West Bank Premier League

Jawwal West Bank Premier League

Country	Palestine
Confederation	PFA
Founded	1944
Number of teams	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	Shabab Al-Dhahiriya (2014–15)
Most championships	Taraji Wadi Al-Nes (4)
Website	http://www.pfa.ps
2015–16 season

West Bank Premier League is one of the two top divisions of the Palestinian Football Federation (PFA). The other is the Gaza Strip 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.^[1] Over the years, the format of the league has taken many different shapes. The league has been uninterrupted since 2008.

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 (Hilal Al-Quds), Hernán Madrid (Wadi Al-Nes), and many Arab-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.^[2] 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.

Before professionalization

• 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.

Current clubs (2015-16)

Club	Coach	City	Captain	2014-15 season	Notes
Ahli Al-Khaleel		Hebron		7th
Hilal Al-Quds	Jamal Mahmoud	Jerusalem	Fadi Lafi	3rd
Markaz Balata		Nablus		2nd
Markaz Shabab Al-Am'ari (R)		Ramallah		8th
Shabab Al-Dhahiriya		Al-Dhahrieh		Champions
Shabab Al-Khadr		Bethlehem		6th
Shabab Al-Khalil		Hebron		10th
Shabab Dura		Hebron		9th
Silwan
Taraji Wadi Al-Nes	Firas Abu Radwan	Bethlehem		5th
Thaqafi Tulkarm	Miha	Tulkarem	Osama Sabah	4th

Past champions

The winners were:^[3]

• 1977: Silwan
• 1982: Shabab Al-Khaleel
• 1984: Markaz Tulkarem
• 1984–85: Shabab Al-Khaleel
• 1997: Markaz Shabab Al-Am'ari
• 2000: Wadi Al-Nes
• 2006: Markaz Tulkarem
• 2007: Wadi Al-Nes
• 2008–09: Taraji Wadi Al-Nes
• 2009–10: Jabal Al-Mukaber
• 2010–11: Markaz Shabab Al-Am'ari
• 2011–12: Hilal Al-Quds
• 2012–13: Shabab Al-Dhahiriya
• 2013–14: Tarji Wadi Al-Nes
• 2014–15: Shabab Al-Dhahiriya
• 2015–16: Shabab Al-Khalil

References

1. http://www.rsssf.com/tablesp/paleschamp.html
2. http://www.kooora.com/default.aspx?c=4943
3. "Palestina - List of Champions and Cup Winners". RSSSF. Retrieved 17 October 2011.

External links

• League at fifa.com
• League at soccerway.com