Hapoel Kfar Saba F.C. (, ''Moadon Kaduregel Hapoel Kfar Saba'') is an Israeli

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 ...

club based in

Kfar Saba Kfar Saba ( ), officially Kfar Sava , is a List of Israeli cities, city in the Sharon plain, Sharon region, of the Central District (Israel), Central District of State of Israel, Israel. In 2019 it had a population of 110,456, making it the 16th-l ...

. The club competes in the

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 ...

and plays home matches at

Levita Stadium The Levita Stadium is a football stadium in Kfar Saba, Israel. It is currently used mostly for association football, football matches and is the home stadium of Hapoel Kfar Saba F.C., Hapoel Kfar Saba and Beitar Kfar Saba F.C., Beitar Kfar Saba. ...

History

The club was established in

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...

. In 1951–52 they won the South Division of

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 ...

to win promotion 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 ...

(then the top division). Three years later they finished third from bottom and had to take part in promotion/relegation play-offs with the two top clubs from the second tier. They were unbeatnd during the play-offs and retained their place in Liga Leumit (which had replaced Liga Alef as the top division). However, in 1955–56, they finished bottom and were relegated. Hapoel made an immediate return to Liga Leumit. They finished bottom in 1957–58, but avoided the drop as no clubs were relegated. However, they finished bottom again the following season and were relegated. The club returned to Liga Leumit in 1968. In 1975, they reached the State Cup final for the first time, beating

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 ...

1–0. After several mid-table finishes, they were relegated at the end of the 1976–77 season. They made an immediate return to the top division, finishing third in

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 ...

(the new second tier). In 1980, they reached the State Cup final again, beating Maccabi Ramat Amidar 4–1. In 1980–81 they narrowly avoided relegation, finishing two points and one place above the relegation zone. The following season the club won the title for the first (and only) time under the management of

Dror Kashtan Dror Kashtan (; 1 October 1944 – 15 January 2024) was an Israeli football player and manager. Biography Dror Kashtan was born in Petah Tikva during the British Mandate for Palestine. Sports career As a player, he represented the Israel nati ...

. However, they finished bottom the season after, and returned to Liga Artzit. They finished as runners-up to

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 ...

in 1983–84 to make another immediate return to Liga Leumit. In 1990, the club reached the State Cup final for a third time, beating

Shimshon Tel Aviv Shimshon Tel Aviv F.C. (, ''Moadon Kaduregel Shimshon Tel Aviv'') is an Israeli football club based in Tel Aviv. In 2000 it merged with Beitar Tel Aviv to create Beitar Shimshon Tel Aviv.

1–0 after extra time. The following season they were relegated again after finishing bottom of the table. In 1992, under the management of Avram Marchinsky, the club signed its first American player, Michael Winograd, out of Lafayette College. The club returned to the top division the following season. In 1999–2000 they were relegated to

(now the second tier). They won the league in 2001–02 to return to the top division, but were relegated at the end of the following season. The club won Liga Leumit again in 2004–05, and avoided relegation on goal difference the following season. However, two seasons later they were relegated on goal difference. For the 2010–11 season, a new owner, Harel Raihman, came on after almost 15 years of Eli Tabib's era. At the end of the regular season, the club finished on top of the league, with an advantage of thirteen points over the third place. However, in the

Top playoff Top most commonly refers to: * Top, a basic term of orientation, distinguished from bottom, front, back, and sides * Spinning top, a ubiquitous traditional toy * Top (clothing), clothing designed to be worn over the torso * Mountain top, a mount ...

, where all the points obtained during the regular season were halved (and rounded up), the club failed to record a win, and finished the league in the third place, behind

Ironi Nir Ramat HaSharon Hapoel Nir Ramat HaSharon Football Club () is an Israeli football club based in Ramat HaSharon. Founded in 1957, the club is currently competing in Liga Leumit, and plays its home matches at Grundman Stadium. History The club was founded in 195 ...

and Hapoel Rishon LeZion which were promoted. As the third placed club, Kfar Saba went to play in the

Promotion play-off Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

against the 14th-placed club in 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 ...

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 ...

, and lost both games, 1-4 and 0–1. Thus, the club remained in Liga Leumit. In the 2012–13 season the club have entered administration, and as a result, were deducted nine points. The club finished bottom and relegated to

, the third tier of Israeli football. With a new owner, Stav Shaham, together with former club captain, Eli Yani, and the supporters trust, "The Green Heart", the club recovered in the following season, and made an immediate return to Liga Leumit, after finishing on top of Liga Alef North division. In the following season, the club made their second successive promotion, following runners-up finish in Liga Leumit. Thus, the club returned to the Israeli Premier League after seven years. In 2015–16 season, the team finished at 10th, but one season after (2016–17), the team finished 13th and relegated to the Liga Leumit.

Players

Current squad

; As of 2 August 2024

Out on loan

Foreigners 2023–24

Only up to six non-Israeli nationals can be in an Israeli club squad (only five can play at the same time). Those with Jewish ancestry, married to an Israeli or have played in Israel for an extended period of time, can claim a passport or permanent residency which would allow them to play with Israeli status. * Julio César

Former players

Jerzy Wijas Jerzy Ernest Wijas (born 12 February 1959) is a Polish former professional footballer.Shmuel Kozokin Shmuel Kozokin (; born 16 November 1987) is an Israeli former footballer. Kozokin was a defender. He won a gold medal with Team Israel at the 2005 Maccabiah Games. He played for the Israel national under-19 football team, the Israel nati ...

(born 1987), Israeli footballer

Staff

Honours

League League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

Cup competitions

Managers

* Haim Reich (1951–54) * Edmond Schmilovich (1954–55) *

Emmanuel Scheffer Emmanuel Scheffer (‎; 1 February 1924 – 28 December 2012) was an Israeli football player and coach who was born in Germany. He was twice the manager of the Israel national team (1968–70, 1978–79), and led the team at the 1968 Summer ...

(1955) *

Moshe Poliakov Moshe (Mosta) Poliakov () was an Israeli football player, footballer and manager (association football), manager, one of the founders of Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C., Hapoel Tel Aviv and the first captain (sports), captain of the club, and one of the mos ...

(1955–56) *

Israel Weiss Israel Weiss (; born 1949) was the Military Rabbinate, Chief Military Rabbi of the Israel Defense Forces serving in the position between 2000 and 2006, with a rank of Brigadier General. His predecessor in that position was Rabbi Gad Navon. Biogra ...

(1956–57) * Zvi Erlich (1957–58) *

Yair Levita Yair may refer to: People *Yair (name), a Hebrew name **Jair (name), a spelling variant of the name **Avraham Stern Avraham Stern (, ''Avraham Shtern''; December 23, 1907 – February 12, 1942), alias Yair (), was one of the leaders of the ...

(1958–59) * Eliezer Spiegel (1959) *

(1959) * Eliezer Spiegel (1959) *

(1959) *

(1959–60) * Harry Gibbons (1960) * Moshe Varon (1960–61) * Edmond Schmilovich (1961–62) *

(1962) * Arie Koch (1962–63) *

Lonia Dvorin Ari "Lonia" Dvorin (; ; ; 23 October 1917 – 17 March 2000) was an Israeli football player and coach. As a player, he played as a full-back for Beitar Tel Aviv and the Mandatory Palestine national team. Early life Dvorin was born on 23 Oct ...

(1963) * Gershon Meller (1963–64) * Arie Koch (1964–65) *

Arie Radler Arie Radler () is a former Israeli footballer and manager. Honours As a Player * Israeli championships **Winner (5): 1958–59, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1962–63 **''Runner-up (3):'' 1955–56, 1956–57, 1957–58 * State Cup **Winner ...

(1965–68) *

Ya'akov Grundman Ya'akov "Yankela" Grundman (; 20, Polish: Jakub Grundman, alternatively Jakob Grundman or Ja’akow Grundman; July 1939, Proszowice – 24 May 2004, Tel Aviv) was a Polish-born Ashkenazi Jewish Israeli professional football player and manager. ...

(1968–70) * Rehavia Rosenbaum (1970–72) *

Nahum Stelmach Nahum Stelmach (; – ) was an Israeli footballer and manager. Biography Stelmach was born in Petah Tikva, Mandate Palestine, British Mandate of Palestine (now Israel), to a Jewish family. He was chosen third by ''Yediot Aharonots greatest Israe ...

(1972–73) *

Shlomo Scharf Shlomo Scharf (; born 1 January 1943) is an Israeli former football coach and player who works as a commentator on Israeli Sport 5 TV channel. Scharf managed Maccabi Haifa to three championships, and was Israel national team manager from 19 ...

(1973–76) *

(1976) *

(1976–77) *

Amnon Raz Amnon ( ''’Amnōn'', "faithful") was, in the Hebrew Bible, the oldest son of King David and his second wife, Ahinoam of Jezreel. He was born in Hebron during his father's reign in Judah. He was the heir apparent to the throne of Israel until h ...

(1977–78) *

(1978–80) * Avraham Marchinski (1980–81) *

(1981–83) *

Itzhak Shum Itzhak Shum (; born 1 September 1948 in Kishinev, Moldavian SSR) is a retired Israeli football player and manager, and currently the owner of Hapoel Kfar Saba. Playing career He played 78 times and scored 10 goals for Israel national footba ...

(1983–85) * Nissim Bachar (1985–87) *

Shimon Shenhar Shimon Shenhar (; 19 September 1942 – 11 March 2012) was an Israeli football manager and footballer. Early life Shenhar was the son of Israeli footballer Otto Schlefenberg. Career After managing teams in Israel, Shenhar was appointed manag ...

(1987–88) * Avraham Marchinski (1988–89) * Wojciech Łazarek (1989–90) * Asher Messing (1990–91) * Avraham Marchinski (1991–93) * Adir Shamir (1994) * Nissim Bachar (1994) * Eli Yani (1994–95) *

Avi Cohen Avraham "Avi" Cohen (; 14 November 1956 – 29 December 2010) was an Israeli footballer who played as a defender, and a manager. He was best known for his spells playing for two British clubs: Liverpool in England and Rangers in Scotland. Aft ...

(1996–98) *

(1998) * Moshe Sinai (1998–99) *

Eyal Lahman Eyal Lahman (; born 29 September 1965) is an Israeli football manager. Biography Born in Petah Tikva, Lahman joined the Hapoel Petah Tikva youth system, but left the club at 16 to join Petah Tikva-based Hapoel Mahane Yehuda. He returned to H ...

(1999) *

(1999–2000) * Elisha Levy (2000) * Motti Ivanir (2000–01) * Uri Elkabetz (2001) * Miro Ben Shimon (2001) *

(2001–02) * Tamir Ben Haim (2002–03) * Michael Kadosh (2003–04) * Elisha Levy (2004–06) *

Eli Ohana Eliyahu "Eli" Ohana (; born ) is an Israeli former professional footballer and the former chairman of Israeli club Beitar Jerusalem. He played as a forward or attacking midfielder for Beitar Jerusalem, KV Mechelen, S.C. Braga, and the I ...

(2006–08) *

Slobodan Drapić Slobodan Drapić ( sr-Cyrl, Слободан Драпић, ; born 28 February 1965) is a football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of Maccabi Bnei Reineh. Born in Yugoslavia, he represented Israel at international level. P ...

(2008–09) * Tomer Kashtan (2009–11) * Guy Azouri (2011) * Moshe Hershko (2011–12) * Asi Domb (2012) *

Alon Mizrahi Alon Mizrahi (; born 22 November 1971) is an Israeli former professional footballer who played for clubs including Nice, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Hapoel Tel Aviv, Hapoel Be'er Sheva, Maccabi Haifa and Beitar Jerusalem. His nickname is "The Airplane" ( ...

(2012) *

Ran Goldig RAN may refer to: * Radio access network, a part of a mobile telecommunication system * Rainforest Action Network * Ran (gene) (RAs-related Nuclear protein), also known as GTP-binding nuclear protein Ran, a protein that in humans is encoded by the ...

(2013) *

Idan Shum Idan Shum (; born 26 March 1976) is an Israeli former Association football, footballer. References External links *Profile and biography of Idan Shum on Maccabi Haifa's official website*Profile and statistics of Idan Shum on One.co.il
19 ...

& Tamir Ben Haim (2013) *

Yehoshua Feigenbaum Yehoshua "Shiye" Feigenbaum (; born 5 December 1947) is a former Israeli football player. As a striker, he holds many records with Israel national football team. Honours As a Player *Israeli Premier League (2): **1965–66, 1968–69 *Israel ...

(2013) * Felix Naim (2013–15) * Sharon Mimer (2016–2017) *

Eli Cohen Eliyahu Ben-Shaul Cohen (‎; ‎; 26 December 1924 – 18 May 1965) was an Egyptian-born Israeli spy. He is best known for his espionage work in Syria between 1961 and 1965, where he developed close relationships with the Syrian poli ...

(2017) * Felix Naim (2017) * Messay Dego (2017–2018) *

Raimondas Žutautas Raimondas Žutautas (born 4 September 1972) is a former Lithuanian footballer and current head coach. Zutautas played as a defensive midfielder. In 1999 Zutautas signed with Israeli club Maccabi Haifa F.C. and played there between the years 199 ...

(2018) *

Haim Shabo Haim Shabo () is a former Israeli footballer and current manager. He is of a Tunisian-Jewish descent. Honours *Liga Artzit Liga Artzit (, lit. ''Country League'') is the defunct third division of Israeli Football League, beneath its highest ...

(2018) * Erez Benodis (2018–2019) *

Ofir Haim Ofir Haim (; born 21 April 1975) is an Israeli former Association footballer, footballer and manager who head coaches both the Israel national under-19 football team, Israel national under-19 team and the Israel national under-20 football team, I ...

(2019–2020) *

Amir Turgeman Amir Turgeman (; born May 10, 1972) is an Israeli football coach and a former international player. While playing for Ironi Ashdod during the 1994/95 season, Turgeman scored seventeen league goals and shared the golden boot award with Ashdod nat ...

(2020–)

References

External links

*
Hapoel Kfar Saba
. ''The Israel Football Association'' . {{Liga Leumit

Association football clubs established in 1928 1928 establishments in Mandatory Palestine Sport in Kfar Saba