The 1998–99

Liga Artzit Liga Artzit (, lit. ''Country League'') is the defunct third division of Israeli Football League, beneath its highest division Premier League and the second division Liga Leumit. Before being cancelled in 2009, it was run by the Israel Football A ...

season was the last in which the league was the

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 second tier, as at the end of the season the

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League (, Ligat HaAl, ) is a professional association football league in Israel and the highest level of the Israeli football league system. The league is contested by 14 clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and rele ...

came into existence, replacing

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 ...

as the country's top division. As a result, for the 1999–2000 season Liga Leumit became the second division and Liga Artzit became the third division. Due to the restructuring, only one club,

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 ...

, was promoted to the top division (which was reduced from 16 to 14 clubs). At the other end of the table, eight clubs were due to be relegated as the second division was reduced to 10 clubs. However,

Bnei Sakhnin Bnei Sakhnin F.C. (, , ) is an Israeli professional football club based at the Doha Stadium in Sakhnin. They are the most successful club among the Arab-Israeli clubs in the country, having won the State Cup in 2004. History Early years Bn ...

, who had finished eighth from bottom, were reprieved from relegation as

Maccabi Jaffa Maccabi Jaffa Football Club () is an Israeli football club from Jaffa, Tel Aviv. Founded in 2007 as a phoenix football club by fans of Maccabi Jaffa F.C., which was dissolved in 2000 and all previous attempts in the intervening years to revive it ...

, who had finished bottom of the top division, were relegated three levels 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 ...

due to their budget not being approved by 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 ...

.Israel Third Level 1999–2000
RSSSF Although the bottom eight were due to be relegated to the third tier for the 1999–2000 season, three of them ( Hapoel Ashdod, Hapoel Lod and SK Nes Tziona) were relegated two levels as like Maccabi Jaffa, their budgets for the 1999–2000 season were not approved by the IFA.

Final table

References

External links

Israel Second Level 1998/99
RSSSF {{DEFAULTSORT:1998-99 Liga Artzit Liga Artzit seasons