Maccabi Kafr Kanna () is an Israeli football club based in

Kafr Kanna Kafr Kanna (, ''Kafr Kanā''; ) is an Arab town in the Galilee, part of the Northern District of Israel. It is associated by Christians with the New Testament village of Cana, where Jesus turned water into wine. In its population was . It ...

. The club played its home matches at the Azmi Nassar Stadium, named after

Azmi Nassar Azmi Nassar (, ; 3 October 1957 – 26 March 2007) was a Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's dea ...

. After dissolved in 2014 established re-new as "Tzeirei Kafr Kanna''.

History

The club was founded in 1970 and started in

Liga Dalet Liga Dalet (, lit. ''D League'') was the fifth (in 1958–59 and between 1969 and 1976) and sixth (between 1976 and 1985) tier, at the bottom of the Israeli football league system. History Liga Dalet first came into existence in 1958 as a league ...

, then the fifth and lowest tier of Israeli football.Hapoel Buq'ata in Liga Dalet (Page 23)
Hadshot HaSport, 30.9.1970, archive.football.co.il The club played in the lower tiers of Israeli football until they started a progress in the 1990s, after they won Liga Bet North A division in the 1994–95 season and won

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 1995–96 season. thus, they achieved two successive promotions and reached

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 division. They were relegated back to the third tier at the end of the 1998–99 season, and narrowly missed a second straight relegation when finishing third from bottom in 1999–2000. The following season the club returned to the second tier (now named

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 ...

) when they finished as runners-up in Liga Artzit, and would have won the title had it not been for two points being deducted for player violence and a violation of the budget rules. In the same season, they also won the Liga Artzit

Toto Cup The Israel Toto Cup (, ''Gvia Ha'Toto'') is an association football tournament that features clubs in the two highest divisions in Israel: the Israeli Premier League Ligat ha'Al, Ligat Ha'Al; and the Israeli 2nd division Liga Leumit. Both of the ...

. In 2002–03 Kafr Kanna were relegated back to Liga Artzit, where they have remained until their relegation to Liga Alef in the end of the 2008–09 season. In 2013–14, the club finished 15th in Liga Alef North, and relegated to Liga Bet. The club dissolved at the summer of 2014 and did not enter Liga Bet for the 2014–15 season. Instead, a new club, F.C. Tzeirei Kafr Kanna, was founded in the town. However, according to their founder, Tarik Abbas, they are not related to Maccabi Kafr Kanna. The club's best achievement in the

Israel State Cup The Israel State Cup (, ''Gvia HaMedina''), is a knockout cup competition in Israeli football, run by the Israel Football Association (IFA). The State Cup was first held in 1928 as the People's Cup. Because it involves clubs of all standards ...

came in 2002–03, when progressed to the quarter-finals, where they were hammered 0–7 by

Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa () is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football, Basketball, Weightl ...

F.C. Tzeirei Kafr Kanna

The club was founded in the summer of 2014, after Maccabi Kafr Kanna, which in its prime played in the second tier of Israeli football, dissolved following relegation from

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 the previous season and due to deep debts. However, according to the club founder, Tarik Abbas, there is no relation between the clubs. The club finished their first season on top of Liga Gimel Lower Galilee division and won promotion to Liga Bet. In the following season, the club finished on top of Liga Bet North A division and made their second successive promotion within two seasons, this time to Liga Alef, the third tier of Israeli football.For the second successive time: Tzeirei Kafr Kanna promoted to Liga Alef
Michael Weissermann, Doublepass, 11 April 2016

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

Maccabi Kafr Kanna
Israel Football Association

References

{{Liga Alef

Association football clubs established in 1972 Association football clubs established in 2014 1972 establishments in Israel 2014 establishments in Israel Association football clubs disestablished in 2014 2014 disestablishments in Israel Kafr Kanna Arab-Israeli football clubs