The 1953–54

Israel State Cup The Israel State Cup (, ''Gvia HaMedina''), is a knockout cup competition in Israeli football, run by the Israel Football Association (IFA). The State Cup was first held in 1928 as the People's Cup. Because it involves clubs of all standards ...

(, ''Gvia HaMedina'') was the 17th season of

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

's nationwide football cup competition and the second after the

Israeli Declaration of Independence The Israeli Declaration of Independence, formally the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel (), was proclaimed on 14 May 1948 (5 Iyar 5708), at the end of the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war phase and ...

. The competition started in March 1953, after yet another agreement ending a rift between the

Hapoel Hapoel (, ) 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 with Maccabi World Union, Maccab ...

and Maccabi factions in the

IFA IFA or Ifa may refer to: Organisations Economics * Independent financial adviser, a type of financial services professional in the UK * Index Fund Advisors * Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, representing actuaries in the UK * Institute of Act ...

, and the first rounds were played as a part of the 1952–53 Israeli football season. The competition continued during the 1953–54 season. The final was held at the Basa Stadium in

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 ...

on 3 July 1954.

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 ...

defeated

Maccabi Netanya Maccabi Netanya F.C. () is an Israeli professional football club based in Netanya. Established in 1934, the club was a founding member of the Israeli League in 1949. After winning their first championship in 1971, the club's golden period last ...

4–0 and won its seventh cup.

Results

First round

10 of the 11

Liga Gimel Liga Gimel (, lit. ''League C'') is, since 2009, the fifth and bottom division of Israeli football league system, Israeli Football League. From Liga Alef and downwards, including Liga Gimel, each league is separated by region. History Liga Gimel ...

(3rd tier) clubs which had registered to play in the cup competed in the first round. Matches were due to be held on 21 March 1953. However, only one match, between Beitar Haifa and Hapoel Acre was held, and the rest were played in early April 1953. Bye: Kadima Jaffa

Second round

26 teams from

Liga Bet Liga Bet () 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 Independence. However, the financial ...

joined the six qualifiers from the first round. Matches were played on 18 April 1953.

Third round

The 12 teams of

Liga Alef Liga Alef () 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 Declaration of Independence. Howe ...

entered the competition. Matches were held on 2 May 1953.

and Maccabi Jerusalem required a replay, which was delayed and was finally played on 12 September 1953.

Replay

Fourth round

The final 14 teams met in this round, which matches were played on 14 November 1953, except for the match between

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 ...

and Maccabi Petah Tikva, which was postponed to 9 January 1954. Both teams requested the postponement as they had major players injured after the

1954 FIFA World Cup qualification A total of 37 teams entered the 1954 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 16 spots in the final tournament. Switzerland, as the hosts, and Uruguay, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots open ...

matches at

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. The match between

Hapoel Jerusalem Hapoel Jerusalem is a sport organization in Jerusalem as a local branch of the Hapoel movement. The branch was established in the 1920s and represents the city in more sports than any other sport organization in Jerusalem. Today, the club's lead ...

and

Hapoel Petah Tikva Hapoel Petah Tikva F.C. () is an Israeli professional football club based in the city of Petah Tikva, currently playing in Israeli Premier League. Its most successful period was throughout the 1950s and 1960s, in which the club won six League C ...

was abandoned at the 60th minute due to weather conditions and was replayed on 12 December 1953.

were on the brink of elimination, as they were losing 1–2 at Hapoel Kiryat Haim, before scoring a 90th-minute equalizer, and winning the match in extra time.

Replay

Quarter-finals

In early March 1954,

played the

return home matches against

and

, and then went on a two-month tour of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. After the return of the national team, the quarter-final matches were played on 29 May 1954. Bye:

Semi-finals

Both matches were played on 5 June 1954.

Final

Notes

References

*100 Years of Football 1906–2006, Elisha Shohat (Israel), 2006

External links

Israel Football Association website
{{DEFAULTSORT:1953-54 Israel State Cup

State Cup State Cup Israel State Cup seasons