2025–26 Liga Leumit

Liga Leumit
Season	2025–26
Dates	24 August 2025 – May 2026
Matches	152
Goals	415 (2.73 per match)
Top goalscorer	José Cortés (11 goals)
Biggest home win	Maccabi Petah Tikva 6–0 Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv (20 October 2025)
Biggest away win	F.C. Kiryat Yam 1–6 Maccabi Jaffa (10 November 2025)
Highest scoring	Maccabi Jaffa 1–6 Maccabi Petah Tikva (4 October 2025)
	← 2024–25 2026–27 → All statistics correct as of 13 March 2025.

The 2025–26 Liga Leumit is the 27th season as second tier since its realignment in 1999 and the 84th season of second-tier football in Israel.

Teams

A total of sixteen teams are contesting in the league, including twelve sides from the 2024–25 season, the two promoted teams from Liga Alef and the two relegated teams from 2024–25 Israeli Premier League.

Team changes

The following teams have changed division since the 2023–24 season.

To Liga Leumit

Promoted from Liga Alef

Ironi Modi'in (South Division) ^[1]
F.C. Kiryat Yam (North Division) ^[2]

Relegated from Premier League

From Liga Leumit

Promoted to Premier League

Relegated to Liga Alef

Hapoel Afula was originally relegated to League Alef at the end of the previous season, but due to Hapoel Nir Ramat HaSharon's entry rejection and consequential administrative relegation, they were reinstated.

Stadia and locations

Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv
Hapoel Kfar Shalem
Maccabi Jaffa
Hapoel Ra'anana^[a]
Hapoel Ramat Gan^[b]
Ironi Modi'in^[c]
Maccabi Herzliya^[d]
Maccabi Petah Tikva^[e]

^ The team is located in Ra'anana
^ The team is located in Ramat Gan
^ The team is located in Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut
^ The team is located in Herzliya
^ The team is located in Petah Tikva

Locations of the 2025–26 Liga Leumit teams

Club	Home City	Stadium	Capacity
Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv	Tel Aviv	Hatikva Neighborhood Stadium	2,570
F.C. Kafr Qasim	Kafr Qasim	Bat Yam Municipal Stadium^[a]	2,800
F.C. Kiryat Yam	Kiryat Yam	Acre Municipal Stadium^[a]	5,000
Hapoel Acre	Acre	Acre Municipal Stadium	5,000
Hapoel Afula	Afula	Afula Illit Stadium	3,000
Hapoel Hadera	Hadera	Afula Illit Stadium^[a]	3,000
Hapoel Kfar Saba	Kfar Saba	Levita Stadium	5,800
Hapoel Kfar Shalem	Tel Aviv	Hatikva Neighborhood Stadium	2,570
Hapoel Nof HaGalil	Nof HaGalil	Green Stadium	5,200
Hapoel Ra'anana	Ra'anana	Ramat Gan Stadium^[a]	7,000
Hapoel Ramat Gan	Ramat Gan	Ramat Gan Stadium	7,000
Hapoel Rishon LeZion	Rishon LeZion	Haberfeld Stadium	6,000
Ironi Modi'in	Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut	Bat Yam Municipal Stadium^[a]	2,800
Maccabi Herzliya	Herzliya	Netanya Stadium^[a]	13,610
Maccabi Jaffa	Tel Aviv	Bloomfield Stadium	29,400
Maccabi Petah Tikva	Petah Tikva	HaMoshava Stadium	11,500

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Play their home games at a neutral venue because their own ground does not meet league requirements.

Regular season

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Advances
1	Maccabi Petah Tikva (Q)	24	15	6	3	56	25	+31	51	Advances to the Promotion Round
2	Maccabi Herzliya	24	11	7	6	36	28	+8	40
3	Hapoel Ramat Gan	24	10	7	7	35	26	+9	37
4	Hapoel Rishon LeZion	24	10	7	7	34	26	+8	37
5	F.C. Kiryat Yam	24	11	5	8	33	29	+4	34^[a]
6	Hapoel Kfar Shalem	24	9	7	8	37	37	0	34
7	Hapoel Kfar Saba	24	8	8	8	28	31	−3	32
8	Hapoel Ra'anana	24	9	5	10	25	31	−6	32
9	Bnei Yehuda	24	8	7	9	28	33	−5	31	Advances to the Relegation Round
10	F.C. Kafr Qasim	24	7	9	8	31	30	+1	30
11	Hapoel Afula	24	7	7	10	27	42	−15	28
12	Ironi Modi'in	24	7	6	11	27	36	−9	27
13	Maccabi Jaffa	24	7	5	12	40	44	−4	26
14	Hapoel Acre	24	5	11	8	25	32	−7	26
15	Hapoel Nof HaGalil	24	4	12	8	30	37	−7	24
16	Hapoel Hadera	24	4	11	9	26	31	−5	23

Updated to match(es) played on 20 February 2026. Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of wins; 4) goals scored; 5) head to head; 6) deciding match.
(Q) Qualified for the phase indicated
Notes:

^ F.C. Kiryat Yam had 4 points deducted ^[9]

Results

Home \ Away	MPT	MHE	HRG	HRL	FKY	HKH	HKS	BNY	FKQ	HRA	HAF	HAC	MOD	HNG	MJA	HHA
Maccabi Petah Tikva	—		2–2	2–1	3–2		2–0	6–0	2–3	1–0	27 Feb	2–1	5–1		0–0	2–0
Maccabi Herzliya	3–1	—	20 Feb	2–0	1–3	2–2			1–1	0–2	1–0	2–2	2–1	4–1		6 Mar
Hapoel Ramat Gan	0–3	0–2	—	27 Feb	2–0	3–1		1–1	2–3	1–0	4–1	1–1	0–1	1–1	1–0
Hapoel Rishon LeZion		3–1	4–1	—	0–2	0–1	20 Feb	0–0	9 Mar	1–0	1–1		3–1	0–0	4–1	1–1
F.C. Kiryat Yam		0–0	0–2	2–0	—	2–0	2–1	2–1	1–1	4–0	1–2	6 Mar	3–2	2–2	0–6	2–3
Hapoel Kfar Shalem	0–0	0–2	6 Mar	2–3	1–0	—	1–3	0–3	4–1	2–1	2–0	1–2	3–2	2–2
Hapoel Kfar Saba	1–4	1–2	0–0	1–3	0–2	2 Mar	—	1–0		1–1	3–3		2–0	1–1	2–1	1–0
Bnei Yehuda	1–1	2–3	1–0	1–1		2–3		—	1–0		0–1	2–1	27 Feb	2–1	0–1	2–0
F.C. Kafr Qasim	0–0	2 Mar		3–0	1–0		0–2	1–2	—	0–2		1–0	0–0	2–3	4–2	2–2
Hapoel Ra'anana	9 Mar	1–0	0–3	2–1	0–2	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	—		20 Feb		2–2	1–2	0–3
Hapoel Afula	2–3	1–0	2–1	0–3	2–0	2–2	1–1	6 Mar	0–4	0–2	—	2–2			20 Feb	0–1
Hapoel Acre	1–5		1–1	1–1	0–0		2–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	0–2	—	0–0	27 Feb	2–2	1–1
Ironi Modi'in	1–2	1–2		1–1	0–0	0–0	9 Mar	3–1		1–2	3–1	1–0	—	2–1	2–2	1–0
Hapoel Nof HaGalil	2–0	2–1	0–4	0–1	1–2	2–2	0–1		1–1		1–1	1–1	3–0	—	6 Mar	20 Feb
Maccabi Jaffa	1–6	0–1	2–4			1–3	1–2	4–4	1–0	27 Feb	1–2	0–1	1–0	3–1	—	1–1
Hapoel Hadera	2–2	2–2	0–1		2 Mar			0–1	0–0	0–1	1–1	1–2	2–3	0–0	3–2	—

Updated to match(es) played on 16 February 2026. Source: Soccerway
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Promotion playoffs

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Maccabi Petah Tikva	24	15	6	3	56	25	+31	51	Promoted to Israeli Premier League
2	TBD	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Promoted to Israeli Premier League
3	TBD	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	TBD	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	TBD	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	TBD	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
7	TBD	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
8	TBD	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Updated to match(es) played on TBD 2026. Source: Soccerway
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.

Relegation playoffs

Pos	Team	Qualification or relegation
7	TBD
8	TBD
9	TBD
10	TBD
11	TBD
12	TBD
13	TBD
14	TBD	Qualification for the Promotion/relegation playoff
15	TBD	Relegated to Liga Alef
16	TBD	Relegated to Liga Alef

Updated to match(es) played on TBD 2026. Source: Soccerway
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.

Promotion/relegation playoff

The 14th-placed team faced Liga Alef promotion play-offs winner in a one game.

TBD 2026

TBD

14th place	-	Liga Alef Playoff Winner

TBD, TBD

Position by round

Team ╲ Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24
Team ╲ Round
Maccabi Petah Tikva	11	4	10	5	6	4	3	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Maccabi Herzliya	3	6	3	6	2	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Hapoel Ramat Gan	7	3	9	11	9	7	6	4	7	8	6	7	8	9	7	8	6	6	8	8	7	3	3	3
Hapoel Rishon LeZion	9	2	1	2	3	10	4	6	4	3	4	3	4	4	4	4	5	5	6	7	6	7	4	4
F.C. Kiryat Yam	16	9	6	8	4	2	2	3	5	6	8	8	9	7	10	7	8	8	7	4	5	4	5	5
Hapoel Kfar Shalem	10	5	2	1	1	5	7	5	3	4	7	4	5	6	5	6	7	7	5	5	3	5	6	6
Hapoel Kfar Saba	1	7	12	7	8	6	8	8	8	7	5	6	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	6	7	7
Hapoel Ra'anana	15	8	11	12	12	12	12	13	12	13	14	14	13	11	11	11	11	10	10	11	12	12	10	8
Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv	8	13	13	10	10	8	9	10	11	12	13	13	14	14	14	15	12	12	12	12	10	9	8	9
F.C. Kafr Qasim	5	10	7	4	7	3	5	7	6	5	3	5	6	5	6	5	4	4	4	6	8	8	9	10
Hapoel Afula	14	16	16	15	16	16	16	16	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	12	13	14	14	13	13	13	11	11
Ironi Modi'in	2	1	4	3	5	9	10	11	10	9	9	9	7	8	9	10	9	9	9	10	11	11	13	12
Maccabi Jaffa	13	15	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	12	10	10	12	12	14	15	13	16	16	14	15	15	13
Hapoel Acre	6	11	8	9	11	11	11	9	9	11	11	12	12	10	8	9	10	11	11	9	9	10	12	14
Hapoel Nof HaGalil	12	14	15	16	15	15	15	15	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	15	15	14	15	16	14	15
Hapoel Hadera	4	12	13	13	13	13	13	12	13	10	10	11	11	13	13	13	14	16	13	15	16	14	16	16

Source:

Season statistics

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	José Cortés	Maccabi Petah Tikva	11
2	Julio César	Hapoel Kfar Saba	10
3	Yaniv Mizrahi	Hapoel Afula	8
4	Eilon Elimelech	Hapoel Afula	7
	Anas Dabour	F.C. Kafr Qasim
	Gil Itzhak	Maccabi Jaffa
	Sagi Dror	Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv

References

^ היסטוריה: עירוני מודיעין עלתה לליגה הלאומית. one.co.il (in Hebrew). 22 April 2025. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
^ רשמית: מ.ס קריית ים העפילה לליגה הלאומית. one.co.il (in Hebrew). 4 May 2025. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
^ אחרי 7 שנים: הפועל חדרה ירדה לליגה הלאומית. israelhayom.co.il (in Hebrew). 19 April 2025. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
^ אחרי שנתיים: מכבי פ"ת ירדה לליגה הלאומית. one.co.il (in Hebrew). 10 May 2025. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
^ הפועל ת"א חזרה לליגת העל עם 0:1 על רמת גן. one.co.il (in Hebrew). 28 April 2025. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
^ ברוכה השבה: הפועל פ"ת עלתה לליגת העל. sport5.co.il (in Hebrew). 21 April 2025. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
^ אום אל פאחם ירדה מעשית לליגה א', יפו כבשה בדקה ה-90+7. sports.walla.co.il (in Hebrew). 25 April 2025. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
^ Official: Ramat Hasharon in League Alef, Afula will play in Laomit. sports.walla.co.il (in Hebrew). 9 May 2025. Retrieved 9 May 2025.
^ קריית ים תשחק בלאומית, אך ספגה הפחתת נקודות. sport5 (in Hebrew). 17 July 2025. Retrieved 17 July 2025.

[Located_in_Ra'anana-9] The team is located in Ra'anana

[Located_in_Ramat_Gan-10] The team is located in Ramat Gan

[Located_in_Ironi_Modi'in-11] The team is located in Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut

[Located_in_Herzliya-12] The team is located in Herzliya

[Located_in_Petah_Tivka-13] The team is located in Petah Tikva

[Stadiums1-14] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Play their home games at a neutral venue because their own ground does not meet league requirements.

[table_hth_FKY0.54548609514976-16] F.C. Kiryat Yam had 4 points deducted ^[9]

[1] היסטוריה: עירוני מודיעין עלתה לליגה הלאומית. one.co.il (in Hebrew). 22 April 2025. Retrieved 22 April 2025.

[2] רשמית: מ.ס קריית ים העפילה לליגה הלאומית. one.co.il (in Hebrew). 4 May 2025. Retrieved 4 May 2025.

[3] אחרי 7 שנים: הפועל חדרה ירדה לליגה הלאומית. israelhayom.co.il (in Hebrew). 19 April 2025. Retrieved 19 April 2025.

[4] אחרי שנתיים: מכבי פ"ת ירדה לליגה הלאומית. one.co.il (in Hebrew). 10 May 2025. Retrieved 10 May 2025.

[5] הפועל ת"א חזרה לליגת העל עם 0:1 על רמת גן. one.co.il (in Hebrew). 28 April 2025. Retrieved 28 April 2025.

[6] ברוכה השבה: הפועל פ"ת עלתה לליגת העל. sport5.co.il (in Hebrew). 21 April 2025. Retrieved 21 April 2025.

[7] אום אל פאחם ירדה מעשית לליגה א', יפו כבשה בדקה ה-90+7. sports.walla.co.il (in Hebrew). 25 April 2025. Retrieved 25 April 2025.

[8] Official: Ramat Hasharon in League Alef, Afula will play in Laomit. sports.walla.co.il (in Hebrew). 9 May 2025. Retrieved 9 May 2025.

[15] קריית ים תשחק בלאומית, אך ספגה הפחתת נקודות. sport5 (in Hebrew). 17 July 2025. Retrieved 17 July 2025.

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