Sektzia Ness Ziona ( he, סקציית כדורגל נס-ציונה, ''Sektziyat Kaduregel Nes Tziona'', lit. ''Football Section Ness Ziona'') are a football club from the

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 ...

i city of

Ness Ziona Ness Ziona ( he, נֵס צִיּוֹנָה, ''Nes Tziyona'') is a town in central Israel. In it had a population of , and its jurisdiction was 15,579 dunams (). History Early history Lying within Ness Ziona's city bounds is the ruin of an Arab v ...

. They currently play in the

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League ( he, ליגת העל, ''Ligat Ha`Al'', ), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested ...

, the top tier of Israeli football. Home matches were previously played at the

Ness Ziona Stadium The Ness Ziona Stadium ( he, אצטדיון נס ציונה), is a football stadium in Ness Ziona, Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִ ...

. Upon their promotion to the Israeli Premier League for the 2019–20 season, the club moved its home matches to the

HaMoshava Stadium The HaMoshava Stadium ( he, אִצְטַדְיוֹן הַמוֹשָׁבָה), also known as Petah Tikva Stadium, is a football stadium in Petah Tikva, Israel. It was completed in 2011, and is used mainly for football matches and is home to bo ...

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva ( he, פֶּתַח תִּקְוָה, , ), also known as ''Em HaMoshavot'' (), is a city in the Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Jews of the Old Yishuv, and became a permanent s ...

, Israel.

History

The club was founded as F.S. Nes Ziona in 1955, following a merger of the local football clubs in

.Room at the top
Maariv, 27.7.66, Historical Jewish Press In their second season of existence they were promoted from

Liga Gimel Liga Gimel ( he, ליגה ג', lit. ''League C'') is the fifth and bottom division of Israeli Football League, a position it has held since 2009. From Liga Alef and downwards to this, each league is separated by region as well. History Liga Gime ...

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 ...

.S.K. Nes Tziona and Hapoel Holon promoted to Liga Bet
Heruth, 2.7.57, Historical Jewish Press In the 1962–63 season, they won Liga Bet South B division and were promoted to

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 ...

. Three season later, in the 1965–66 season, they won Liga Alef South division and were promoted 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 ...

, then the top division. The 1966–68 season was played over two years and involved a 4-round (60 match) competition. However, the club managed only eight wins and were relegated. This was to be their only appearance in the top division to date. During the mid-1990s the club played in

Liga Artzit Liga Artzit ( he, ליגה ארצית, 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 ...

, then the second tier. In the 1998–99 season the club finished second from bottom and had four points deducted for breaking budget rules. They were due to be relegated to the third tier, but were demoted to the fourth tier,

, as their budget for the 1999–2000 season was not approved by the

Israel Football Association The Israel Football Association (IFA; he, ההתאחדות לכדורגל בישראל, ''HaHit'aḥdut leKaduregel beIsrael'', literally "The Association of Football in Israel") is the governing body of football in Israel. It organizes a varie ...

. After finishing bottom of Liga Alef in 2000–01, they folded. In the 2004–05 season,

club from Ness Ziona, Maccabi Ben Zvi, became Ironi Ness ZionaLiga Bet South B
One or Maccabi Ben Zvi\Ironi, as recognized by the Israel Football Association.Maccabi Ben Zvi\"Ironi"
The Israel Football Association Ironi finished as runners-up to

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 ...

, and promoted to Liga Alef after successful promotion play-offs against

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 Beitar Giv'at Ze'ev. Ironi Ness Ziona was renamed in the summer of 2005, becoming Sektzia Ness Ziona (an alternative Hebrew transliteration for "Section"), and the club was reborn. at the end of the 2005–06 season, the club won Liga Alef South and promotion to

. The club won Liga Artzit in 2008–09, the last season of Liga Artzit as the third tier of

Israeli football Football ( he, כַּדוּרֶגֶל, ''Kaduregel'') is the most popular sport in Israel. Football as an organised sport, first developed in the United Kingdom, who controlled Mandatory Palestine during the days of the British Mandate. The ...

, and was promoted to

. In the 2012–13 season, the club finished second bottom in Liga Leumit and relegated to Liga Alef, where they play today. After a few seasons in Liga Leumit, they became 2nd league champions in 2018-19, and started in the

Israel Premier League The Israeli Premier League ( he, ליגת העל, ''Ligat Ha`Al'', ), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested b ...

in 2019–20.

Current squad

Honours

*Second tier (1): **

1965–66 Liga Alef The 1965–66 Liga Alef season saw Maccabi Haifa (champions of the North Division) and SK Nes Tziona (champions of the South Division) win the title and promotion to Liga Leumit. North Division South Division ReferencesNorth: Veterans wil ...

*Third tier (5): **

1960–61 Liga Bet The 1960–61 Liga Bet season saw Hapoel HaMechonit, Beitar Netanya, Maccabi Ramla and SK Nes Tziona win their regional divisions, and qualify for promotion play-offs. Beitar Netanya and Maccabi Ramla won the promotion play-offs and promoted to ...

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, with ...

1972–73 Liga Bet The 1972–73 Liga Bet season saw Hapoel Kiryat Ata, Hapoel Netanya, Maccabi Holon and SK Nes Tziona win their regional divisions and promoted to Liga Alef. North Division A North Division B South Division A South Division B Reference ...

** 1990–91 Liga Alef **

2008–09 Liga Artzit The 2008–09 Liga Artzit season started on 5 September 2008 and ended on 29 May 2009. Two teams from Liga Alef were promoted at the end of the previous season: Hapoel Umm al-Fahm and Maccabi Ironi Bat Yam along with two teams relegated from Liga ...

*Fourth tier (3): ** 1956–57 Liga Gimel ** 1989–90 Liga Bet ** 2005–06 Liga Alef

Former notable managers

* Rafi Cohen (born 1965)

References

External links