Hapoel Nof HaGalil Football Club (; ) is an Israeli professional football club based in
Nof HaGalil
Nof HaGalil is a city in the Northern District of Israel with a population of .
Nof HaGalil was founded in 1957 as Nazareth Illit (; ), it was planned as a Jewish town overlooking the city of Nazareth and the Jezreel Valley.
History
The club was founded in 1962 as Hapoel Kiryat Nazareth and competed 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 ...
for several seasons, before promoting to
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 ...
at the end of the 1971–72 season. The club changed its name in 1973 after Kiryat Nazareth gained city status and was renamed
Nazareth Illit
Nof HaGalil is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel with a population of .
Nof HaGalil was founded in 1957 as Nazareth Illit (; ), it was planned as a Jewish town overlooking the city of Nazareth and the Jezreel V ...
league system
A league system is a hierarchy of sports league, leagues in a sport. They are often called pyramids, due to their tendency to split into an increasing number of regional divisions further down the system. League systems of some sort are used in ma ...
restructuring, the club remained in the league system's third tier, which became
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 ...
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 and was promoted to
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 ...
, then the second tier. In 1983–84 they finished second from bottom, and were relegated to Liga Alef. Two seasons later the club finished second from bottom in Liga Alef and dropped to
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 ...
.
In 1998–99 the club finished as runners-up in Liga Alef North, and was promoted back to Liga Artzit, which was now the third tier following the formation of 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 ...
in 1999. After narrowly avoiding relegation in 2000–01 when they finished one place above the relegation zone, the club finished as runners-up the following season, and were promoted back to the second tier. In 2003–04 they finished as runners-up (on goal difference), and were promoted to the top division for the first time in their history.
In their first season in the Premier League the club finished fifth. Home matches were initially played at
Maccabi Ahi Nazareth
Maccabi Akhi Nazareth Football Club (; ) is an Israeli football club based in Nazareth. The club is currently in the and plays at the Ilut Stadium in Ilut on the outskirts of the city.
History
The club was formed in 1968, and played in Liga ...
's
Ilut Stadium
The Ilut Stadium is a football stadium in Ilut, located near Nazareth in northern Israel. The stadium is the home ground of Maccabi Ahi Nazareth.
Bnei Sakhnin
Bnei Sakhnin F.C. (, , ) is an Israeli professional football club based at the ...
, whilst their
home ground
In sports, home is the place and venue identified with a sports team. Most professional teams are named for, and marketed to, particular metropolitan areas; amateur teams may be drawn from a particular region, or from institutions such as sc ...
had floodlights installed. They returned home in February 2005. However, the following season, 2005–06, they finished second from bottom (on goal difference), and returned to
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 ...
. In 2007–08 they finished bottom of Liga Leumit, and were relegated to Liga Artzit.
Despite only finishing seventh in Liga Artzit in 2008–09, F.C. Nazareth Illit were promoted back to Liga Leumit as restructuring meant the top seven clubs were automatically promoted. Since then, Nazareth Illit hasn't been relegated for 3 consecutive seasons, finishing seventh in 2009–10, 11th in
2010–11
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
Hapoel Ra'anana
Hapoel Ra'anana Association Football Club (, ''Amutat Hapoel Ra'anana Mahleket Kaduregel'') is an Israeli football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to s ...
in the play-offs, with Ra'anana eventually promoted to the Israeli Premier League, whilst Nazareth Illit finished third and remained in Liga Leumit. In 2018–19 the club finished the regular season at the top of the table, but a collapse during the playoff phase, with the club collecting just 7 points out of 21, led the club to finish in third place and miss out on promotion.
On 4 July 2019, after the name of Nazareth Illit was changed to Nof HaGalil, the club changed its name to Hapoel Nof HaGalil.
* Liga Bet North A Division Cup:
**Winners: 1986–87http://jpress.org.il/Olive/APA/NLI_heb/SharedView.Article.aspx?href=MAR%2F1986%2F12%2F28&id=Ar04110&sk=067BC224 A Victory to Nazareth Illit over Bnei Nazareth in the City Derby] Ma'ariv, 28 December 1986, Historical Jewish Press
* 2020–21 Toto Cup Leumit, Toto Cup Leumit:
** Winners: 2020–21
Nof HaGalil
Nof HaGalil is a city in the Northern District of Israel with a population of .
Nof HaGalil was founded in 1957 as Nazareth Illit (; ), it was planned as a Jewish town overlooking the city of Nazareth and the Jezreel Valley.1962 establishments in Israel
Arab-Israeli football clubs