Football in Israel

Football, the most popular sport in the world has billions of fan following. The sport has most of the nations of the world engulfed in its fever and Israel is no exception. The popularity of Football in Israel is sky-high and is the most popular sport of the nation by a distance. Football in Israel is the unofficial national sport of the nation and developed as an organized sport in the country during the period when the British controlled the administration or was the days of the British Mandate.

Along with Basketball in Israel, Football in Israel has been carrying the sporting legacy for a long time. The usually sporting favored country goes crazy at the time of a football match. The football authorities provide exceptional facilities to the clubs and players making Israel a successful country in the game. Some of the clubs have even played at the top most level of the various competitions of the continent. The clubs even import players of the highest caliber to play for them which show the quality and the efficiency of the sport in the country.

The sport of Football in Israel is controlled by The Israel Football Association or The IFA. The Israel Football Association is the governing body of Israel and it is mandatory for all the professional clubs to be a member of the association. The association also has hundreds of semi-professional and amateur clubs as members.

The Israeli clubs compete under a league system known as the Israeli football league which has six levels and 16 different divisions. Each level has got its own promotion and relegation system. The league is run by The IFA. The clubs in Israel compete for two major competitions, the State Cup and the Toto Cup. The winner of the Toto cup gets a ticket to play at the prestigious UEFA Cup. The finals of both the tournament are played at the National Stadium in Tel Aviv.

Football in Israel has paved the way for other Sports in Israel to improve in standards and popularity.