Agudat Sport Ashdod F.C.

Agudat Sport Ashdod (Hebrew: אגודת ספורט אשדוד‎) is an Israeli football club based in Ashdod. The club was formed in 2015 by Hapoel Ashdod supporters as a resurrection of their old club, which was merged with Maccabi Ironi Ashdod to form F.C. Ashdod.[1]

A.S. Ashdod
Full nameAgudat Sport Ashdod
אגודת ספורט אשדוד
Nickname(s)1957 Reds
Founded2015
GroundSynthetic Pitch, Ashdod
ManagerYuval Naim
LeagueLiga Alef South
2019–20Liga Alef South, 5th

Origins and formation

In 1998, Hapoel Ashdod and rival club Maccabi Ironi Ashdod were in debts and in decline and in order to save both football clubs, they were merged to form F.C. Ashdod.[2] However, former supporters of Hapoel Ashdod were dissatisfied with the merger and set up a new club, Hapoel Namal Ashdod.[3] The new club collapsed in 2004 due to financial difficulties.[4]

In 2015, two separate initiatives were set to re-establish Hapoel Ashdod, one headed by former Hapoel Ashdod and Hapoel Namal Ashdod chairman, Ya'akov Shitrit, and the other headed by fans group named "1957 Reds". As Shitrit's group was affiliated with the Hapoel organization, the 1957 Reds' club was forced to drop the name Hapoel from their club's name and was registered under the name of Agudat Sport Ashdod,[5][6] While still unofficially using the name Hapoel Ashdod.[7]

History

On 18 September 2015 the club played it first official match, beating F.C. Tzeirei al-Hoshla 6–0 in the first round of the State Cup.[8] The club's first manager, former Hapoel Tel Aviv player Moris Zano led the club through its first matches, but was fired in October 2015.[9] In December 2015, the club signed Pini Balili as its new manager.[10]

Current squad
As of 29 January 2020
No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  ISR Adir Refael
3 DF  ISR Ben Turjeman
5 DF  ISR Phillip Hayek
6 FW  ISR Noam Gissin
7 DF  ISR Oz Raly
8 MF  ISR Mishel Ross
9 MF  ISR Lishay Biton (captain)
10 FW  ISR Ohad Kadousi
11 MF  ISR Tal Ayela
12 DF  ISR Bar Malul
14 FW  ISR Idan Shriki
15 MF  ISR Shai Haddad
No. Pos. Nation Player
16 DF  ISR Gil Cohen
17 DF  ISR Ofer Verta
18 MF  ISR Ohad Edelstein
19 MF  ISR Ahmad Milad
20 MF  ISR Yuval Ben Ami
21 DF  ISR Adar Awat
22 GK  ISR Guy Salem
23 DF  ISR Mor Edri
99 FW  ISR Yossi Asayag
— MF  ISR Benny Natan
— MF  ISR Moshe Lugasi

References
  1. Hapoel Ashdod was re-established last night in enthusiastic conference Bar Rabinovich & Noam Altman, Ashdod 10, 30.3.2015 (in Hebrew)
  2. The Full and True Story of a Broken Merge Shahar Kahlon, 25 March 2015, AshdodNet (in Hebrew)
  3. Namal Ashdod vs. Haim Revivo Nitzan Horesh, 31 March 2002, Haaretz (in Hebrew)
  4. The Mythological Hapoel Ashdod Will Be Re-Established in Liga Gimel Erez Na'aman, 4 March 2015, One.co.il (in Hebrew)
  5. Derby every week? 3 teams from Ashdod were assigned to the same district Kobi Portal, Doublepass, 27.8.2015 (in Hebrew)
  6. Hapoel Ashdod Vs Hapoel Ashdod war Shahar Kahlon, Ashdodnet, 23.7.2015 (in Hebrew)
  7. Hapoel Ashdod Kaduregel Facebook.com (in Hebrew)
  8. Hallelujah to the Red Teams of Ashdod: First Wins in the League Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine Noam Altahan, 20 September 2015, Ashdod 10 (in Hebrew)
  9. Breaking: Moris Zano, Coach of the Reds, Goes Home After Derby Loss to Ironi Noam Altahan, 22 October 2015, Ashdod 10 (in Hebrew)
  10. Pini Balili: I Have Won Championships and Cup, But I Still Haven't Won Promotion Kobi Portal, 7 December 2015, Doublepass (in Hebrew)
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