2019–20 Israeli Premier League

The 2019–20 Israeli Premier League, also known as Ligat Tel Aviv Stock Exchange[2] for sponsorship reasons, was the 21st season since its introduction in 1999 and the 78th season of top-tier football in Israel. The season began in August 2019 and concluded in July 2020 after a suspension of 75 days due to the coronavirus pandemic.[3]

Israeli Premier League
Season2019–20
Dates24 August 2019 – 7 July 2020
ChampionsMaccabi Tel Aviv
RelegatedSektzia Ness Ziona
Hapoel Ra'anana
Champions LeagueMaccabi Tel Aviv
Europa LeagueMaccabi Haifa
Beitar Jerusalem
Hapoel Be'er Sheva
Matches played240
Goals scored565 (2.35 per match)
Top goalscorerAustralia Nikita Rukavytsya
(22 goals)
Biggest home winMaccabi Haifa 5–0 Hapoel Tel Aviv (4 February 2020)
Bnei Yehuda 5–0 Hapoel Hadera
(6 June 2020)
Biggest away winBeitar Jerusalem 0–4 Maccabi Tel Aviv
(19 October 2019)
Sektzia Ness Ziona 0–4 Beitar Jerusalem
(28 September 2019)
Hapoel Ra'anana 0–4 Bnei Yehuda
(1 July 2020)
Highest scoring7 goals
Maccabi Haifa 4–3 Hapoel Ra'anana
(24 August 2019)
Maccabi Haifa 3–4 Maccabi Tel Aviv
(6 January 2020)
Maccabi Netanya F.C. 2–5 F.C. Ashdod
(28 June 2020)
Longest winning run6 matches
Maccabi Tel Aviv
Longest unbeaten run35 matches
Maccabi Tel Aviv
Longest winless run15 matches
Hapoel Ra'anana (Twice)
Longest losing run10 matches
Hapoel Ra'anana
Highest attendance30,071
Maccabi Haifa 3–4 Maccabi Tel Aviv
(6 January 2020)
Total attendance1,326,615 [1]
Average attendance7,453

Teams

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A total of fourteen teams were competing in the league, including twelve sides from the 2018–19 season and two promoted teams from the 2018–19 Liga Leumit.

Bnei Sakhnin and Maccabi Petah Tikva were relegated to the 2019–20 Liga Leumit after finishing the 2018–19 Israeli Premier League in the bottom two places.

Sektzia Ness Ziona were promoted as the winners of the 2018–19 Liga Leumit. This marked the return of Ness Ziona to the top division after 51 years of absence.

Hapoel Kfar Saba were promoted as the Runner-ups of the 2018–19 Liga Leumit. This ends the team's three years absence from the top division.

Stadiums and locations

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Team Location Stadium Capacity
Beitar Jerusalem Jerusalem Teddy Stadium[4] 31,733
Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv Bloomfield Stadium 29,400
F.C. Ashdod Ashdod Yud-Alef Stadium[5] 7,800
Hapoel Be'er Sheva Be'er Sheva Turner Stadium[6] 16,126
Hapoel Hadera Hadera Netanya Stadium[7] 13,610
Hapoel Haifa Haifa Sammy Ofer Stadium[8] 30,942
Hapoel Kfar Saba Kfar Saba HaMoshava Stadium[9] 11,500
Hapoel Ra'anana Ra'anana HaMoshava Stadium 11,500
Hapoel Tel Aviv Tel Aviv Bloomfield Stadium 29,400
Ironi Kiryat Shmona Kiryat Shmona Kiryat Shmona Stadium[10] 5,300
Maccabi Haifa Haifa Sammy Ofer Stadium[11] 30,942
Maccabi Netanya Netanya Netanya Stadium[12] 13,610
Maccabi Tel Aviv Tel Aviv Bloomfield Stadium 29,400
Sektzia Ness Ziona Ness Ziona HaMoshava Stadium[13] 11,500
Beitar Jerusalem Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv
Hapoel Tel Aviv
Maccabi Tel Aviv
Hapoel Be'er Sheva
Teddy Stadium
Bloomfield Stadium
Turner Stadium
     
Maccabi Netanya
Hapoel Hadera
Hapoel Haifa
Maccabi Haifa
Ironi Kiryat Shmona
Netanya Stadium
Sammy Ofer Stadium
Kiryat Shmona Municipal Stadium
     
F.C. Ashdod Sektzia Ness Ziona
Hapoel Kfar Saba

Hapoel Ra'anana

Yud-Alef Stadium HaMoshava Stadium
   

Personnel and sponsorship

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Team President Manager Captain Kitmaker Shirt sponsor
Beitar Jerusalem   Moshe Hogeg   Ronny Levy   Idan Vered Umbro Milenium Group
Bnei Yehuda   Barak Abramov   Elisha Levy   Itzik Azuz Kappa ——
F.C. Ashdod   Jacky Ben-Zaken   Ran Ben Shimon   Tom Ben Zaken Nike ——
Hapoel Be'er Sheva   Alona Barkat   Yossi Abukasis Kelme Tadiran
Hapoel Hadera   Oren Golan   Sharon Mimer   Menashe Zalka Lotto Printer Center
Hapoel Haifa   Yoav Katz   Haim Silvas   Gil Vermouth Diadora Moked Hat'ama
Hapoel Kfar Saba   Itzhak Shum   Amir Turgeman   Omer Fadida Macron Advice
Hapoel Ra'anana   Asher Alon   Eyal Lahman   Snir Shuker Givova ME Group
Hapoel Tel Aviv   Itzik and Sharon Nisanov   Nir Klinger   Orel Dgani Macron Arkia
Ironi Kiryat Shmona   Izzy Sheratzky   Kobi Refua   Idan Nachmias Kappa Ituran
Maccabi Haifa   Ya'akov Shahar   Marco Balbul   Neta Lavi Nike Volvo
Maccabi Netanya   Eyal Segal   Slobodan Drapić   Almog Cohen Lotto Panorama North
Maccabi Tel Aviv   Mitchell Goldhar   Vladimir Ivić   Sheran Yeini Fila PenguinPickUp
Sektzia Ness Ziona   Kobi Kaduri   Lior Zeda   Sahar Levy Diadora Alhom

Foreign players

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The number of foreign players is restricted to six per team, while only five can be registered to a game.[14]

Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Player 4 Player 5 Player 6 Non-visa player
Beitar Jerusalem   Ange-Freddy Plumain   Antoine Conte   Diogo Verdasca   Ali Mohamed   Levi Garcia
Bnei Yehuda   Allyson   Emilijus Zubas   Joseph Mensah   Matija Ljujić   Mihlali Mayambela
F.C. Ashdod   Jimmy Marín   Montari Kamaheni   Samuel Alabi   Timothy Awany   Renan
Hapoel Be'er Sheva   Elton Acolatse   Ernestas Šetkus   David Simão   Josué Pesqueira   Miguel Vítor
Hapoel Hadera   Austin Ejide   Didier Kougbenya   George Fochive   Jonathan Cissé   Junior Ogedi-Uzokwe   Lúcio Maranhão
Hapoel Haifa   Francisco Júnior   Jasmin Burić   Jakub Sylvestr   Kevin Tapoko   Nikola Gulan
Hapoel Kfar Saba   Amadou Soukouna   Boubacar Traorè   Gershon Koffie   Luwagga Kizito   Sodiq Atanda
Hapoel Ra'anana   Darryl Lachman   David Mateos   Divine Naah   Elia Soriano   Eugene Ansah
Hapoel Tel Aviv   Emmanuel Boateng   Felipe Jorge Rodríguez   Marvin Peersman   Michael Olaha   Stefan Spirovski
Ironi Kiryat Shmona   Džiugas Bartkus   James Adeniyi   Maalique Foster   Marcus Diniz   Radu Gînsari   Silas
Maccabi Haifa   Ernest Mabouka   Ikouwem Utin   Yanic Wildschut   Tjaronn Chery   Trent Sainsbury   Nikita Rukavytsya1
  Joe Kuzminsky 2
Maccabi Netanya   Fatos Bećiraj   Lazar Ćirković   Tim Heubach   Zlatan Šehović
Maccabi Tel Aviv   Andreas Gianniotis   André Geraldes   Chikeluba Ofoedu   Enric Saborit   Jair Amador
  Nick Blackman2
Sektzia Ness Ziona   Dries Wuytens   Jahmir Hyka   Moussa Maâzou   Ramaric Etou   Sabien Lilaj   Seahaw Turai
In bold: Players that have been capped for their national team.

The following do not fill a Visa position:
1Players who were born and started their professional career abroad but have since gained an Israeli passport or permanent residency, allowing them to play with Israeli status;
2Players who were born and started their professional career abroad but are eligible for Israeli citizenship due to Jewish ancestry;

3Israeli citizens who have chosen to represent another national team;

Managerial changes

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Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Hapoel Tel Aviv Kobi Refua Sacked 14 May 2019 Pre-season Nisso Avitan 15 May 2019
Sektzia Ness Ziona Ofer Talsesefa End of contract 20 May 2019 Amir Turgeman 27 May 2019
Hapoel Hadera Ron Kelar Caretaking spell over 26 May 2019 Ori Guttman 26 May 2019
F.C. Ashdod Avi Bohbot End of contract 27 May 2019 Ronny Awat and Moshe Ohayon 27 May 2019
Beitar Jerusalem Nir Klinger Sacked 4 June 2019 Ronny Levy 6 June 2019
Ironi Kiryat Shmona Messay Dego Sacked 20 October 2019 13th Kobi Refua 20 October 2019
Hapoel Tel Aviv Nisso Avitan Sacked 5 November 2019 11th Nir Klinger 5 November 2019
Hapoel Hadera Ori Guttman Left 29 November 2019 5th Sharon Mimer 10 December 2019
Hapoel Ra'anana Meni Koretski Left 10 December 2019 13th Nisso Avitan 10 December 2019
Hapoel Be'er Sheva Barak Bakhar Left 6 January 2020 4th Yossi Abukasis 8 January 2020
Bnei Yehuda Yossi Abukasis Signed by Hapoel Be'er Sheva 8 January 2020 6th Elisha Levy 8 January 2020
F.C. Ashdod Ronny Awat Stepped down to the position of Assistant Manager 21 January 2020 10th Ran Ben Shimon 21 January 2020
Sektzia Ness Ziona Amir Turgeman Sacked 5 February 2020 14th Lior Zeda 15 February 2020
Hapoel Ra'anana Nisso Avitan Sacked 17 February 2020 14th Gal Cohen 17 February 2020
Hapoel Kfar Saba Ofir Haim Sacked 26 February 2020 11th Amir Turgeman 27 February 2020
Hapoel Ra'anana Gal Cohen Stepped down to the position of Assistant Manager 24 May 2020 14th Eyal Lahman 24 May 2020

Regular season

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Regular season table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Maccabi Tel Aviv 26 19 7 0 48 7 +41 64 Qualification for the Championship round
2 Maccabi Haifa 26 18 4 4 58 20 +38 58
3 Beitar Jerusalem 26 15 4 7 42 25 +17 49
4 Hapoel Be'er Sheva 26 13 5 8 33 23 +10 44
5 Hapoel Tel Aviv 26 11 5 10 24 36 −12 38
6 Hapoel Haifa 26 10 7 9 26 30 −4 37
7 Bnei Yehuda 26 9 7 10 23 26 −3 34 Qualification for the Relegation round
8 Hapoel Hadera 26 9 7 10 24 28 −4 34
9 Maccabi Netanya 26 8 7 11 23 32 −9 31
10 F.C. Ashdod 26 6 10 10 30 33 −3 28
11 Hapoel Kfar Saba 26 7 5 14 22 35 −13 26
12 Ironi Kiryat Shmona 26 6 4 16 24 35 −11 22
13 Sektzia Ness Ziona 26 5 6 15 17 40 −23 21
14 Hapoel Ra'anana 26 2 10 14 20 44 −24 16
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Matches won; 4) Goals scored; 5) Head-to-head points; 6) Head-to-head goal difference; 7) Head-to-head goals scored; 8) Play-off.[15]


Regular season results

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Home \ Away ASH BEI BnY HAH HBS HHA HKS HRA HTA IKS MHA MNE MTA NES
F.C. Ashdod 2–2 0–1 0–2 2–2 1–1 0–0 3–0 2–1 1–0 1–2 0–0 0–1 2–1
Beitar Jerusalem 2–1 1–3 2–0 0–0 0–2 1–0 2–0 0–1 2–2 2–0 3–1 0–4 1–0
Bnei Yehuda 2–0 0–2 0–1 0–1 0–0 0–1 1–1 1–2 2–1 1–3 0–0 0–3 1–2
Hapoel Hadera 1–1 1–2 0–0 0–1 2–0 2–0 4–0 0–1 2–2 0–3 1–0 0–3 1–0
Hapoel Be'er Sheva 2–1 0–1 1–2 3–0 1–0 3–1 1–0 3–0 2–1 0–2 2–0 1–1 3–0
Hapoel Haifa 1–0 1–4 3–0 1–2 0–3 0–2 2–2 3–0 2–1 0–0 1–3 1–1 2–0
Hapoel Kfar Saba 1–3 2–1 0–1 0–0 0–1 0–1 3–0 1–2 0–3 0–3 1–2 0–1 1–1
Hapoel Ra'anana 1–1 2–1 0–1 1–1 2–1 0–0 1–1 2–2 1–1 0–0 1–2 0–2 0–0
Hapoel Tel Aviv 0–0 0–1 1–1 2–1 1–0 0–1 2–1 3–1 2–0 1–2 0–0 0–3 1–1
Ironi Kiryat Shmona 2–0 0–2 2–1 0–1 0–0 1–2 1–3 2–1 0–1 1–2 3–0 0–1 1–0
Maccabi Haifa 3–3 3–1 1–1 1–0 4–0 3–0 0–1 4–3 5–0 2–0 3–0 3–4 4–0
Maccabi Netanya 2–4 0–3 0–3 1–0 1–1 0–0 2–2 1–0 4–0 1–0 0–2 0–1 3–0
Maccabi Tel Aviv 2–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 2–0 3–0 4–0 2–1 3–0 3–0 1–0 0–0 1–1
Sektzia Ness Ziona 0–2 0–4 0–1 1–2 2–1 2–2 0–1 3–0 0–1 1–0 0–3 1–0 0–2
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: Israel Football Association
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Source: [1]


Championship round

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Key numbers for pairing determination (number marks position after 26 games)

Rounds
27th 28th 29th 30th 31st 32nd 33rd 34th 35th 36th
1 – 6
2 – 5
3 – 4
1 – 2
5 – 3
6 – 4
2 – 6
3 – 1
4 – 5
1 – 4
2 – 3
6 – 5
3 – 6
4 – 2
5 – 1
6 – 1
5 – 2
4 – 3
2 – 1
3 – 5
4 – 6
6 – 2
1 – 3
5 – 4
3 – 2
4 – 1
5 – 6
6 – 3
2 – 4
1 – 5

Due to 2 teams that play in the Sammy Ofer Stadium qualified to this round, and in order to insure that all the last games of this round, can be played in the same time (for purity reasons), the order of the games, has been changed, affecting fixtures 33, 35 and 36.

Rounds
33rd 34th 35th 36th
6 – 3
2 – 4
1 – 5
6 – 2
1 – 3
5 – 4
2 – 1
3 – 5
4 – 6
3 – 2
4 – 1
5 – 6

Championship round table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Maccabi Tel Aviv (C) 36 26 9 1 63 10 +53 87 Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round
2 Maccabi Haifa 36 22 7 7 73 32 +41 73 Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round
3 Beitar Jerusalem 36 16 11 9 51 35 +16 59
4 Hapoel Be'er Sheva[a] 36 15 10 11 44 33 +11 55
5 Hapoel Tel Aviv 36 14 6 16 31 55 −24 48 Can't qualify for international competitions[16]
6 Hapoel Haifa 36 12 11 13 39 46 −7 47
Source: Israel Football Association, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Matches won; 4) Goals scored; 5) Head-to-head points; 6) Head-to-head goal difference; 7) Head-to-head goals scored; 8) Play-off.[15]
(C) Champions
Notes:
  1. ^ Qualified due to winning the 2019–20 Israel State Cup


2019–20 Israeli Premier League champions


Maccabi Tel Aviv
23rd title

Championship round results

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Home \ Away BEI HBS HHA HTA MHA MTA
Beitar Jerusalem 1–1 1–1 3–0 2–2 0–0
Hapoel Be'er Sheva 2–2 3–1 0–0 0–1 2–0
Hapoel Haifa 0–0 1–1 4–0 1–4 0–3
Hapoel Tel Aviv 3–0 1–0 0–3 1–3 0–2
Maccabi Haifa 0–0 2–1 2–2 1–2 0–1
Maccabi Tel Aviv 1–0 1–1 2–0 3–0 2–0
Source: Israel Football Association
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Positions by round

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Team ╲ Round2627282930313233343536
Maccabi Tel Aviv11111111111
Maccabi Haifa22222222222
Beitar Jerusalem33333333333
Hapoel Be'er Sheva44444444444
Hapoel Tel Aviv55555555555
Hapoel Haifa66666666666
2020–21 UEFA Champions League Second qualifying round
2020–21 UEFA Europa League First qualifying round
Source: [2]

Relegation round

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Key numbers for pairing determination (number marks position after 26 games)

Rounds
27th 28th 29th 30th 31st 32nd 33rd
7 – 11
8 – 13
9 – 12
10 – 14
11 – 14
12 – 10
13 – 9
7 – 8
8 – 11
9 – 7
10 – 13
14 – 12
11 – 12
13 – 14
7 – 10
8 – 9
9 – 11
10 – 8
14 – 7
12 – 13
11 – 13
7 – 12
8 – 14
9 – 10
10 – 11
14 – 9
12 – 8
13 – 7

Due to 2 teams that play in the HaMoshava Stadium qualified to this round, and in order to insure that all the last games of this round, can be played in the same time(for purity reasons), the order of the games, has been changed. Affecting fixtures 31 and 33.

Rounds
31st 32nd 33rd
10 – 11
14 – 9
12 – 8
13 – 7
11 – 13
7 – 12
8 – 14
9 – 10
9 – 11
10 – 8
14 – 7
12 – 13

Relegation round table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Relegation
7 Bnei Yehuda 33 13 10 10 40 30 +10 49
8 F.C. Ashdod 33 10 11 12 48 47 +1 41
9 Hapoel Hadera 33 10 10 13 33 42 −9 40
10 Maccabi Netanya 33 11 7 15 35 46 −11 40
11 Hapoel Kfar Saba 33 10 8 15 28 38 −10 38
12 Ironi Kiryat Shmona 33 9 5 19 30 43 −13 32
13 Sektzia Ness Ziona (R) 33 8 8 17 23 46 −23 32 Relegation to Liga Leumit
14 Hapoel Ra'anana (R) 33 2 11 20 27 62 −35 17
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Matches won; 4) Goals scored; 5) Head-to-head points; 6) Head-to-head goal difference; 7) Head-to-head goals scored; 8) Play-off.[15]
(R) Relegated


Relegation round results

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Home \ Away ASH BnY HAH HKS HRA IKS MNE NES
F.C. Ashdod 3–1 2–3 3–2 2–0
Bnei Yehuda 0–0 5–0 0–0 2–0
Hapoel Hadera 0–0 2–2 1–2 2–2
Hapoel Kfar Saba 2–0 0–0 0–1
Hapoel Ra'anana 0–4 0–1 2–4
Ironi Kiryat Shmona 3–0 0–3 1–0
Maccabi Netanya 2–5 1–3 0–1 3–1
Sektzia Ness Ziona 0–0 2–1 1–0
Source: Israel Football Association
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Positions by round

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Team ╲ Round2627282930313233
Bnei Yehuda77777777
F.C. Ashdod101010101010108
Hapoel Hadera88889989
Maccabi Netanya999988910
Hapoel Kfar Saba1111111111111111
Ironi Kiryat Shmona1212121212121312
Sektzia Ness Ziona1313131313131213
Hapoel Ra'anana1414141414141414
Relegation to Liga Leumit
Source: [citation needed]

Season statistics

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Top scorers

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Rank Player Club Goals
1     Nikita Rukavytsya Maccabi Haifa 22
2   Ben Sahar Hapoel Be'er Sheva 13
3   Yonatan Cohen Maccabi Tel Aviv 12
4   Omri Altman Hapoel Tel Aviv 11
  Dean David F.C. Ashdod
6   Tjaronn Chery Maccabi Haifa 10
  Omer Fadida Hapoel Kfar Saba
  Dor Jan Bnei Yehuda
9   Shlomi Azulay Beitar Jerusalem 9
  Chikeluba Ofoedu Maccabi Tel Aviv
  Eliel Peretz Hapoel Hadera
  Raz Stein Sektzia Ness Ziona

Source: (Hebrew)[3]

Hat-tricks

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Player For Against Result Date Round Reference
  Dor Jan Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv F.C. Hapoel Ra'anana A.F.C. 4–0 1 July 2020 33

Average attendances

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Pos Team Total High Low Average Change
1 Maccabi Haifa 255,826 30,071 15,173 21,319 +36.0%
2 Maccabi Tel Aviv 248,124 27,566 9,409 20,677 +111.4%
3 Hapoel Be'er Sheva 138,531 15,300 7,121 11,555 −15.0%
4 Hapoel Tel Aviv 138,531 21,800 3,432 11,544 +87.7%
5 Beitar Jerusalem 135,564 21,500 5,005 11,297 +4.5%
6 Maccabi Netanya 67,559 9,365 3,712 5,630 +0.1%
7 Hapoel Haifa 65,729 23,400 3,030 5,477 +2.0%
8 Bnei Yehuda 44,581 8,903 690 3,715 +10.6%
9 Hapoel Kfar Saba 33,646 7,443 715 2,803 n/a1
10 Sektzia Ness Ziona 33,302 10,526 180 2,775 n/a1
11 Hapoel Ra'anana 31,361 7,919 325 2,613 +66.2%
12 Hapoel Hadera 27,530 8,422 770 2,294 −21.2%
13 F.C. Ashdod 22,598 4,600 550 1,883 +7.3%
14 Ironi Kiryat Shmona 18,471 4,259 530 1,539 +8.5%
League total 1,261,480 30,071 180 7,509 +25.9%

Updated to games played on 27 February 2020
Source: [4]
Notes:
1: Team played last season in Liga Leumit.

References

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  1. ^ "Premier League: Season attendance" (in Hebrew). football.co.il. 5 October 2019.
  2. ^ "רשמית: הבורסה הפכה לספונסרית של ליגת העל". One.co.il. 28 May 2019.
  3. ^ "Israeli soccer to resume play on May 30, without fans". The Times of Israel. 6 May 2020.
  4. ^ Beitar Jerusalem venue
  5. ^ F.C. Ashdod venue
  6. ^ Hapoel Be'er Sheva venue
  7. ^ Hapoel Hadera venue
  8. ^ Hapoel Haifa venue
  9. ^ "בית חדש? הפועל רעננה תשתתף בשיפוץ לויטה - ספורט 5". 3 July 2019.
  10. ^ Ironi Kiryat Shmona venue
  11. ^ Maccabi Haifa venue
  12. ^ Maccabi Netanya venue
  13. ^ נתן, דוד (27 June 2019). "רשמי: הבית של סקציה נס ציונה - המושבה". Ynet.
  14. ^ Tuchman, Yaniv (20 June 2016). "Moving to six foreigners in the Premier League" (in Hebrew). Walla! Sports.
  15. ^ a b c "Ligat ha'AL 2019/2020". Soccerway. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  16. ^ צנציפר, נדב (9 May 2020). "Hapoel Tel-Aviv can't qualify for European Competitions". Ynet (in Hebrew).
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