Palestinian Premier League

The Palestinian Premier League is one of the two top divisions of the Palestinian Football Association (PFA). The other is the Gaza Strip Premier League. Palestinian clubs have a rich history stretching back to the early 1930s, but most teams folded due to the political turmoil, and ensuing reduction of the geographical area of the country. Over the years, the format of the league has taken many different shapes. The league has been held uninterrupted since 2008.

Palestinian Premier League
Founded1944 (1944)
CountryPalestine
ConfederationPFA
Number of teams12
Level on pyramid1
Relegation toWest Bank First League
Domestic cup(s)Palestine Cup, Yasser Arafat Cup
International cup(s)AFC Cup
Arab Champions League
Current championsJabal Al-Mukaber
(2022–23)
Most championshipsShabab Al-Khalil (7)
Websitewww.pfa.ps
Current: 2023–24 West Bank Premier League

History

Pre-Officialization (1970s-2000s)
  • In 1977, Silwan won a five-team league on 28 points ahead of Al-Arabi Beit Safafa, YMCA, Al-Bireh Group, and Shabab Al-Khaleel.
  • In 1982, Shabab Al-Khaleel won a 24-team league on 81 points five points ahead of closest challengers YMCA.
  • In 1984, Markaz Tulkarem won a 12-team league on 60 points one point ahead of closest challengers Hateen.
  • In 1985, Shabab Al-Khaleel won their second league title, the league once again featured 12 teams. Shabab Al-Khaleel finished on 60 points, six ahead of Thaqafi Tulkarm.
  • In 1997, Markaz Shabab Al-Am'ari won their first league title on 64 points, the league featured 16 teams, Thaqafi Tulkarm finished as runner-up on 53 points.
  • In 2008–09, Taraji Wadi Al-Nes won a 22-team league that would determine the members of the First and Second Division. They collected 49 points from 21 games.
  • In 2009–10 Jabal Al-Mukaber won a 12-team league, the last before the PFA instituted a professional set-up. They collected 49 points from 22 games, 7 more than their closest challengers Hilal Al-Quds.

Emergence of High-Profile Signings (2010s)

The 2010–11 season marked the creation of the first professional league in the territories and saw high-profile signings for many clubs. Most notably Fadi Lafi of the Hilal Al-Quds, and Hernán Madrid of Wadi Al-Nes. and many Palestinians-Israelis who played for teams in the second and third tier of Israeli football.

The original format of the WBPL consisted of 12 teams playing each other twice over 22 matchdays, the bottom two clubs are relegated to the second division and the team with the most points are crowned champions.[1] Markaz Shabab Al-Am'ari won the inaugural season beating out Hilal Al-Quds on goal differential.

The 2011–12 included only 10 teams but the PFA have announced that four teams will be promoted from the First Division returning the league to its traditional 12-team format. The PFA also altered the rules on player eligibility banning the use of foreign players but letting teams have an unlimited amount of Arab Israeli citizens in their squads

Clubs

Season 2022–23 clubs:[2]

Club Coach City Captain 2021–22 season[3] Notes
Ahli Al-Khaleel Hebron West Bank First League, 2nd
Hilal Al-Quds Jamal Mahmoud East Jerusalem Fadi Lafi 3rd
Islami Qalqilya Qalqilya 6th
Jabal Al-Mukaber East Jerusalem 2nd
Markaz Balata Nablus 5th
Mosaset Al-Bireh Al-Bireh 9th
Shabab Al-Am'ari Am'ari 10th
Shabab Al-Dhahiriya Ad-Dhahiriya 7th
Shabab Al-Khalil Hebron 1st (Champions)
Shabab Alsamu Al Samu 4th
Taraji Wadi Al-Nes Bethlehem West Bank First League, 1st
Thaqafi Tulkarm Miha Tulkarem Osama Sabah 8th

Past champions

The winners were:[4]

Top goalscorers
Season Scorer Team Goals
2020-21 State of Palestine Shehab Qanbar Jabal Al-Mukaber 13
2021-22 State of Palestine Shehab Qanbar Jabal Al-Mukaber 24
2022-23 State of Palestine Mohammed Maraaba Hilal Al-Quds 21

Multiple hat-tricks
Rank Country Player Hat-tricks
1 State of Palestine Mohammed Maraaba 4
2 State of Palestine Shehab Qanbar 3
3 State of Palestine Mahmoud Abu Warda 1
State of Palestine Rashid Adwi
Jordan Aref Al Haj
State of Palestine Mahmoud Al Iwisat
State of Palestine Mohammed Al Jaabari
State of Palestine Wael Awawdeh
State of Palestine Shaher Daoud
State of Palestine Oday Mohammad Hamad
State of Palestine Hamza Issa
State of Palestine Zaid Qunbar
State of Palestine Khaled Salem
Musa Tarabin

References
  1. "West Bank Premier League". www.kooora.com. KOOORA. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  2. "الدوري الفلسطيني للمحترفين 2022/2023". kooora.com (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 28 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  3. "الدوري الفلسطيني للمحترفين 2021/2022". kooora.com (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 28 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  4. "Palestina – List of Champions and Cup Winners". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 25 July 2022. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
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