Maccabi Kiryat Gat F.C.

Maccabi Kiryat Gat
עירוני קריית גת

Full name

Maccabi Kiryat Gat Football Club
מועדון כדורגל מכבי קריית גת

Nickname(s)

The yellow-blues

Founded

1961, as
Maccabi Kiryat Gat

Ground

Municipal Stadium, Kiryat Gat

Capacity

3,500

Owner

Micha Ifrah

Chairman

Oren Itzchakov

Manager

Erez Benodis

League

Liga Leumit

2014–15

5th

Website

Club home page

Home colours

Away colours

Maccabi Kiryat Gat F.C. (Hebrew: מכבי קריית גת‎) is an Israeli football team based in the southern city of Kiryat Gat. The club's best achievement has been promotion to the Premier League as Liga Leumit runners-up in 2001, after beating Hapoel Beit She'an on the final day of the season. However, in their first season in the top division, they finished at the bottom of the table, six points from safety, and were relegated back to the second tier.

As a result of the overspending while in the top division, the club suffered financial difficulties, and was demoted to the fourth division by the IFA in 2004, where they played for a decade until 2014, when they were promoted to Liga Leumit.

History

General view kiryat gat Stadium.

The club was established as Maccabi Kiryat Gat in 1961^[1] by Yehuda Ivanir who also served as chairman. In 1969, he bought the Kfar Gavirol F.C., and Maccabi took its place in the Liga Bet.

In the 1978-79 season, the club reached Liga Alef, for the first time in its history, and finished in the second place. however at the end of the season, the club lost in promotion play-off to Hapoel Herzliya, and remained in Liga Alef, up until the 1980–81 season, where the club won Liga Alef South division, and achieved historic promotion to Liga Artzit, the second tier of Israeli football at the time, but dropped, after one season, to Liga Alef, where the club played until 1994 when it made a return to Liga Artzit.

After seven seasons in the second division, Maccabi finished second in the 2000–01 season of Liga Leumit (Liga Leumit replaced Liga Artzit as the new second tier of Israeli football in the 1999-2000 season), and for the first time in history, promoted to the Premier League. the club has played the 2001-02 season in the Premier League under the management of Gili Landau, and during the season, recorded their biggest win in their history, when Maccabi won 4-0 against Maccabi Haifa, in Kiryat Eliezer Stadium. The club finished last in that season and returned to the Liga Leumit. Maccabi remained in the Second Division, Liga Leumit, until 2004, when the club was forced to relegated to Liga Alef due to heavy financial debts.

In 2006, the club merged with Beitar Kiryat Gat to one municipal club, thus after lengthy negotiations. For years Maccabi was the only Football Club in Kiryat Gat (except short period with the existence of F.C. Kiryat Gat since 2009 until 2012 when the club was merged into Maccabi).

At the beginning of season 2012-13 the Maccabi changed its name to Ironi Kiryat Gat and after a while returned to the former name: Maccabi Kiryat Gat. Since 2013, the club's sponsor is a Hamei Yoav baths.

At the 2013–14 season, Maccabi won Liga Alef South division, and promoted to Liga Leumit.

Players

Current Squad

As to 3 February 2016

No.	Position	Player
1	GK	Tvrtko Kale
2	DF	Eliran George
4	DF	Nadav Keidar
6	MF	Tzlil Nehemia
7	FW	Timor Avitan
8	MF	Eden Mor
9	FW	Omer Mulai
10	MF	Shlomi Moshe (Captain)
11	FW	Dor Avinu
14	MF	Stav Nesikovsky
15	MF	Edi Edri
16	MF	Amit Bitton

No.	Position	Player
17	FW	Didier Kougbenya
19	FW	Andi Ribaj
20	DF	Kobi Nahmias
21	MF	Ron Nesikovsky
23	MF	Dor Nagar
25	MF	Shay David
26	MF	Dudu Aroas
30	DF	Yarin Megidish
36	GK	Hen Asael
42	MF	Daniel Solomon
91	MF	Yuval Ben Dayan
	DF	Mor Fhima

Notable former players

Former coaches

Billy Sade
Gili Landau

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to FC Maccabi Kiryat Gat.

Official website (Hebrew) under construction
Maccabi Kiryat Gat on Facebook
Ironi Kiryat Gat The Israel Football Association (Hebrew)

References

↑ 12 New teams registered for Liga Gimel so far (Page 3) Hadshot HaSport, 27.9.1961, archive.football.co.il (Hebrew)

Liga Leumit

Clubs	Beitar Tel Aviv Ramla F.C. Ashdod Hapoel Afula Hapoel Ashkelon Hapoel Bnei Lod Hapoel Jerusalem Hapoel Katamon Jerusalem Hapoel Nazareth Illit Hapoel Petah Tikva Hapoel Ramat Gan Hapoel Ramat HaSharon Hapoel Rishon LeZion Maccabi Ahi Nazareth Maccabi Herzliya Maccabi Kiryat Gat Maccabi Yavne

Stadia	Afula Illit Stadium Green Stadium Grundman Stadium Haberfeld Stadium HaMoshava Stadium Herzliya Municipal Stadium Ilut Stadium Lod Municipal Stadium Ness Ziona Stadium Ramla Municipal Stadium Sala Stadium Teddy Stadium Winter Stadium Yud-Alef Stadium

Seasons (second level)	1937 1939 1940 1941–42 1946–47 1949–50 1951–52 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16

Israeli Premier League

Clubs	Beitar Jerusalem Bnei Sakhnin Bnei Yehuda Hapoel Acre Hapoel Be'er Sheva Hapoel Haifa Hapoel Kfar Saba Hapoel Ra'anana Hapoel Tel Aviv Ironi Kiryat Shmona Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Netanya Maccabi Petah Tikva Maccabi Tel Aviv

Stadiums	Acre Stadium Bloomfield Stadium Doha Stadium HaMoshava Stadium Ironi Stadium Levita Stadium Netanya Stadium Sammy Ofer Stadium Teddy Stadium Turner Stadium

Former clubs	F.C. Ashdod Hakoah Amidar Ramat Gan Hapoel Ashkelon Hapoel Jerusalem Hapoel Petah Tikva Hapoel Ramat Gan Hapoel Rishon LeZion Hapoel Nazareth Illit Hapoel Tzafririm Holon Hapoel Ramat HaSharon Maccabi Ahi Nazareth Maccabi Herzliya Maccabi Kiryat Gat

Competition	Champions Foreign players Players with 100+ goals Records All-time table

Seasons	1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16

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