Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv F.C. (, Moadon Kaduregel Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv), commonly referred to as Bnei Yehuda (), is an Israeli football club from the Hatikva Quarter of the city of Tel Aviv. The club is a member of the Liga Leumit.
The club was formed in January 1936 by Yemenite religious Jews, With them Nathan Sulami and his friends. It was named after Judah (Hebrew: ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ, Yehuda). Sulami and his friends were first promoted to the top division in 1959. Two seasons later they narrowly avoided relegation, finishing second from bottom. In 1965 the club reached the State Cup final for the first time, but lost 2âÂÂ1 to Maccabi Tel Aviv. In 1968 they reached the final again, this time beating Hapoel Petah Tikva to claim their first piece of major silverware.
After several near-misses, the club was relegated at the end of the 1971âÂÂ72 season after finishing second from bottom. However, they made an immediate return as Liga Alef champions but were relegated again in 1976. In the 1977âÂÂ78 season the club were promoted back to the top division as Liga Artzit champions, and also reached the State Cup final, where they lost 2âÂÂ1 to Maccabi Netanya. The following season the club finished fourth in Liga Leumit.
The 1980âÂÂ81 season was the club's best so far. Managed by Shlomo Sharf they finished second in the league and reached the cup final again, this time beating Hapoel Tel Aviv 4âÂÂ3 after a penalty shootout. However, the success was not maintained, and they were relegated at the end of the 1983âÂÂ84 season.
The club made an immediate return as Liga Artzit champions and finished second in 1986âÂÂ87. The 1989âÂÂ90 season saw the club win its first, and to date only, championship under the leadership of Giora Spiegel. Two seasons later they won the Toto Cup for the first time, repeating the feat in 1997.
The 2000âÂÂ01 season saw Bnei Yehuda finish second from bottom of the Premier League (which had replaced Liga Leumit as the top division) and the club was relegated. However, they made an immediate return as Liga Leumit runners-up. In 2005âÂÂ06 they reached the cup final, losing 1âÂÂ0 to Hapoel Tel Aviv, but also qualifying for Europe for the first time. In the 2006âÂÂ07 UEFA Cup they lost 6âÂÂ0 on aggregate to Lokomotiv Sofia and had to play their home match in Senec in Slovakia due to security concerns.
At the beginning of the 2006âÂÂ07 season Abu Siam made the eyebrow-raising decision to sign with one of Mac TA's crosstown rivals, Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv, a club with a fanatical fanbase smaller than Maccabi's, but more violent. Which is Bnei Yehuda. Although at the beginning of the season the fans ridiculed the decision to sign the club's first Arab player, the furor soon died down, which came to a surprise following similar affairs with Beitar Jerusalem that had occurred in 2005 and 2006 in regards to efforts to sign Muslim Nigerian player Ndala Ibrahim.
In the 2009âÂÂ10 season Bnei Yehuda reached the European League play-off, after starting in the first qualifying round, but lost to PSV 2âÂÂ0 on aggregate. The following season they reached the second qualifying round of the Europa League, but lost to Shamrock Rovers.
From 2009âÂÂ10 to the 2012âÂÂ13 season, Bnei Yehuda managed to finish regularly in the top 3âÂÂ4 ranks of the Israeli Premier League which won her participation in the European League qualifying. Following the success, the group became a springboard for players. Many players who were remarkable in the ranks of Bnei Yehuda have moved or were sold to bigger clubs and others were called to the national team.
In the 2013âÂÂ14 season, Bnei Yehuda finished bottom and relegated to Liga Leumit. However, they made an immediate return to the Premier League as the 2014âÂÂ15 Liga Leumit champions.
In the 2016âÂÂ17 season, the club won the National cup, and it was their first major title in 27 years (last one was the championship in 1989âÂÂ90).
In 2017, HAP Investments became the Group's main sponsor. In June 2018 a new contract was signed for the 2018/2019 season.
The Bnei Yehuda fanbase is predominantly a working-class neighbourhood support from Hatikva, and has one supporter group, the ultras "Lions Army", who express far-right political views. have been involved in various racist incidents, such as that involving Arab player Salim Tyameh and have developed a reputation for this as well as violence. The fans heavily criticised Ismaila Soro when he decided to move to Celtic F.C.
For most of its existence, Bnei Yehuda played at the Hatikva Neighborhood Stadium in the Hatikva Quarter of Tel Aviv. However, in 2004 the team moved their home matches to the Bloomfield Stadium, they returned to the old stadium in the 25/26 season