The 2012–13

Liga Alef Liga Alef ( he, ליגה א', , League A) 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 Decla ...

season saw Hapoel Afula (champions of the North Division) and

Hapoel Katamon Hapoel Katamon Jerusalem F.C. ( he, הפועל קטמון ירושלים) was the name of the club that is currently called Hapoel Jerusalem, an Israeli fan-owned association football club in Jerusalem. It was conceived and founded in 2007 by H ...

(champions of the South Division) win the title and promotion to

Liga Leumit Liga Leumit ( he, ליגה לאומית, lit. ''National League'') is the second division of the Israeli Football League, and below its Premier League. Structure There are 16 clubs in the league. At the end of each season, the two lowest-plac ...

. Beitar Kfar Saba won the promotion play-offs and met

Beitar Tel Aviv Ramla Beitar Tel Aviv Bat Yam F.C. ( he, מועדון כדורגל בית"ר תל אביב בת ים) is an Israeli football club which represents Tel Aviv and Bat Yam. It plays in the Liga Alef, the second level of Israeli football. Home matches are p ...

and lost 2–4 on aggregate and thus remained in

. At the bottom, the bottom two clubs in each division, Hapoel Kafr Kanna, Maccabi Sektzia Ma'alot-Tarshiha (from North division), Maccabi Ironi Kfar Yona and Ortodoxim Lod were all automatically relegated to

Liga Bet Liga Bet ( he, ליגה ב', lit. ''League B'') 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 ...

, whilst the two clubs which were ranked in 14th place in each division, Maccabi Kafr Kanna and

Hapoel Arad Hapoel Arad ( he, הפועל ערד) was an Israeli football club based in Arad. History The club was founded in 1965 and played mostly in the lower divisions of Israeli football. In the 2004–05 season the club won Liga Bet South B division ...

entered a promotion/relegation play-offs, Maccabi Kafr Kanna prevailing to stay in Liga Alef, while

were relegated after losing the play-offs.

Changes from last season

Format changes

* The divisions reverted to being played under the same rules as 2010–11 Liga Alef, with the champions of each division winning promotion, the clubs ranked 2nd to 5th entering promotion play-offs, the clubs ranked 14th entering relegation play-offs and the bottom two clubs relegating automatically to

Team changes

Maccabi Yavne Maccabi "Zvi" Yavne ( he, מכבי יבנה) is an Israeli football club based in Yavne. They currently play in Liga Alef. History The club was founded in 1962 and played in Liga Gimel, the lowest tier of Israeli football, up until the 1971� ...

were promoted to

;

Hapoel Herzliya Hapoel Herzliya ( he, הפועל הרצליה) is an Israeli football club based in Herzliya. The club is currently in Liga Alef North division and play their home matches at the Herzliya Municipal Stadium. History The Hapoel sport club in ...

(to North division), Maccabi Be'er Sheva and

Maccabi Ironi Bat Yam Maccabi Ironi Bat Yam ( he, מכבי עירוני בת ים) was an Israeli football club based in Bat Yam. The club played home matches at the 3,100-capacity Bat Yam Municipal Stadium. History The club was formed by a merger of Beitar Bat Yam a ...

(to South division) were relegated from

. * Maccabi Ironi Jatt withdrew from the league mid-season and folded. * Maccabi Tamra, and Ahi Acre were relegated to

from North division;

Hapoel Migdal HaEmek Hapoel Migdal HaEmek ( he, הפועל מגדל העמק) is an Israeli football club based in Migdal HaEmek. The club currently plays in Liga Alef North division. History The club was founded in 1959, and in the 1963–64 season appeared for th ...

was promoted to the North division from

. * Maccabi Netivot and Maccabi HaShikma Ramat Hen were relegated to

from South division;

Hapoel Azor Hapoel Azor ( he, הפועל אזור) is an Israeli football club based in Azor. The club currently plays in Liga Alef South division. History The club was founded in 1954, and in 1959 was promoted to Liga Bet, the third tier of Israeli foo ...

and

Maccabi Sha'arayim Maccabi Sha'arayim ( he, מכבי שעריים) is an Israeli football club from the city Rehovot, currently playing in Liga Alef. The club spent the past seven seasons in the top division from 1963 to 1969, and a single season in 1985–8 ...

were promoted to the South division from

North Division

South Division

Promotion play-offs

First round

Second and third placed clubs played single match at home against the fourth and fifth placed clubs in their respective regional division. ---- Hapoel Migdal HaEmek and Hapoel Herzliya (from North division) and Hapoel Azor and Beitar Kfar Saba (from South division) advanced to the second round. ----

Second round

The winners of the first round played single match at home of the higher ranked club (from each regional division). ---- Hapoel Migdal HaEmek and Beitar Kfar Saba advanced to the third round. ----

Third round

Hapoel Migdal HaEmek and Beitar Kfar Saba faced each other for a single match in neutral venue. the winner advanced to the fourth round against the 14th placed club in Liga Leumit. Beitar Kfar Saba advanced to the fourth round. ----

Fourth round

Beitar Kfar Saba faced the 14th placed in

2012–13 Liga Leumit The 2012–13 Liga Leumit was the fourteen season since its introduction in 1999 and the 71st season of second-tier football in Israel. It began on 24 August 2012 and ended on 20 May 2013. A total of sixteen teams contested in the league, includin ...

Beitar Tel Aviv Ramla. the winner on aggregate earned a spot in the

2013–14 Liga Leumit The 2013–14 Liga Leumit was the fifteenth season since its introduction in 1999 and the 72nd season of second-tier football in Israel. It began on 8 September 2013 and will end in May 2014. A total of sixteen teams are contesting in the league, ...

. The matches took place on May 24 and 28, 2013. ---- Beitar Tel Aviv Ramla won 4–2 on aggregate and remained in Liga Leumit. Beitar Kfar Saba remained in Liga Alef.

Relegation play-offs

North play-off

The 14th placed club in Liga Alef North, Maccabi Kafr Kanna, faced the Liga Bet play-offs winner, Hapoel Iksal. the winner earned a spot in the

2013–14 Liga Alef The 2013–14 Liga Alef season saw Hapoel Kfar Saba (champions of the North Division) and Maccabi Kiryat Gat (champions of the South Division) win the title and promotion to Liga Leumit. The clubs which were ranked between 2nd to 5th places in eac ...

. Maccabi Kafr Kanna remained in Liga Alef.

South play-off

The 14th placed club in Liga Alef South, Hapoel Arad, faced the Liga Bet play-offs winner, F.C. Kafr Qasim. the winner earned a spot in the

. Hapoel Arad relegated to Liga Bet.

References

Liga Alef North 2012/2013
The Israel Football Association
Liga Alef South 2012/2013
The Israel Football Association {{DEFAULTSORT:2012-13 Liga Alef Liga Alef seasons 3

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...