The association football champions of Israel are the winners of the highest league in Israeli football, which is currently the Israeli Premier League. The league is contested on a round robin basis, and the championship is awarded to the team that is top of the league at the end of the season. Having won the 2025–26 competition, Hapoel Be’er Sheva are the current champions.
Following the creation of the Eretz Israel Football Association in August 1928, the first nationwide football championship in Mandatory Palestine, the Palestine League, began in October 1930, although this competition was abandoned. The Palestine League's last edition was played during the 1947–48 season, and was abandoned as well due to the Independence War. The league resumed in May 1949, and since then the national championship has been played under three names: Liga Alef, between 1949 and 1955; Liga Leumit, from 1955 to 1999; and finally, since 1999, the Israeli Premier League.
In all, Maccabi Tel Aviv holds the record for most championships, with 25 titles; they are also the only Israeli club to have never been relegated from the top division. The next most successful teams are Maccabi Haifa (15 titles) and Hapoel Tel Aviv (11), followed by Beitar Jerusalem and Hapoel Petah Tikva six titles each. While Maccabi and Hapoel Tel Aviv have always been major players in the league championship, the consistent success of Maccabi Haifa and Beitar Jerusalem has been a relatively recent phenomenon, both clubs having won their first title during the 1980s. The longest run of successive titles is five, won by Hapoel Petah Tikva between the 1958–59 and 1962–63 seasons.
Champions
Key Champions also won the Israel State Cup during the same season. (People's Cup before 1948)Champions also won the League Cup during the same season. (began play in 1984)§ Champions also won both cups during the same season.(titles)A running tally of the total number of championships won by each club is kept in brackets.
Palestine League (1931–1947)
The inaugural Palestine League title was won by British Police, who finished the season unbeaten and also won the People's Cup to complete the country's first double. Except for the Jerusalem-based British Police's initial victory, only clubs from Tel Aviv won the title during the Mandate period; Hapoel and Maccabi Tel Aviv won five and four championships, respectively.Bleicher (May 2011). Because of violent conflicts involving the Yishuv, the competition's scheduling was inconsistent, and in some seasons no national championship was held, or league competitions were abandoned.
Full league standings and top scorer details are not known at this time. + Champions of the Palestine League (1931–1947)SeasonWinner (titles)Runners-upNotes 1930–31 – 1931–32 British Police (1) Hapoel Tel Aviv — 1932–33 – 1933–34 Hapoel Tel Aviv (1)Maccabi Hashmonai — 1934–35 – 1935–36 Maccabi Tel Aviv (1) Hakoah Tel Aviv — 1937 Maccabi Tel Aviv (2) Hapoel Tel Aviv — 1938 – 1939 Maccabi Tel Aviv (3) Hapoel Tel Aviv 1940 Hapoel Tel Aviv (2) Beitar Tel Aviv — 1940–41 – 1941–42 Maccabi Tel Aviv (4) Maccabi Rishon LeZion 1942–43 – 1943–44 Hapoel Tel Aviv (3) Maccabi Rehovot 1944–45 Hapoel Tel Aviv (4)Beitar Tel Aviv (1) Hapoel Ramat GanMaccabi Rehovot 1945–46 – 1946–47 Maccabi Tel Aviv (5) Beitar Tel Aviv — 1947–48 – 1948 –
Israeli League (1949–1951)
Following Israel's creation in 1948, the association dropped "Eretz" from its name and the cup was renamed the Israel Cup. The league championship was held as the "Israeli League" for one season, in 1949–50; Maccabi Tel Aviv won the title.
+ SeasonWinner (titles)Runners-upThird placeTop scorerGoalsNotes 1949–50 Maccabi Tel Aviv (6) Hapoel Tel Aviv Hapoel Haifa (Maccabi Tel Aviv) 25 — 1950–51 —
Liga Alef (1951–1955)
A new top division, Liga Alef started play with the 1951–52 season. It became the second tier of Israeli football in 1955–56, when it was superseded as the top flight by Liga Leumit. Maccabi Tel Aviv won the first two of the championships held under this name, whilst the 1954–55 season ended with the championship leaving Tel Aviv for the first time since the first league season, 1931–32; Hapoel Petah Tikva finished the season top of the league while Maccabi and Hapoel Tel Aviv came in second and third place respectively
+ SeasonWinner (titles)Runners-upThird placeTop scorerGoalsNotes 1951–52 Maccabi Tel Aviv (7) Maccabi Petah Tikva Hapoel Haifa (Maccabi Tel Aviv) 24 — 1952–53 — 1953–54 Maccabi Tel Aviv (8) Maccabi Petah Tikva Hapoel Petah Tikva (Maccabi Petah Tikva) 16 — 1954–55 Hapoel Petah Tikva (1) Maccabi Tel Aviv Hapoel Tel Aviv (Beitar Tel Aviv) 30 —
Liga Leumit (1955–1999)
The inaugural Liga Leumit season, 1955–56, ended with the championship won by Maccabi Tel Aviv, which won two of the next three titles and Hapoel Tel Aviv one. Hapoel Petah Tikva then finished in second place three times in a row, before starting a record run of five successive championship victories. Hapoel Petah Tikva's run of five consecutive titles between the 1958–59 and 1962–63 seasons remains unmatched today. Two Ramat Gan clubs, Hapoel Ramat Gan and Hakoah Ramat Gan, then claimed a title each before Hapoel Tel Aviv took the title to Tel Aviv at the end of the 1965–66 season. In the 1966–68 season, often referred to as the "double season", the sixteen teams played each other twice at home and twice away during a season lasting two years.
During the 1970s and 1980s, six teams won their first championships; Maccabi Netanya took four titles between 1970 and 1980 while Hapoel Be'er Sheva won two back-to-back in 1974–75 and 1975–76. Hapoel Kfar Saba, Maccabi Haifa, Beitar Jerusalem and Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv all won their first titles during the 1980s. After Bnei Yehuda's victory in 1989–90, Maccabi Haifa, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Beitar Jerusalem dominated the remainder of the top-flight Liga Leumit era, winning every title except the last; the 1998–99 championship was won by first-time victors Hapoel Haifa.
+ Israeli football champions of the Liga Leumit eraSeasonWinner (titles)Runners-upThird placeTop scorerGoalsNotes 1955–56 Hapoel Petah Tikva Hapoel Tel Aviv (Beitar Tel Aviv)Michael Michaelov (Beitar Tel Aviv) 16 — 1956–57 Hapoel Petah Tikva Maccabi Tel Aviv (Hapoel Haifa) 16 — 1957–58 Hapoel Petah Tikva Maccabi Haifa (Maccabi Tel Aviv) 14 — 1958–59 Hapoel Petah Tikva (2) Hapoel Haifa Maccabi Tel Aviv (Maccabi Haifa) 17 — 1959–60 Hapoel Petah Tikva (3) Maccabi Tel Aviv Hapoel Haifa (Maccabi Tel Aviv) 19 — 1960–61 Hapoel Petah Tikva (4) Hapoel Tel Aviv Hapoel Haifa (Hapoel Haifa)Zharia Ratzabi (Hapoel Petah Tikva) 15 — 1961–62 Hapoel Petah Tikva (5) Maccabi Jaffa Hapoel Tiberias (Maccabi Haifa)Itzhak Nizri (Hapoel Tiberias) 16 — 1962–63 Hapoel Petah Tikva (6) Hapoel Tel Aviv Maccabi Jaffa (Hapoel Petah Tikva) 12 — 1963–64 Hapoel Ramat Gan (1) Maccabi Jaffa Hapoel Petah Tikva (Maccabi Jaffa) 21 — 1964–65 Hakoah Ramat Gan (1) Hapoel Petah Tikva Hapoel Tel Aviv (Maccabi Jaffa)Itzhak Mizrahi (Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv) 18 — 1965–66 Maccabi Tel Aviv Hapoel Petah Tikva (Shimshon Tel Aviv)Mordechai Spiegler (Maccabi Netanya) 17 — 1966–68 Maccabi Tel Aviv (11) Hapoel Petah Tikva Hapoel Haifa (Maccabi Netanya) 38 1968–69 Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Netanya (Maccabi Netanya) 25 — 1969–70 Maccabi Tel Aviv (12) Hapoel Tel Aviv Maccabi Haifa (Shimshon Tel Aviv) 15 — 1970–71 Maccabi Netanya (1) Shimshon Tel Aviv Hapoel Tel Aviv (Hapoel Jerusalem) 20 — 1971–72 Maccabi Tel Aviv (13) Beitar Jerusalem Hakoah Ramat Gan (Hakoah Ramat Gan) 21 — 1972–73 Hakoah Ramat Gan (2) Hapoel Tel Aviv Hapoel Jerusalem (Beitar Tel Aviv) 18 — 1973–74 Maccabi Netanya (2) Maccabi Tel Aviv Beitar Jerusalem (Hapoel Haifa) 15 — 1974–75 Hapoel Be'er Sheva (1) Maccabi Netanya Hapoel Haifa (Shimshon Tel Aviv) 17— 1975–76 Hapoel Be'er Sheva (2) Beitar Jerusalem Hapoel Haifa (Maccabi Netanya) 21 — 1976–77 Maccabi Tel Aviv (14) Maccabi Jaffa Beitar Jerusalem (Maccabi Tel Aviv) 17 — 1977–78 Maccabi Netanya (3) Beitar Jerusalem Maccabi Tel Aviv (Maccabi Netanya) 16 — 1978–79 Maccabi Tel Aviv (15) Beitar Jerusalem Maccabi Netanya (Maccabi Netanya)Eli Miali (Beitar Jerusalem) 18— 1979–80 Maccabi Netanya (4) Hapoel Tel Aviv Shimshon Tel Aviv (Maccabi Netanya) 18 — 1980–81 Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv Maccabi Jaffa (Maccabi Petah Tikva) 22 — 1981–82 Hapoel Kfar Saba (1) Maccabi Netanya Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv (Maccabi Netanya) 26 — 1982–83 Maccabi Netanya (5) Shimshon Tel Aviv Hapoel Be'er Sheva (Maccabi Netanya) 22 — 1983–84 Maccabi Haifa (1) Beitar Jerusalem Hapoel Tel Aviv (Maccabi Netanya) 16 — 1984–85 Maccabi Haifa (2) Beitar Jerusalem Shimshon Tel Aviv (Maccabi Netanya) 18 — 1985–86 Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Tel Aviv (Beitar Jerusalem)Doron Rabinzon (Maccabi Petah Tikva) 14 — 1986–87 Beitar Jerusalem (1) Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv (Hapoel Kfar Saba) 16 — 1987–88 Hapoel Tel Aviv (10) Maccabi Netanya Hapoel Be'er Sheva (Maccabi Haifa) 25 — 1988–89 Maccabi Haifa (3) Hapoel Petah Tikva Maccabi Netanya (Maccabi Tel Aviv) 18 — 1989–90 Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv (1) Hapoel Petah Tikva Maccabi Haifa (Maccabi Tel Aviv) 16 — 1990–91 Maccabi Haifa (4) Hapoel Petah Tikva Beitar Tel Aviv (Hapoel Petah Tikva) 20 — 1991–92 Maccabi Tel Aviv (16) Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv Maccabi Haifa (Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv) 20 — 1992–93 Beitar Jerusalem (2) Maccabi Tel Aviv Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv (Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv) 26 — 1993–94 Maccabi Haifa (5) Maccabi Tel Aviv Hapoel Be'er Sheva (Maccabi Haifa) 28 — 1994–95 Maccabi Tel Aviv (17) Maccabi Haifa Hapoel Be'er Sheva (Maccabi Haifa)Amir Turgeman (Maccabi Ironi Ashdod) 17 — 1995–96 Maccabi Tel Aviv (18) Maccabi Haifa Beitar Jerusalem (Maccabi Haifa) 26 — 1996–97 Beitar Jerusalem (3) Hapoel Petah Tikva Hapoel Be'er Sheva (Hapoel Petah Tikva) 21 — 1997–98 Beitar Jerusalem (4) Hapoel Tel Aviv Hapoel Haifa (Maccabi Haifa) 18 — 1998–99 Hapoel Haifa (1) Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Haifa (Maccabi Tel Aviv) 21 —
Israeli Premier League (1999–present)
When the Israeli Premier League became the top division of Israeli football in 1999–2000, Liga Leumit became the second division. Since then, only six clubs have won the title: Hapoel Tel Aviv, Ironi Kiryat Shmona, Hapoel Be'er Sheva, Maccabi Haifa, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Beitar Jerusalem. Hapoel Tel Aviv, Maccabi Haifa, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Beitar Jerusalem are sometimes referred to as the "Big Four" of Israeli football.
Having won seven titles in the league's 20 seasons, the most successful club during this period is Maccabi Haifa; during the same period, Maccabi Tel Aviv have added six to their total, Hapoel Be'er Sheva added three championships, while Beitar Jerusalem and Hapoel Tel Aviv have won two championships each. Although Hapoel Tel Aviv have only finished top of the league twice since 1999—in 1999–2000 and ten years later in 2009–10—they have won the double on both occasions.
This achievement was matched by Beitar Jerusalem in 2007–08. Ironi Kiryat Shmona won their first championship during the 2011–12 season, thereby becoming the first northern title-winners. Both Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Be'er Sheva have won three titles in a row.
Performances
Performance by club A star above the crest is awarded for every five titles.