The Israeli Premier League was started in 1999 and it is the leading domestic football league in the country. There are 14 teams that fight it out every season for the title. The Israeli Premier League is under the operation of the Israel Football Association and is part of UEFA.
Israeli Premier League Betting & History of the League
The Israeli Premier League was started in 1999 after a decision was made by the Israel Football Association to create a new league. In advance of the creation of the Israeli Premier League, the Israeli Football League was in its place as the main form of football in the country.
The idea behind starting the Israeli Premier League was to try to improve competition for football in Israel. There have been 29 different teams that have been a part of the Israeli Premier League since the league was made in 1999.
There have been just three clubs that have played in every single Israeli Premier League season:
- Maccabi Tel Aviv,
- Maccabi Haifa and
- Beitar Jerusalem.
There have been seven different teams that have managed to win the Israeli Premier League since 1999.
- Maccabi Haifa has won seven times
- Maccabi Tel Aviv six times,
- Hapoel Be’er Sheva three times,
- Beitar Jerusalem two times,
- Hapoel Tel Aviv two times and
- Ironi Kiryat Shmona has won the title once.
The format of the League
There are 14 clubs that play in the Israeli Premier League every season. There is a relegation and promotion system in place, with the Liga Leumit second division. Generally, the season for the Israeli Premier League will start in August and last until May.
Every team will play between 33 and 36 games every season, with 240 matches taking place each year. As the Israeli Premier League is part of UEFA, it is ranked as a European competition. It is in 23rd place in terms of the performances of leagues in the jurisdiction of UEFA. It is ahead of the Kazakhstan Premier League and the Belarusian Premier League.
The two teams at the bottom of the Israeli Premier League each season will be automatically relegated, being replaced by the top two finishing teams in the second division. As part of the season, there is a round-robin taking place for the first 26 games.
There will then be a championship playoff series for the top six teams where there will be two legs for each matchup. Whichever team finishes on top come the end of these playoffs will be crowned as the Israeli Premier League winner for the season.
Whatever team wins the Israeli Premier League will get entry into the first round of the UEFA Champions League qualification. The 2nd and 3rd place finishing teams will get entry to the initial qualifying round for the Europa League. During the season, the eight teams at the bottom of the league will play one another to see what teams get relegated.
There is a rule in place that limits each team to just six foreign players. There are exceptions for Jewish players or those players who are married to an Israeli.
Betting options
The Israeli Premier League is pretty competitive in terms of the business end of the season each year. There is also a decent turnover of teams in the league, showcased by the fact that only three teams have taken part in every season of the Israeli Premier League since 1999 without being relegated. Therefore, there are plenty of different opportunities for betting on Israeli Premier League games.
Most leading betting sites will offer markets for Israeli Premier League games. This allows you to see which offering is best in terms of markets and competitiveness of odds for these games. To see what operators might be the best fit for you and your needs, you can check out the reviews conducted on Roger.com by the experts.
Each site has been reviewed in an objective manner, looking at all important variables. This allows you to make an informed decision, sign up for an account and get started betting in just a few minutes.
