West Bank Premier League

West Bank Premier League

Founded	1944;81 years ago (1944)
Country	Palestine
Confederation	PFA
Number of clubs	12
Level on pyramid	1
Relegation to	West Bank First League
Domestic cup(s)	Palestine Cup Yasser Arafat Cup
International cup(s)	AFC Cup Arab Champions League
Current champions	Jabal Al-Mukaber (2022–23)
Most championships	Shabab Al-Khalil (7)
Website	www.pfa.ps
Current: 2023-24 West Bank Premier League

The West Bank Premier League is one of the two top divisions of the Palestinian Football Association (PFA). ^[1] 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.

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.^{[ citation needed ]}

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. ^[2]

The 2011–12 included only 10 teams but the PFA 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^{[ citation needed ]}

Clubs

Season 2022–23 clubs: ^[3]

Club	Coach	City	Captain	2021–22 season [4]	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: ^[5]

• 1977: Silwan
• 1982: Shabab Al-Khalil
• 1984: Markaz Tulkarem
• 1985: Shabab Al-Khalil (2)
• 1986: Shabab Al-Khalil (3)
• 1997: Markaz Shabab Al-Am'ari
• 1999: Shabab Al-Khalil (4)
• 2000: Wadi Al-Nes
• 2006: Markaz Tulkarem (2)
• 2007: Wadi Al-Nes (2)
• 2008–09: Taraji Wadi Al-Nes
• 2009–10: Jabal Al-Mukaber Club
• 2010–11: Markaz Shabab Al-Am'ari (2)
• 2011–12: Hilal Al-Quds
• 2012–13: Shabab Al-Dhahiriya
• 2013–14: Taraji Wadi Al-Nes (2)
• 2014–15: Shabab Al-Dhahiriya (2)
• 2015–16: Shabab Al-Khalil (5)
• 2016–17: Hilal Al-Quds (2)
• 2017–18: Hilal Al-Quds (3)
• 2018–19: Hilal Al-Quds (4)
• 2019–20: Markaz Balata
• 2020–21: Shabab Al-Khalil (6)
• 2021–22: Shabab Al-Khalil (7)
• 2022–23: Jabal Al-Mukaber (2)
• 2023–24: Cancelled

Top goalscorers

Season	Scorer	Team	Goals
2020–21	Shehab Qumbor	Jabal Al-Mukaber	15
2021–22	Shehab Qumbor	Jabal Al-Mukaber	24
2022–23	Mohammed Maraaba	Hilal Al-Quds	21

Multiple hat-tricks

^{[ citation needed ]}

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

References

1. "West Asia Wrap". Asian Football Confederation. 23 January 2023.
2. "West Bank Premier League". www.kooora.com. KOOORA. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
3. "الدوري الفلسطيني للمحترفين 2022/2023". kooora.com (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 28 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
4. "الدوري الفلسطيني للمحترفين 2021/2022". kooora.com (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 28 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
5. "Palestina – List of Champions and Cup Winners". RSSSF . Archived from the original on 25 July 2022. Retrieved 14 September 2017.

External links

• League at FIFA.com
• League at Soccerway.com