2025–26 Israeli Premier League
Football league season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2025–26 Israeli Premier League, also known as Ligat TOTO Winner[2] for sponsorship reasons is the 27th season since the introduction of the Israeli Premier League in 1999 and the 84th season of top-tier football in Israel. Due to the risk of missile strikes stemming from the 2026 Iran war, the league has been suspended Between February 28 until 4 April 2026 .
| Season | 2025–2026 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 23 August 2025 – 16/23 May 2026 |
| Matches | 203 |
| Goals | 605 (2.98 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Dan Biton Adrián Ugarriza (15 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Hapoel Be'er Sheva 7–0 Ironi Tiberias (30 August 2025) |
| Biggest away win | Maccabi Netanya 2–8 Beitar Jerusalem (23 February 2026) |
| Highest scoring | Maccabi Netanya 2–8 Beitar Jerusalem (23 February 2026) |
| Longest winning run | Hapoel Be'er Sheva Beitar Jerusalem (6) |
| Longest unbeaten run | Beitar Jerusalem (12) |
| Longest winless run | F.C. Ashdod (12) |
| Longest losing run | Maccabi Bnei Reineh (9) |
| Highest attendance | 29,395 (Maccabi Haifa vs Beitar Jerusalem, 22 December 2025) |
| Average attendance | 9,653 [1] |
← 2024–25 2026–27 →
All statistics correct as of 27 January 2026. | |
Teams
The league consists of fourteen teams; twelve sides from the previous season and two promoted teams from the 2024–25 Liga Leumit Hapoel Petah Tikva[3] and Hapoel Tel Aviv.[4] Both teams returned to the top flight after a single season. They replaced the 2024–25 Israeli Premier League bottom two teams, Hapoel Hadera[5] and Maccabi Petah Tikva[6] who were relegated to the 2025–26 Liga Leumit.
Stadiums and locations
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beitar Jerusalem | Jerusalem | Teddy Stadium | 31,733 |
| Bnei Sakhnin | Sakhnin | Doha Stadium | 8,500 |
| F.C. Ashdod | Ashdod | Yud-Alef Stadium | 7,800 |
| Hapoel Be'er Sheva | Be'er Sheva | Turner Stadium | 16,126 |
| Hapoel Haifa | Haifa | Sammy Ofer Stadium | 30,950 |
| Hapoel Jerusalem | Jerusalem | Teddy Stadium | 31,733 |
| Hapoel Petah Tikva | Petah Tikva | HaMoshava Stadium | 11,500 |
| Hapoel Tel Aviv | Tel Aviv | Bloomfield Stadium | 29,400 |
| Ironi Kiryat Shmona | Kiryat Shmona | Netanya Stadium[7] | 13,610 |
| Ironi Tiberias | Tiberias | Green Stadium[i] | 5,200 |
| Maccabi Bnei Reineh | Reineh | Green Stadium[i] | 5,200 |
| Maccabi Haifa | Haifa | Sammy Ofer Stadium | 30,950 |
| Maccabi Netanya | Netanya | Netanya Stadium | 13,610 |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | Tel Aviv | Bloomfield Stadium | 29,400 |
Personnel and sponsorship
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maccabi Bnei Reineh | End of Contract | 28 May 2025 | Pre-season | 28 May 2025 | [8] | ||
| Maccabi Haifa | End Caretaker Period | 4 June 2025 | 4 June 2025 | [9] | |||
| Hapoel Haifa | End of contract | 6 June 2025 | 6 June 2025 | [10][11] | |||
| Bnei Sakhnin | Sacked | 15 June 2025 | 15 June 2025 | [12][13] | |||
| Maccabi Bnei Reineh | 13 October 2025 | 13th | 25 October 2025 | [14] | |||
| Maccabi Haifa | 20 October 2025 | 8th | 21 October 2025 | [15] | |||
| Maccabi Netanya | 11 January 2026 | 7th | 14 January 2026 | ||||
| F.C. Ashdod | 12 January 2026 | 11th | 12 January 2026 | ||||
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | 27 January 2026 | 3rd | 31 January 2026 | ||||
| Bnei Sakhnin | Left | 13 February 2026 | 8th | 13 February 2026 | |||
| Maccabi Bnei Reineh | Sacked | 14 February 2026 | 14th | 16 February 2026 | |||
| Bnei Sakhnin | End Caretaker Period | 17 February 2026 | 8th | 17 February 2026 | |||
| Hapoel Jerusalem | Left | 20 April 2026 | 12th | 20 April 2026 | |||
| F.C. Ashdod | Left | 26 April 2026 | 11th | 26 April 2026 | |||
Foreign players
The number of foreign players were restricted to eight per team.[16]
In bold: Players that have been capped for their national team.
Regular season
Regular season table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 26 | 18 | 5 | 3 | 58 | 25 | +33 | 59 | Qualification for the Championship round |
| 2 | Beitar Jerusalem | 26 | 17 | 6 | 3 | 61 | 29 | +32 | 57 | |
| 3 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 26 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 55 | 32 | +23 | 49 | |
| 4 | Hapoel Tel Aviv | 26 | 15 | 6 | 5 | 46 | 26 | +20 | 49[a] | |
| 5 | Maccabi Haifa | 26 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 50 | 28 | +22 | 42 | |
| 6 | Hapoel Petah Tikva | 26 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 41 | 36 | +5 | 37 | |
| 7 | Maccabi Netanya | 26 | 10 | 5 | 11 | 45 | 55 | −10 | 35 | Qualification for the Relegation round |
| 8 | Bnei Sakhnin | 26 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 27 | 35 | −8 | 32 | |
| 9 | Ironi Kiryat Shmona | 26 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 37 | 46 | −9 | 27 | |
| 10 | Hapoel Haifa | 26 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 31 | 44 | −13 | 25 | |
| 11 | F.C. Ashdod | 26 | 5 | 9 | 12 | 32 | 50 | −18 | 24 | |
| 12 | Hapoel Jerusalem | 26 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 22 | 37 | −15 | 21 | |
| 13 | Ironi Tiberias | 26 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 32 | 52 | −20 | 19[b] | |
| 14 | Maccabi Bnei Reineh | 26 | 3 | 3 | 20 | 17 | 59 | −42 | 12 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Matches won; 4) Goals scored; 5) Head-to-head points; 6) Head-to-head goal difference; 7) Head-to-head goals scored; 8) Play-off.
Notes:
Regular season results
Championship round
Key numbers for pairing determination (number marks position after 26 games)[citation needed]
| Rounds | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27th | 28th | 29th | 30th | 31st | 32nd | 33rd | 34th | 35th | 36th |
| 1 – 6 2 – 5 3 – 4 |
1 – 2 5 – 3 6 – 4 |
2 – 6 3 – 1 4 – 5 |
1 – 4 2 – 3 6 – 5 |
3 – 6 4 – 2 5 – 1 |
6 – 1 5 – 2 4 – 3 |
2 – 1 3 – 5 4 – 6 |
3 – 2 4 – 1 5 – 6 |
6 – 2 1 – 3 5 – 4 |
6 – 3 2 – 4 1 – 5 |
Championship round table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | BEI | HBS | MTA | HTA | MHA | HPT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beitar Jerusalem | 29 | 19 | 7 | 3 | 69 | 32 | +37 | 64 | Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round | — | 12 May | 2 May | 23 May | 3–0 | 3–1 | |
| 2 | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 29 | 19 | 6 | 4 | 63 | 28 | +35 | 63 | Qualification for the Conference League second qualifying round[a] | 2–2 | — | 19 May | 2 May | 23 May | 3–0 | |
| 3 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 29 | 17 | 7 | 5 | 60 | 33 | +27 | 58 | 16 May | 1–0 | — | 1–0 | 12 May | 5 May | ||
| 4 | Hapoel Tel Aviv | 29 | 17 | 6 | 6 | 51 | 27 | +24 | 55[b] | 6 May | 16 May | 9 May | — | 4–0 | 12 May | ||
| 5 | Maccabi Haifa | 29 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 51 | 38 | +13 | 42 | 9 May | 6 May | 1–3 | 19 May | — | 16 May | ||
| 6 | Hapoel Petah Tikva | 29 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 42 | 43 | −1 | 37 | 19 May | 9 May | 23 May | 0–1 | 2 May | — |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points in regular season; 3) Head-to-head points in regular season; 4) Head-to-head goal difference in regular season; 5) Head-to-head goals scored in regular season; 6) Head-to-head away goals scored in regular season (if two teams tied); 7) Goal difference; 8) Goals scored; 9) Fair play ranking; 10) Drawing of lots.
Notes:
- The 2025–26 Israel State Cup winners (Hapoel Be'er Sheva or Maccabi Tel Aviv) qualify for the Europa League first qualifying round.
Relegation round
Key numbers for pairing determination (number marks position after 26 games)[citation needed]
| Rounds | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27th | 28th | 29th | 30th | 31st | 32nd | 33rd | |||
| 7 – 11 8 – 13 9 – 12 10 – 14 |
11 – 14 12 – 10 13 – 9 7 – 8 |
8 – 11 9 – 7 10 – 13 14 – 12 |
11 – 13 7 – 12 8 – 14 9 – 10 |
10 – 11 14 – 9 12 – 8 13 – 7 |
11 – 12 13 – 14 7 – 10 8 – 9 |
9 – 11 10 – 8 14 – 7 12 – 13 | |||
Relegation round table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation | MNE | BnS | IKS | HHA | ASH | HJE | ITI | MBR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Maccabi Netanya | 29 | 12 | 5 | 12 | 50 | 57 | −7 | 41 | 3–0 | 13 May | 2–1 | 4 May | ||||||
| 8 | Bnei Sakhnin | 29 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 28 | 39 | −11 | 34 | 13 May | 1–1 | 0–0 | 4 May | ||||||
| 9 | Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona | 29 | 9 | 6 | 14 | 41 | 49 | −8 | 33 | 1–0 | 3 May | 16 May | 3–1 | ||||||
| 10 | Hapoel Haifa | 29 | 6 | 9 | 14 | 34 | 48 | −14 | 27 | 16 May | 10 May | 1–1 | 2–3 | ||||||
| 11 | F.C. Ashdod | 29 | 5 | 10 | 14 | 35 | 55 | −20 | 25 | 13 May | 3 May | 1–2 | |||||||
| 12 | Hapoel Jerusalem | 29 | 5 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 40 | −16 | 25 | 10 May | 0–0 | 16 May | |||||||
| 13 | Ironi Tiberias | 29 | 8 | 8 | 13 | 35 | 53 | −18 | 24[a] | Relegation to Liga Leumit |
9 May | 2–0 | 13 May | ||||||
| 14 | Maccabi Bnei Reineh | 29 | 5 | 3 | 21 | 22 | 63 | −41 | 18 | 16 May | 9 May | 0–1 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points in regular season; 3) Head-to-head points in regular season; 4) Head-to-head goal difference in regular season; 5) Head-to-head goals scored in regular season; 6) Head-to-head away goals scored in regular season (if two teams tied); 7) Goal difference; 8) Goals scored; 9) Fair play ranking; 10) Drawing of lots.
Notes:
- Ironi Tiberias had 8 points deducted
Season statistics
Top scorers
- As of 29 April 2026[18]
See also
Notes
- The team play their home games at a neutral venue because their own ground does not meet league requirements.[citation needed]
- Ion Nicolaescu as Suspended registration