The 1966–68 Liga Leumit season was the thirteenth in the league's history, and is notable for the

Israel Football Association The Israel Football Association (IFA; , ''HaHit'aḥdut leKaduregel beIsrael'', ) is the governing body of football in Israel. It organizes a variety of association football leagues where the highest level is the Israeli Premier League; as well a ...

's decision to play it over two years as a play to combat corruption and increasing violence at matches. The sixteen teams played each other four times during the season, effectively combining two seasons into one, leading it to be known as the double season (, ''HaOna HaKfula''). At the end of the season SK Nes Tziona and Hapoel Mahane Yehuda were relegated to

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 ...

, making it Mahane Yehuda's last top flight season to date. They were replaced by Hapoel Kfar Saba and

Beitar Jerusalem Beitar Jerusalem Football Club (), commonly known as Beitar Jerusalem () or simply Beitar (), is an Israeli professional football club based in the city of Jerusalem, that plays in the Israeli Premier League, the top tier in Israeli football ...

. As champions,

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 ...

entered the

1969 Asian Club Championship The 1969 Asian Champion Club Tournament was the 2nd edition of the annual Asian club football competition hosted by Asian Football Confederation. Ten domestic league champions from ten countries competed in the tournament. The tournament was held ...

, which they won.

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 ...

Mordechai Spiegler Mordechai "Motaleh" Spiegler (; born 19 August 1944) is an Israeli retired football player and manager. A prolific forward, he is placed second in Israel's all time goalscoring list, with 32 goals in 83 caps. Early life Mordechai Spiegler was ...

was the season's top scorer with 38 goals - 15 during 1966–67 and 23 in 1967–68.Israel - List of Final Tables
RSSSF

Background

The season began with a protests from relegated players, with the uproar reaching as far as the

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

. In an attempt to restore order to the game and solve the issues raised, the IFA decided to spread the league games over two years instead of one. The main objectives were to put an end to the riots on the field, reducing trouble at matches and improve the quality of play, as well as infusing new blood into teams by alleviating the immediate fear of relegation. The double season format involved all the Maccabi (

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, 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 metropolitan area i ...

, Maccabi Jaffa,

Netanya Netanya () () or Natanya (), is a city in the "Planet Bekasi" Central District (Israel), Setanyahu of Israel, Israel BAB ih, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between the Poleg stre ...

, Sha'arayim and

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 ...

) and

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 ...

(

Be'er Sheva Beersheba ( / ; ), officially Be'er-Sheva, is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the centre of the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the eighth-most po ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, Mahane Yehuda,

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva (, ), also spelt Petah Tiqwa and known informally as Em HaMoshavot (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of the Old Y ...

Ramat Gan Ramat Gan (, ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv, and is part of the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area. It is home to a Diamond Exchange District (one of the world's major diamond exch ...

and

) teams playing amongst themselves at the start of the season, and only later playing between the two groups of clubs. This was aimed at minimising the possibilities for match-fixing by teams affiliated to the same organisation at the end of the season. However, despite the drastic solution of playing a double season, the objectives were not considered to have been achieved.

League table

Results

Rounds 1–30

Rounds 31–60

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1966-68 Liga Leumit Liga Leumit seasons

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 ...

1966–67 in Israeli football leagues

1967–68 in Israeli football leagues