# 2016–17 Liga Leumit

The 2016–17 Liga Leumit is the 18th season as second tier since its re-alignment in 1999 and the 75th season of second-tier football in Israel.
A total of sixteen teams are contesting in the league, including twelve sides from the 2015–16 season, the two promoted teams from 2015–16 Liga Alef and the two relegated teams from 2015–16 Israeli Premier League.

## Changes from 2015–16 season
### Team changes

F.C. Ashdod and Hapoel Ashkelon, were promoted to the 2016–17 Israeli Premier League.
Maccabi Netanya and Hapoel Akko were relegated after finishing as the two bottom-placed clubs in the 2015–16 Israeli Premier League.
Maccabi Kiryat Gat, and Maccabi Yavne were directly relegated to Liga Alef after finishing in the previous season in last two league places. They were replaced the top placed teams from each division of 2015–16 Liga Alef, Maccabi Sha'arayim (from South Division) and Ironi Nesher (from North Division).

## Overview
### Stadia and locations

| Club | Home City | Stadium | Capacity |
| Beitar Tel Aviv Ramla | Tel Aviv and Ramla | Ramla Municipal Stadium | 2,000 |
| Hapoel Afula | Afula | Afula Illit Stadium | 3,000 |
| Hapoel Akko | Akko | Akko Municipal Stadium | 5,000 |
| Hapoel Bnei Lod | Lod | Lod Municipal Stadium | 3,000 |
| Hapoel Jerusalem | Jerusalem | Teddy Stadium | 31,733 |
| Hapoel Katamon Jerusalem | Jerusalem | Teddy Stadium | 31,733 |
| Hapoel Nazareth Illit | Nazareth Illit | Green Stadium | 4,000 |
| Hapoel Petah Tikva | Petah Tikva | HaMoshava Stadium | 11,500 |
| Hapoel Ramat Gan | Ramat Gan | Ramat Gan Stadium | 13,370 |
| Hapoel Ramat HaSharon | Ramat HaSharon | Grundman Stadium | 4,300 |
| Hapoel Rishon LeZion | Rishon LeZion | Haberfeld Stadium | 6,000 |
| Ironi Nesher | Nesher | Nesher Stadium | 2,500 |
| Maccabi Ahi Nazareth | Nazareth | Ilut Stadium | 4,932 |
| Maccabi Herzliya | Herzliya | Herzliya Municipal Stadium | 8,100 |
| Maccabi Netanya | Netanya | Netanya Stadium | 13,610 |
| Maccabi Sha'arayim | Ness Ziona | Ness Ziona Stadium | 3,500 |
^A The club is playing their home games at a neutral venue because their own ground does not meet Premier League requirements.

## Regular season
### Regular season table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Maccabi Netanya | 30 | 17 | 12 | 1 | 65 | 32 | +33 | 54 | Qualification for the Promotion playoffs |
| 2 | Hapoel Acre | 30 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 50 | 30 | +20 | 54 | Qualification for the Promotion playoffs |
| 3 | Hapoel Ramat Gan | 30 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 46 | 28 | +18 | 52 | Qualification for the Promotion playoffs |
| 4 | Beitar Tel Aviv Ramla | 30 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 49 | 35 | +14 | 44 | Qualification for the Promotion playoffs |
| 5 | Hapoel Petah Tikva | 30 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 39 | 38 | +1 | 42 | Qualification for the Promotion playoffs |
| 6 | Hapoel Katamon Jerusalem | 30 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 40 | 46 | −6 | 42 | Qualification for the Promotion playoffs |
| 7 | Maccabi Ahi Nazareth | 30 | 9 | 13 | 8 | 37 | 30 | +7 | 40 | Qualification for the Promotion playoffs |
| 8 | Hapoel Bnei Lod | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 39 | 52 | −13 | 39 | Qualification for the Promotion playoffs |
| 9 | Hapoel Afula | 30 | 8 | 14 | 8 | 42 | 46 | −4 | 38 | Qualification for the Relegation playoffs |
| 10 | Hapoel Rishon LeZion | 30 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 28 | 29 | −1 | 36 | Qualification for the Relegation playoffs |
| 11 | Maccabi Herzliya | 30 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 37 | 44 | −7 | 35 | Qualification for the Relegation playoffs |
| 12 | Ironi Nesher | 30 | 7 | 13 | 10 | 22 | 32 | −10 | 34 | Qualification for the Relegation playoffs |
| 13 | Hapoel Ramat HaSharon | 30 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 27 | 38 | −11 | 33 | Qualification for the Relegation playoffs |
| 14 | Hapoel Nazareth Illit | 30 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 25 | 43 | −18 | 31 | Qualification for the Relegation playoffs |
| 15 | Hapoel Jerusalem | 30 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 22 | 38 | −16 | 29 | Qualification for the Relegation playoffs |
| 16 | Maccabi Sha'arayim | 30 | 6 | 10 | 14 | 28 | 35 | −7 | 28 | Qualification for the Relegation playoffs |
* ↑ Maccabi Netanya had 9 points deducted for entering administration.

## Playoffs
### Top Playoff
#### Top Playoff table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
| 1 | Maccabi Netanya | 37 | 22 | 13 | 2 | 80 | 41 | +39 | 70 | Promoted to Israeli Premier League |
| 2 | Hapoel Acre | 37 | 17 | 11 | 9 | 58 | 41 | +17 | 62 | Promoted to Israeli Premier League |
| 3 | Beitar Tel Aviv Ramla | 37 | 16 | 11 | 10 | 67 | 39 | +28 | 59 | |
| 4 | Hapoel Ramat Gan | 37 | 15 | 10 | 12 | 53 | 46 | +7 | 55 | |
| 5 | Hapoel Katamon Jerusalem | 37 | 15 | 8 | 14 | 55 | 56 | −1 | 53 | |
| 6 | Hapoel Petah Tikva | 37 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 55 | 51 | +4 | 52 | |
| 7 | Hapoel Bnei Lod | 37 | 13 | 8 | 16 | 49 | 62 | −13 | 47 | |
| 8 | Maccabi Ahi Nazareth | 37 | 10 | 15 | 12 | 45 | 52 | −7 | 45 | |
* ↑ Maccabi Netanya had 9 points deducted for entering administration.
* ↑ Hapoel Petah Tikva had 1 point deducted for failing to file its financial reports.

### Bottom Playoff
#### Bottom Playoff table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Relegation |
| 9 | Hapoel Ramat HaSharon | 37 | 12 | 11 | 14 | 38 | 42 | −4 | 47 | |
| 10 | Hapoel Rishon LeZion | 37 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 38 | 39 | −1 | 46 | |
| 11 | Hapoel Afula | 37 | 9 | 18 | 10 | 55 | 59 | −4 | 45 | |
| 12 | Ironi Nesher | 37 | 9 | 16 | 12 | 26 | 35 | −9 | 43 | |
| 13 | Maccabi Herzliya | 37 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 45 | 55 | −10 | 43 | |
| 14 | Hapoel Nazareth Illit | 37 | 9 | 13 | 15 | 32 | 53 | −21 | 40 | Qualification for the Relegation Playoffs |
| 15 | Hapoel Jerusalem | 37 | 9 | 11 | 17 | 29 | 44 | −15 | 38 | Relegated to Liga Alef |
| 16 | Maccabi Sha'arayim | 37 | 8 | 12 | 17 | 40 | 50 | −10 | 36 | Relegated to Liga Alef |

## Positions by round

The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches.
| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 |
| Maccabi Netanya | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 12 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Hapoel Acre | 10 | 15 | 14 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Beitar Tel Aviv Ramla | 4 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| Hapoel Ramat Gan | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Hapoel Katamon Jerusalem | 3 | 3 | 8 | 13 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| Hapoel Petah Tikva | 10 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| Hapoel Bnei Lod | 15 | 14 | 15 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 7 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 12 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Maccabi Ahi Nazareth | 10 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Hapoel Ramat HaSharon | 10 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 9 |
| Hapoel Rishon LeZion | 10 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 10 |
| Hapoel Afula | 2 | 4 | 13 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 11 |
| Ironi Nesher | 4 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 |
| Maccabi Herzliya | 4 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| Hapoel Nazareth Illit | 4 | 7 | 12 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 |
| Hapoel Jerusalem | 4 | 12 | 5 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 15 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 |
| Maccabi Sha'arayim | 4 | 5 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 |

## Promotion/relegation playoff

The 14th-placed team will face 2016–17 Liga Alef promotion play-offs winner in a two-legged tie. The matches took place on 27 and 30 May 2017.
Hapoel Nazareth Illit won 3–2 on aggregate and remained in Liga Leumit. F.C. Kafr Qasim remained in Liga Alef.