Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv F.C.

The club was formed in January 1936 by Yemenite religious Jews, With them Nathan Sulami and his friends.[1] It was named after Judah (Hebrew: יהודה, Yehuda), because the decision on its formation occurred during the week when the Torah portion of Vayigash (beginning with the words “Then Judah approached him” – Genesis 44:18) is read in the Synagogue, and the Jews of Yemen are descendants of Judah ben Jacob.[2] Sulami and his friends were first promoted to the top division in 1959. Two seasons later they narrowly avoided relegation, finishing second from bottom. In 1965 the club reached the State Cup final for the first time, but lost 2–1 to Maccabi Tel Aviv.[3] In 1968 they reached the final again, this time beating Hapoel Petah Tikva to claim their first piece of major silverware.

After several near-misses, the club was relegated at the end of the 1971–72 season after finishing second from bottom. However, they made an immediate return as Liga Alef champions but were relegated again in 1976. In the 1977–78 season the club were promoted back to the top division as Liga Artzit champions, and also reached the State Cup final, where they lost 2–1 to Maccabi Netanya. The following season the club finished fourth in Liga Leumit.

The 1980–81 season was the club's best so far. Managed by Shlomo Sharf they finished second in the league and reached the cup final again, this time beating Hapoel Tel Aviv 4–3 after a penalty shootout. However, the success was not maintained, and they were relegated at the end of the 1983–84 season.

The club made an immediate return as Liga Artzit champions and finished second in 1986–87. The 1989–90 season saw the club win its first, and to date only, championship under the leadership of Giora Spiegel. Two seasons later they won the Toto Cup for the first time, repeating the feat in 1997.

The 2000–01 season saw Bnei Yehuda finish second from bottom of the Premier League (which had replaced Liga Leumit as the top division) and the club was relegated. However, they made an immediate return as Liga Leumit runners-up.[4] In 2005–06 they reached the cup final, losing 1–0 to Hapoel Tel Aviv, but also qualifying for Europe for the first time. In the 2006–07 UEFA Cup they lost 6–0 on aggregate to Lokomotiv Sofia and had to play their home match in Senec in Slovakia due to security concerns.[5]

In the 2009–10 season Bnei Yehuda reached the European League play-off, after starting in the first qualifying round, but lost to PSV 2–0 on aggregate. The following season they reached the second qualifying round of the Europa League, but lost to Shamrock Rovers.

From 2009–10 to the 2012–13 season, Bnei Yehuda managed to finish regularly in the top 3–4 ranks of the Israeli Premier League which won her participation in the European League qualifying. Following the success, the group became a springboard for players. Many players who were remarkable in the ranks of Bnei Yehuda have moved or were sold to bigger clubs and others were called to the national team.

In the 2013–14 season, Bnei Yehuda finished bottom and relegated to Liga Leumit. However, they made an immediate return to the Premier League as the 2014–15 Liga Leumit champions.

In the 2016–17 season, the club won the National cup, and it was their first major title in 27 years (last one was the championship in 1989-90).

In 2017, HAP Investments became the Group's main sponsor. In June 2018 a new contract was signed for the 2018/2019 season.

The Bnei Yehuda fanbase is predominantly a working class neighbourhood support from Hatikva, and has one supporter group, the ultras "Lions Army", who express far-right political views. [6] have been involved in various racist incidents,[7] such as that involving Arab player Salim Tyameh[8] and have developed a reputation for this as well as violence.[9] [10] The fans heavily criticised Ismaila Soro when he decided to move to Celtic F.C. [11]

For most of its existence, Bnei Yehuda played at the Hatikva Neighborhood Stadium in the Hatikva Quarter of Tel Aviv. However, in 2004 the team moved their home matches to the Bloomfield Stadium, though the club offices, the team's practice grounds and most activities within the club are still held in the Hatikva stadium.

Season	Competition	Round	Opponent	Home	Away	Aggregate
2006–07	UEFA Cup	2Q	Lokomotiv Sofia	0–2	0–4	0–6
2009–10	UEFA Europa League	1Q	Simurq PFC	3–0	1–0	4–0
		2Q	Dinaburg Daugavpils	4–0	1–0	5–0
		3Q	Paços Ferreira	1–0	1–0	2–0
		PO	PSV	0–1	0–1	0–2
2010–11	UEFA Europa League	1Q	Ulisses	1–0	0–0	1–0
		2Q	Shamrock Rovers	0–1	1–1	1–2
2011–12	UEFA Europa League	2Q	UE Sant Julià	2–0	2–0	4–0
		3Q	Helsingborgs IF	1–0	0–3	1–3
2012–13	UEFA Europa League	2Q	Shirak	2–0	1–0	3–0
		3Q	PAOK	0–2	1–4	1–6
2017–18	UEFA Europa League	2Q	Trenčín	2–0	1–1	3–1
		3Q	Zenit Saint Petersburg	0–2	1–0	1–2
2019–20	UEFA Europa League	3Q	Neftçi Baku	2–1	2–2	4–3
		PO	Malmö	0–1	0–3	0–4

Notes

• 1Q: First qualifying round
• 2Q: Second qualifying round
• 3Q: Third qualifying round
• PO: Play-off round

• Emmanuel Scheffer (1962–63)
• Israel Halivner (1964)
• Ze'ev Seltzer (1978–80)
• Shlomo Scharf (1980–83)
• Giora Spiegel (1989–92)
• Yehoshua Feigenbaum (1997–98)
• Giora Spiegel (1999–00)
• Eli Ohana (2000–01), (2001–03)
• Nitzan Shirazi (2005–08)
• Eli Cohen (born 1951) (Jan 21, 2008 – March 30, 2008)
• Hezi Shirazi (March 30, 2008 – June 30, 2008)
• Guy Luzon (July 1, 2008 – May 31, 2010)
• Dror Kashtan (July 1, 2010 – June 4, 2011)
• Yossi Abukasis (June 14, 2011 – May 13, 2012)
• Dror Kashtan (May 13, 2012 – Dec 9, 2013)
• Yossi Abukasis (Dec 9, 2013–16)
• Yossi Mizrahi (2016)
• Arik Benado (2016)
• Nissan Yehezkel (2016–2017)
• Yossi Abukasis (2017–2020)
• Elisha Levy (2020–present)

• Official website (in Hebrew)
• Fans forum (in Hebrew)
• Bnei Yehuda Museum Encyclopedia of Bnei Yehuda (in Hebrew)
• Arayot Yehuda Fan Club (in Hebrew)
• Bnei Yehuda Fansite (in Hebrew)