. The urban population of Toowoom ...

– Maccabi Tel Aviv 3–13 * 22 July 1939,

– Palestine 1–2 * 24 July 1939, Woonona, New South Wales: Woonona XI – Maccabi Tel Aviv 2–3 * 29 July 1939,

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

– Palestine 4–1 * 30 July 1939, Cessnock:

– Maccabi Tel Aviv 2–2 * 5 August 1939,

– Palestine 4–4 * 8 August 1939,

– Maccabi Tel Aviv 4–3 * 12 August 1939,

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

– Maccabi Tel Aviv 2–4 * 16 August 1939,

– Maccabi Tel Aviv 0–8 * 26 August 1939,

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

– Maccabi Tel Aviv 4–4 * 28 August 1939,

– Maccabi Tel Aviv 3–7 The return journey took almost a month, as the team's ship, which was headed to

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

was rerouted to

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

, as

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

broke out. Maccabi played two matches against local teams, winning 8–0 and 7–0, before departing via

Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

and

Port Said Port Said ( , , ) is a port city that lies in the northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, straddling the west bank of the northern mouth of the Suez Canal. The city is the capital city, capital of the Port S ...

back to Palestine.

Notable events

CAM Timișoara Clubul Athletic Muncitoresc Timișoara or shorter as CAM Timișoara was a football club based in Timișoara, western Romania. It was founded in the summer of 1936 after the merger of ''Reuniunea de Gimnastică a Muncitorilor din Timișoara'' (Wo ...

played six matches in late January 1939, twice against

, drawing 1–1 and winning 3–0; Twice against

, winning 5–2 and 4–0 and once against a combined Maccabi and Hapoel Tel Aviv XI, losing 1–3, and against Maccabi Petah Tikva, winning 2–1. This was Eliezer Spiegel's debut in Maccabi Petah Tikva senior squad, at the age of 16.Football in Red Shoes
Yechiel Arazi, 22 May 1955, Hadshot HaSport, via archive.football.org.il

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1938-39 in Mandatory Palestine football