Liga Leumit 2002-03
Encyclopedia
The 2002–03 Liga Leumit
season saw Maccabi Ahi Nazareth and Bnei Sakhnin promoted to the Israeli Premier League, the first time that two Arab
clubs would appear in the top division (at the end of the season, the first Arab club to play in the top division, Hapoel Tayibe
, folded).
Maccabi Kafr Kanna
and Beitar Avraham Be'er Sheva
were relegated to Liga Artzit
.
Hapoel Ramat Gan qualified for the UEFA Cup
after becoming the first club from outside the top division to win the State Cup
. They remain the only club not in the top flight to play in Europe.
1. Three points deducted due to duplicating contracts with a player.
2. Two points deducted.
3. One point deducted due to duplicating contracts with a player.
Liga Leumit
Liga Leumit is the second tier in the Israeli football league system below the Premier League.-Structure:There are 16 clubs in the league. At the end of each season, the lowest-placed team are relegated to Liga Alef while the highest-placed team from Liga Alef are promoted in their place...
season saw Maccabi Ahi Nazareth and Bnei Sakhnin promoted to the Israeli Premier League, the first time that two Arab
Arab citizens of Israel
Arab citizens of Israel refers to citizens of Israel who are not Jewish, and whose cultural and linguistic heritage or ethnic identity is Arab....
clubs would appear in the top division (at the end of the season, the first Arab club to play in the top division, Hapoel Tayibe
Hapoel Tayibe F.C.
Hapoel Tayibe F.C. was an Israeli football club based in Tayibe. In 1996 they became the first ever Israeli Arab club to play in the top division. However, they were relegated at the end of their first season in the top flight, and folded in 2003 after three more relegations.-History:The club was...
, folded).
Maccabi Kafr Kanna
Maccabi Kafr Kanna F.C.
Maccabi Kafr Kanna is an Israeli football club based in Kafr Kanna. The club is currently in Liga Artzit and plays its home matches at the Azmi Nassar Stadium, named after Azmi Nassar-History:...
and Beitar Avraham Be'er Sheva
Beitar Avraham Be'er Sheva F.C.
Beitar Avraham Be'er Sheva was an Israeli football club based in Beersheba.-History:The club was promoted to Liga Artzit in 1998. In their first season at the second level they finished fourth...
were relegated to Liga Artzit
Liga Artzit
Liga Artzit was the third tier of Israeli football after the Premier League and Liga Leumit, and was run by the Israel Football Association.-Structure:...
.
Hapoel Ramat Gan qualified for the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
after becoming the first club from outside the top division to win the State Cup
Israel State Cup
The State Cup , is a knockout cup competition in Israeli football, run by the Israeli Football Association.The State Cup was first held in 1927–28 as the Palestine Cup...
. They remain the only club not in the top flight to play in Europe.
Final table
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maccabi Ahi Nazareth | 33 | 18 | 8 | 7 | 48 | 29 | 19 | 591 | Promoted to Premier League |
| 2 | Bnei Sakhnin | 33 | 17 | 7 | 9 | 36 | 25 | 11 | 58 | |
| 3 | Hapoel Jerusalem | 33 | 15 | 12 | 6 | 64 | 41 | 23 | 57 | |
| 4 | Hapoel Nazareth Illit | 33 | 15 | 10 | 8 | 43 | 24 | 19 | 55 | |
| 5 | Maccabi Herzliya | 33 | 15 | 10 | 8 | 46 | 36 | 10 | 55 | |
| 6 | Hapoel Haifa | 33 | 11 | 7 | 15 | 37 | 37 | 0 | 40 | |
| 7 | Hapoel Ramat Gan | 33 | 10 | 9 | 14 | 44 | 53 | |||
| 39 | Qualified for UEFA Cup | |||||||||
| 8 | Hapoel Ra'anana | 33 | 10 | 8 | 15 | 36 | 43 | |||
| 38 | ||||||||||
| 9 | Tzafririm Holon Hapoel Tzafririm Holon F.C. Hapoel Tzafririm Holon F.C. is an Israeli football club based in the city of Holon. The club was founded in 1985 by a merger of Hapoel Holon and Tzafririm Holon.-Hapoel Holon:... |
33 | 8 | 13 | 12 | 29 | 37 | |||
| 37 | ||||||||||
| 10 | Maccabi Kiryat Gat Maccabi Kiryat Gat F.C. Maccabi Kiryat Gat F.C. is an Israeli football team based in the southern city of Kiryat Gat. To date, the club's best achievement has been promotion to the Premier League as Liga Leumit runners-up in 2001, after holding their nerve to beat Hapoel Beit She'an on the final day of the season... |
33 | 8 | 13 | 12 | 36 | 47 | |||
| 352 | ||||||||||
| 11 | Maccabi Kafr Kanna Maccabi Kafr Kanna F.C. Maccabi Kafr Kanna is an Israeli football club based in Kafr Kanna. The club is currently in Liga Artzit and plays its home matches at the Azmi Nassar Stadium, named after Azmi Nassar-History:... |
33 | 9 | 6 | 18 | 29 | 49 | |||
| 323 | Relegated to Liga Artzit |
|||||||||
| 12 | Beitar Avraham Be'er Sheva Beitar Avraham Be'er Sheva F.C. Beitar Avraham Be'er Sheva was an Israeli football club based in Beersheba.-History:The club was promoted to Liga Artzit in 1998. In their first season at the second level they finished fourth... |
33 | 4 | 13 | 16 | 26 | 53 | |||
| 25 |
1. Three points deducted due to duplicating contracts with a player.
2. Two points deducted.
3. One point deducted due to duplicating contracts with a player.