Hapoel Tel AvivHapoel Tel Aviv, founded in 1927 in the port city of Tel Aviv, is historically one of the most successful football clubs in Israel. Rooted in the Histadrut labour movement, whose supporters were for decades associated with left-wing political sympathies, the club has won 13 top-flight league titles and 16 Israel State Cups over its near-century-long history — remaining the only Israeli club to win the State Cup in three consecutive seasons, doing so in 1937, 1938, and 1939. Hapoel plays its home matches at Bloomfield Stadium, where for decades it has maintained an intense rivalry with local rivals Maccabi Tel Aviv — the Tel Aviv derby, contested since 1928, ranks among the oldest and fiercest fixtures in Israeli football.
The most significant chapter in the club's European history came in the 2001–02 season, when, under manager Dror Kashtan, the team reached the quarterfinals of the UEFA Cup, eliminating Chelsea FC, Lokomotiv Moscow, and Parma along the way, becoming the first Israeli club in history to reach that stage of the competition. In the quarterfinal, Hapoel faced AC Milan — for security reasons the home leg was played at a neutral venue in Cyprus, where the Tel Aviv side won 1–0, but they lost 0–2 in the return leg at the San Siro, exiting the competition 1–2 on aggregate. Another significant achievement came with qualification for the Champions League group stage in the 2010–11 season under manager Eli Guttman, where the team collected 5 points against Schalke 04, Olympique Lyonnais, and SL Benfica.
Over the decades the club has fielded numerous Israeli internationals, including Yossi Abukasis, Gil Vermouth, and Eran Zahavi. Recent years, however, brought serious financial and organisational turmoil that led to the club's relegation from the top division. The return to the elite came swiftly, though — in the 2024–25 season Hapoel Tel Aviv won the second-tier Liga Leumit championship, securing promotion back to the Israeli Premier League and opening a new chapter in efforts to restore the club's position as one of the pillars of Israeli football.
