01In brief
The 2015–16 Israeli Premier League was the 2015–16 season of Israel's top-flight football league, concluding on 21 May 2016. Hapoel Be'er Sheva won its first league title in 40 years and third overall, ending Maccabi Tel Aviv's run of three consecutive championships. Be'er Sheva also recorded a 29-match unbeaten run that Walla described as Europe's best at the time, while an estimated 100,000 fans attended the official championship celebration.
02Background
Maccabi Tel Aviv entered the 2015–16 season as three-time reigning champions.[1] Their principal challengers were Hapoel Be'er Sheva, which Alona Barkat had taken over in 2007 while the club was in Liga Leumit and rebuilt into a title contender.[1]
The season also marked a significant infrastructural milestone for Hapoel Be'er Sheva. Having played 56 years at Vasermil Stadium, the club relocated to the newly opened Turner Stadium at the start of the title-winning campaign. Turner Stadium seats just over 16,000 spectators, and such was the anticipation around the move that the club sold more than 12,000 season tickets before the ground opened.[2]
03Course of Events
Hapoel Be'er Sheva established early momentum and, after 26 matches, led the table with 64 points from 20 wins, four draws, and two defeats.[3] Maccabi Tel Aviv sat second with 61 points, while Beitar Jerusalem occupied third with 51.[3] On 21 December 2015, Be'er Sheva defeated Maccabi Tel Aviv 2–1 at Bloomfield Stadium.[3]
At one stage of the season, Be'er Sheva went 29 matches without defeat — a run described as the best unbeaten sequence in Europe at the time.[1] The team was guided throughout by coach Barak Bachar, who at 36 years of age became the youngest coach in 37 years to lead a side to the Israeli league title.[2]
Championship night arrived on 21 May 2016. Before 16,104 spectators at Turner Stadium, Be'er Sheva faced Bnei Sakhnin and fell behind in the sixth minute when Firas Mugrabi scored for Sakhnin.[1] Be'er Sheva responded emphatically: Maor Buzaglo equalized, Maor Melikson put the hosts ahead, and Ben Sahar added a third to complete a 3–1 victory.[1] In a simultaneous fixture, Maccabi Tel Aviv thrashed Maccabi Haifa 6–0, but it was not enough — Be'er Sheva finished two points clear at the summit.[1]
04Final Standings and Key Statistics
Hapoel Be'er Sheva concluded the season with 83 points from 36 matches: 25 wins, eight draws, and three losses.[1] Maccabi Tel Aviv finished as runners-up with 81 points, while Beitar Jerusalem took third place with 58.[1]
Within the lower playoff, Hapoel Acre finished seventh with 34 points and Maccabi Netanya eighth with 12.[4] Netanya's relegation was confirmed on 2 April 2016 after a 2–0 defeat to Ironi Kiryat Shmona; five fixtures remained on its schedule.[4][5] Hapoel Acre was also relegated to Liga Leumit.[6]
Maccabi Tel Aviv forward Eran Zahavi scored 35 league goals, breaking the single-season Israeli league scoring record.[7] Despite Zahavi's output, it was not enough to secure a fourth consecutive title for Maccabi.
05Aftermath and Celebrations
Beersheba's championship was greeted with extraordinary scenes in the Negev city. An estimated 100,000 fans — roughly 40 percent of Beersheba's total population — gathered at the city-hall plaza for the official celebration, which included a four-minute fireworks display.[8] The turnout illustrated the club's close identification with Beersheba; speakers at the event repeatedly framed the championship as an achievement for the city and the Negev.[8]
The title ended Maccabi Tel Aviv's run of three consecutive championships and capped the rebuilding project Barkat had begun in 2007.[1] It was Be'er Sheva's third championship and its first in four decades.[1]
06Historiography
Contemporary coverage framed the season around the end of Be'er Sheva's 40-year wait, the interruption of Maccabi Tel Aviv's three-title run, and the club's 29-match unbeaten sequence, described by Walla as Europe's best at the time.[1] Later academic research treated the season as a setting for studying how online fan discourse correlated with stadium violence.[9]
07Academic Study on Fan Behavior
The 2015–16 season also served as the basis for academic research into the relationship between online fan discourse and stadium violence. Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev selected a sample of six clubs that participated in the league that season and analyzed their social-network traffic.[9] The study found that a build-up of tension in online posts during the three days before a match was correlated with stadium violence involving fans and players, and that the volume of violent online content was also linked to the outcome of a club's previous game.[9]
Sources
- 1Walla! Sport, After 40 years: Hapoel Be'er Sheva won the state championship with 3:1 over Bnei Sakhnin, accessed on October 3, 2026.
- 2The Jerusalem Post, Bringing glory to the Negev, accessed on October 3, 2026.
- 3Walla! Sport, League table after 26 matches, accessed on October 3, 2026.
- 4Walla! Sport, Lower playoff standings, accessed on October 3, 2026.
- 5Walla! Sport, Premier League: Maccabi Netanya lost 0:2 to Ironi Kiryat Shmona and officially relegated to Leumit, accessed on October 3, 2026.
- 6ONE, A national(ist) project: the second league opens a season, accessed on October 3, 2026.
- 7The Jerusalem Post, Israeli soccer team ends Eran Zahavi pursuit for final career bid, accessed on October 3, 2026.
- 8ONE, Watch: 100,000 people celebrated the championship with Hapoel B'S, accessed on October 3, 2026.
- 9Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, From internet swear words to stadium violence in football (soccer) games – An Israeli case study, accessed on October 3, 2026.
IsraelPedia Question & Answers
What was the 2015–16 Israeli Premier League season?
The 2015–16 Israeli Premier League was the top-flight football league season in Israel, concluding on 21 May 2016. Hapoel Be'er Sheva won its first league title in 40 years and third overall, ending Maccabi Tel Aviv's run of three consecutive championships. Be'er Sheva also recorded a 29-match unbeaten run that Walla described as Europe's best at the time, while an estimated 100,000 fans attended the official championship celebration.
How did Hapoel Be'er Sheva's move to Turner Stadium factor into the 2015–16 season?
Hapoel Be'er Sheva relocated to the newly opened Turner Stadium at the start of the title-winning campaign, ending 56 years at Vasermil Stadium. Turner Stadium seats just over 16,000 spectators, and the club sold more than 12,000 season tickets before the ground even opened, reflecting the level of anticipation surrounding the move.
How did Hapoel Be'er Sheva clinch the championship on the final night?
On 21 May 2016, before 16,104 spectators at Turner Stadium, Be'er Sheva faced Bnei Sakhnin and fell behind when Firas Mugrabi scored in the sixth minute. Be'er Sheva responded with goals from Maor Buzaglo, Maor Melikson, and Ben Sahar to win 3–1. Although Maccabi Tel Aviv beat Maccabi Haifa 6–0 in a simultaneous fixture, it was not enough — Be'er Sheva finished two points clear at the summit.
Who was Hapoel Be'er Sheva's coach during the 2015–16 title-winning season?
Hapoel Be'er Sheva was guided throughout the season by coach Barak Bachar, who at 36 years of age became the youngest coach in 37 years to lead a side to the Israeli league title.
What scoring record was broken during the 2015–16 Israeli Premier League?
Maccabi Tel Aviv forward Eran Zahavi scored 35 league goals during the season, breaking the single-season Israeli league scoring record. Despite Zahavi's output, it was not enough to secure a fourth consecutive title for Maccabi Tel Aviv.
How did Beersheba celebrate Hapoel Be'er Sheva's 2015–16 championship?
An estimated 100,000 fans — roughly 40 percent of Beersheba's total population — gathered at the city-hall plaza for the official championship celebration, which included a four-minute fireworks display. Speakers at the event repeatedly framed the championship as an achievement for the city and the Negev.
What did academic research find when studying the 2015–16 Israeli Premier League season?
Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev selected a sample of six clubs that participated in the 2015–16 season and analyzed their social-network traffic. The study found that a build-up of tension in online posts during the three days before a match was correlated with stadium violence involving fans and players, and that the volume of violent online content was also linked to the outcome of a club's previous game.