Hapoel Ramat Gan Givatayim

Hapoel Ramat Gan Givatayim F.C. (Hebrew: מועדון כדורגל הפועל רמת גן גבעתיים‎, Moadon Kaduregel Hapoel Ramat Gan Givatayim) is an Israeli football club from Ramat Gan and Givatayim. They currently play in Liga Leumit, the second tier of Israeli football. Home matches are played at Ramat Gan Stadium, which has a capacity of 13,370. Their regular home strip is all-red.

History

The club was founded in 1927 during the Mandate era by Jewish settlers in Ramat Gan. After independence, the club were placed in the top division.

After a series of mid-table finishes, they were relegated to the second division in 1959–60 after finishing bottom. In 1962–63, the club were promoted back to the top division, and followed it up by becoming the first team to win the championship in their first season after promotion. The championship-winning match against Hapoel Petah Tikva was watched by the club's record crowd of 9,000. However, this success proved to be their zenith, as they were overtaken by city rivals Hakoah who were champions in the following season, and were relegated at the end of the 1968–69 season.

The early 1980s was a yo-yo era, as the club were promoted and immediately relegated twice in succession from 1979–80 to 1982–83. In 1988–89 they won promotion again, but were again immediately relegated, this being their last period of time in the top flight.

By the end of the 1990s, the club had sunk into Liga Artzit, the third division, though they did pick up some silverware by winning the Toto Cup for third division teams in 1999–2000. In the same season, they were promoted back to the second division.

In 2002–03, Hapoel Ramat Gan became the first team from outside the top division to win the State Cup, when they beat Hapoel Be'er Sheva 5–4 on penalties after a 1–1 draw. The win also meant the club qualified for the UEFA Cup.

Hapoel were drawn against Levski Sofia of Bulgaria in the first round. However, because of a UEFA ban on matches in Israel at the time (due to the

This page also has a version in other languages :  Хапоэль (Рамат-Ган) (russian)