Hapoel Nahariya () was an Israeli football club based in

Nahariya Nahariya () is the northernmost coastal city in Israel. As of , the city had a population of . The city was founded in 1935 by Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany. Etymology Nahariya takes its name from the stream of Ga'aton River, Ga'aton (riv ...

. The club played in

Liga Gimel Liga Gimel (, lit. ''League C'') is, since 2009, the fifth and bottom division of Israeli football league system, Israeli Football League. From Liga Alef and downwards, including Liga Gimel, each league is separated by region. History Liga Gimel ...

Upper Galilee The Upper Galilee (, ''HaGalil Ha'Elyon''; , ''Al Jaleel Al A'alaa'') is a geographical region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Part of the larger Galilee region, it is characterized by its higher elevations and mountainous terra ...

division.

History

The club's most notable result, which is considered to be the biggest upset in the history of Israeli football, came at the Round of 16 of the

1962–63 Israel State Cup The 1962–63 Israel State Cup (, ''Gvia HaMedina'') was the 24th season of Israel's nationwide football cup competition and the ninth after the Israeli Declaration of Independence. The competition began on 24 March 1962, before the completion of ...

, when Hapoel Nahariya, which played in

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 ...

, the third tier of Israeli football at the time, defeated

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 ...

1–0, with a late goal by Rafi Shushan. They were eliminated in the Quarter-finals, following a defeat of 3–5 to the Israeli champions at the time, Hapoel Petah Tikva. Hapoel Nahariya spent 12 seasons in the second tier of Israeli football. They have reached the second tier for the first time in the 1953–54 season, where they placed fifth in the North division. In the following season, the club reached their best placing to date, after they finished third in

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 ...

North division. In the 1956–57 season they finished second bottom, and relegated to Liga Bet. The club returned to Liga Alef, after they finished third in the

1962–63 Liga Bet The 1962–63 Liga Bet season saw Hapoel Acre, Hapoel Nahliel, YMCA Jerusalem and SK Nes Tziona win their regional divisions and promoted to Liga Alef. Further twelve teams which have finished between second and fourth were also promoted, wit ...

North A division, and relegated back to Liga Bet after another second bottom finish at the following season. Two seasons later, Hapoel won

North A division, however, history repeated itself, and they were relegated in the following season (which was the "double season" of 1966–68), after yet another second bottom finish. In the 1969–70 season the club won Liga Bet North A division once again, and promoted to Liga Alef. This time, their return to Liga Alef was successful, as they finished the 1970–71 season in the fifth place in Liga Alef North, and remained in the second tier until 1976, when

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 ...

was created and became the new second tier of Israeli football, whilst Liga Alef became the third tier. Hapoel played in Liga Alef until the 1981–82 season, when they finished bottom and relegated to Liga Bet. They did not return to the third tier of Israeli football ever since. Currently, the club plays in

, the fifth and lowest tier of Israeli football, after they were relegated from Liga Bet in the 2010–11 season, following a defeat of 0–1 to Ihud Bnei Majd al-Krum in the relegation play-offs. The last season the club played was the 2021–22 Liga Gimel season, after which the club merged into

club Beitar Nahariya F.C..

Hapoel Zvi Nahariya

Hapoel Zvi Nahariya was the club's reserve team, named after Harry Zvi Levi, which was on the club's board in its early years.Football
Zvi Israeli, Nahariya Museum Later, the team was made of youth players and was assigned to the youth leagues, playing mainly in the northern district leagues.

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 ...

External links

Hapoel Nahariya
Israel Football Association

References

{{Liga Gimel Association football clubs established in the 1940s Association football clubs disestablished in 2022

Nahariya