Ironi Tiberias (Hebrew: עירוני טבריה) is an Israeli football club based in Tiberias. The club is not connected to Hapoel Tiberias, a former club which spent several seasons in the top division of Israeli football in the 1960s and the 1980s, making its last appearance in the top flight in 1989.

Ironi Tiberias F.C.
Full nameIroni Tiberias Football Club
Founded2006
GroundMunicipal Stadium, Tiberias
Capacity4,500
OwnerDorot Group
chairmen of associationArie Kalmanzon & Mickey Bitan
ManagerEliran Hudeda
LeagueIsraeli Premier League
2023–24Liga Leumit, 2nd of 16

History

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Football was played in Tiberias before the Israeli Declaration of Independence. The first club in the city, Maccabi Tiberias, was formed in 1925[1] and was playing football as early as 1927.[2] A year later, Maccabi Tiberias competed in the first ever edition of the Israel State Cup.

The best known club from Tiberias was Hapoel Tiberias, which played in the top division of the Israeli football in the 1960s, from 1961–62 to 1964–65, and again in 1988–89.

A third club operating in Tiberias during these years was Beitar Tiberias, although it mainly played in the lower levels of the Israeli league, its best performance being reaching Liga Bet, the third tier in the late 1960s and the 1970s.

By the late 1990s both Maccabi and Hapoel has folded, and the only active club was Beitar Tiberias. In 2001 the club was merged with Hapoel Mo'atza Ezorit Galil Tahton to form Hapoel Galil Tahton/Tiberias.[3] in 2007 the club changed its name to Ironi Tiberias.

In 2006–07 the club finished 2nd in Liga Bet North B and was promoted through play-offs. After several season in Liga Alef North, the club qualified to the promotion play-off at the end of the 2010–11 season, falling in first round to Hapoel Asi Gilboa. The following season the club finished 2nd in Liga Alef, but didn't take part in the promotion play-offs, which involved only the league winner, Hapoel Asi Gilboa.

The club finished 2nd once again in 2013–14 and qualified to the promotion play-offs, and after beating Maccabi Daliyat al-Karmel, Hapoel Migdal HaEmek and Hapoel Azor, faced Hapoel Katamon Jerusalem in the decisive promotion/relegation play-offs. Tiberias won 5–1 on aggregate (3–0, 2–1), and promoted to Liga Leumit. However, the club's spell in Liga Leumit lasted only one season, as they finished second bottom in the 2014–15 season and relegated back to Liga Alef.

Current squad

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As of 24 November 2024[4]
No. Pos. Nation Player
4 DF   ISR Roei Shahar
5 MF   ISR Yonatan Teper
6 MF   ISR Firas Abu Akel
7 FW   ISR Nawaf Bazea
8 MF   ISR Eithan Velblum
9 FW   UKR Stanislav Bilenkyi
10 MF   ISR Yaniv Brik
11 MF   ISR Michael Ohana
13 FW   ISR Ron Appelbaum
14 FW   ISR Waheb Habiballah
16 MF   ISR Bassam Zarora
17 MF   ISR Snir Talias
18 FW   ISR Niv Tubul
No. Pos. Nation Player
19 GK   BRA Daniel Tenenbaum
20 MF   ARG Franco Mazurek
21 MF   ISR Bassel Shaban
23 DF   ISR Ben Vehava
30 FW   GAM Mansour Badjie
37 DF   CZE Ondřej Bačo
44 DF   ISR Hatem Abd Elhamed
51 DF   ISR Eli Balilty
60 GK   ISR Tal Bomshtein
70 FW   COD Jordan Botaka
72 DF   ISR Shay Konstantini
99 DF   ISR Haroun Shapso

Honours

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Honour No. Years
Fourth tier 1 1966–681
Fifth tier 1 1996–971

1As Beitar Tiberias

References

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  1. ^ News from the World of Sport in Eretz Israel and Abroad Do'ar HaYom, 16.10.1925, Historical Jewish Press (in Hebrew)
  2. ^ Opening of the Maccabi Ground in Tiberias Do'ar HaYom, 23.10.27, Historical Jewish Press (in Hebrew)
  3. ^ Hapoel Tiberias Archived 2014-10-10 at the Wayback Machine Nana.co.il, 28.08.02 (in Hebrew)
  4. ^ Ironi Tiberias Archived 2015-07-08 at the Wayback Machine Israel Football Association