Israel's National American Football Teams

Israel's national program spans tackle and flag football, formats with separate leagues and international competition histories. Sources document a men's tackle team, senior men's and women's flag teams, and junior flag teams. A 2020 ONE feature also said AFI had three national teams competing in European and world events, but did not identify their disciplines or genders.[1] Results therefore need to be assigned to a specific format and team rather than generalized across the national program.

Organized American football in Israel traces its roots to 1988, when Steve Leibowitz co-founded an initiative that later evolved into American Football in Israel.[2][1] AFI developed into a nationwide program encompassing multiple tackle and flag leagues and more than 2,000 players.[2] The first official field opened beside Gan Sacher Park in Jerusalem in 2000 with help from a donation by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who also promoted the sport by supporting the construction of two stadiums in Jerusalem.[2][3]

The program expanded beyond its early flag leagues to include women's, youth, and tackle football. In 2007, players seeking an organized tackle framework approached AFI, leading to a tackle league and the eventual development of about 20 teams from Haifa to Beersheba.[1] One distinctive feature of the sport's Israeli development has been its interaction with Jewish religious observance: some flag football teams have been forced to forfeit games scheduled on Shabbat.[3]

AFI operates football programs at adult and youth levels. In 2015, ONE described three flag football leagues comprising about 70 men's, women's, and youth teams, as well as the adult Israel Football League and a youth tackle league.[4] The domestic tackle league then played nine-a-side football, while the men's national team was preparing for its first competition in the 11-a-side format.[4]

By 2020, AFI had approximately 1,500 active players nationwide and three national teams competing in European and world events.[1] The domestic flag football structure includes dozens of teams that compete each season for the Holy Land Bowl, with Israeli clubs also participating internationally.[3]

Israel's men's tackle football team recorded its first official international victory with a 28–20 win over Spain in Madrid. The result advanced Israel's bid to qualify for the International Federation of American Football's B-Group International Tournament in 2016; at the time, the players competed domestically in the nine-team Israel Football League.[5]

Jay Hoffman began coaching the national team in 2017 while still living in the United States, and his first game as head coach came in 2019.[6] That year Israel played Turkey away and Belgium at home, with Hoffman identifying the Belgium match as the first international American football game held in Jerusalem.[6] The roughly 45-player amateur squad ranged in age from 19 to 38 and balanced football with work, studies, and family responsibilities, typically practicing twice a week at a boarding school in Zichron Ya'acov.[6] Its members came from varied religious, ethnic, professional, and social backgrounds, with most born and raised in Israel—what Hoffman called "an eclectic group of athletes" and "a melting pot of Israeli society."[6] He also described the difficulty of losing talented young players when they entered mandatory military service.[6]

In 2021, Israel lost 44–19 to Hungary in Székesfehérvár, leaving Israel in Europe's Group B while Hungary advanced to the top level of European play. Israel scored two touchdowns in the final three minutes and nine seconds, both by wide receiver Ronnie Hayes.[7] Israel later defeated Spain at the Kraft Family Sports Campus in Jerusalem before more than 1,000 fans, advancing to a showdown with Germany for promotion to Group A.[8] Quarterback Tzvi Greenstone threw for 229 yards and four touchdowns and added 77 rushing yards, while veteran Danny Eastman recorded two interceptions.[8]

At a 2015 event in Kfar Saba, 19 former NFL players attended a practice game between Israel's national team and Israel Football League champion Judea Rebels. Some of the former players joined the Israeli teams as honorary coaches and shared advice with local players and coaches.[4]

Israel's men's flag football team has achieved several European podium finishes. It won gold in Germany in 2013, silver in Copenhagen in 2017, and bronze at the 2023 European Championship in Ireland.[2] One month after the 2023 bronze medal, the under-17 men's side captured Israel's first gold at the International Federation of American Football's European Junior Flag Football Championships.[3]

At the 2019 European Flag Football Championship in Jerusalem, Israel won four of its first five group-stage games and topped its group before losing to Italy 56–55 in the semifinal and France 56–49 in the bronze-medal game, finishing fourth.[9] The tournament was organized with assistance from the Eilat Sports Association.[1]

At the 2025 European Flag Football Championships in Paris, the men's team finished fifth and secured qualification for the 2026 world championships in Düsseldorf. Israel claimed fifth place with a 35–26 victory over Switzerland.[10]

The women's national flag football program grew alongside Women's American Football in Israel, founded in 2004.[11] Its beginnings were informal, with teenage girls throwing a ball on the sidelines of a football pitch. Myra Kraft, wife of Patriots owner Robert Kraft, encouraged AFI president Steve Leibowitz to establish a women's national team, and the Kraft family funded its early development.[11]

The women's team made its international debut in the Dominican Republic and finished fourth.[11] It subsequently won gold at its first European tournament in 2005, bronze at the 2009 European Championship in Belfast, and bronze again in Germany in 2013.[2] At the Walldorf Big Bowl in Germany, the team earned a medal for the seventh consecutive time as of a 2014 report.[11]

At the 2019 European Flag Football Championship in Jerusalem, Israel's women advanced to the playoffs after posting a 3–1 group-stage record. They then lost to Spain 20–12 and to France 27–18 in the game for fifth place.[9] At the 2025 European Championships in Paris, the women's team finished 12th following a 46–14 placement-round loss to Turkey.[10]

Flag football is scheduled to make its Olympic debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Games, giving Israel's men's and women's programs a new international objective.[10] A 2025 report said the United States would receive a host-country berth, leaving five places for other countries in each six-team tournament. At the time of that report, Israel's men were ranked eighth in the world and the women 17th; these were dated rankings rather than current standings.[2]

Israel was originally selected to host the 2014 Flag Football World Championship in Jerusalem. Twenty-nine teams from 20 countries were expected to participate, and the event was described in advance as potentially the largest world championship held in Israel in any sport.[11] The championship was ultimately moved to Italy at the last minute because of Operation Protective Edge.[9]

A Jerusalem Post report on Israel's tackle-football victory over Spain contains an unresolved scoring inconsistency. Its headline, opening sentence, and photograph caption state that Israel won 30–23, while the scoring sequence reaches 24–17 and then says the Israeli defense protected that lead until the final whistle.[8] The report does not reconcile the two accounts.