The 1961–62

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 23rd 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 eighth 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 began on 12 February 1961, less than two weeks after the conclusion of the previous competition. Despite this, the competition took slightly less than 15 months to complete, partly due to Israel's involvement in the

1962 FIFA World Cup qualification A total of 56 teams entered the 1962 FIFA World Cup FIFA World Cup qualification, qualification rounds, competing for a total of 16 spots in the final tournament. Chile national football team, Chile, as the hosts, and Brazil national football team, ...

and its matches against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in late 1961. 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 ...

sought to play the final on

Tu Bishvat Tu BiShvat () is a Jewish holiday occurring on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat. It is also called ''Rosh HaShanah La'Ilanot'' (), literally " New Year to the Trees". In contemporary Israel, the day is celebrated as an ecological awa ...

, 15 February 1962, with the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

presenting the cup, as the previous final was played. However, as the holiday was celebrated on a

Saturday Saturday is the day of the week between Friday and Sunday. No later than the 2nd century, the Romans named Saturday ("Saturn's Day") for the god Saturn. His planet, Saturn, controlled the first hour of that day, according to Vettius Valens. T ...

, The final was set to 28 February 1962. However, as

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 ...

already committed to a friendly match against Altay S.K. the day before the set date, the match had to be rescheduled. The final was therefore held on 27 March 1962 at

Ramat Gan Stadium Ramat Gan Stadium (, ''Itztadion Ramat Gan'') is a football stadium in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. It served as the national stadium of Israel until 2014. Overview Completed in 1951 and serving as Israel's largest stadium e ...

between

and

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 ...

and ended goalless. The replay was played, at the request of

Itzhak Ben-Zvi, at the Hebrew University Stadium. The date was set to 7 May 1962 and

won 5–2 to win its first cup.

Results

Fourth Round

Matches were played on 29 April 1961. Byes: Hakoah Tel Aviv, Hapoel Mahane Yehuda, Hapoel Tiberias.

Replay

Fifth Round

Liga Leumit The Israeli Liga Leumit (, HaLiga HaLeumit, ) is the second division of the professional Israeli association football (soccer) league system. This second-tier league is placed directly below the Israeli Premier League. Structure There are 16 ...

teams entered the competition at this round. Matches were played on 20 May 1961. The match between Hapoel Marmorek and

was played on 17 May 1961.Maccabi Tel Aviv - Marmorek 7:1 (Page 1)
Hadshot HaSport, 18.5.1961

Replay

Sixth Round

Resuming the competition after the summer break and Israel's matches against

, most matches were played on 2 December 1961, with the matches between lower leagues' teams Postponed to 12 December 1961. The match between

and

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 ...

ended with a result of 3–1, however, as

fielded an ineligible player (Israel Pinkas), the match was given to

. However, on an appeal the decision was reversed and the original score confirmed.

Replay

Second Replay

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

----

Final

Replay

References

*100 Years of Football 1906–2006, Elisha Shohat (Israel), 2006
State Cup games
Davar, 28.4.1961, Historical Jewish Press
State Cup (Page 3)
Hadshot HaSport, 30.4.1961, archive.football.co.il
All the matches in the State Cup
Elisha Shohat, HaMakhtesh

External links

Israel Football Association website
{{DEFAULTSORT:1961-62 Israel State Cup

State Cup State Cup Israel State Cup seasons