1928–29 in Mandatory Palestine football

The 1928–29 season was the 2nd season of competitive football in the British Mandate for Palestine under the Eretz Israel Football Association, which was established during the previous season. The latest matches of the season were played on 17 August 1929,[1] during the preceding stages of the 1929 Palestine riots, including a match which was interrupted by rioting rabble.[2] During the riots all sport activities were cancelled and the next football match, which opened the next season, was played on 14 September 1929.[3]

Football in Mandatory Palestine

Season	1928–29
← 1927–28 1929–30 →

IFA Competitions

1929 Palestine Cup

The second Palestine Cup saw 18 teams competing for the cup. previous season's finalist (and joint-winner), Maccabi Hasmonean Jerusalem made it to the final for a second year in a row, but was beaten by Maccabi Tel Aviv 4–0.

30 March 1929

Maccabi Hasmonean Jerusalem	0–4	Maccabi Tel Aviv
		4', 83' Zelivanski  69' (Pen.) Berger  81' Zvi

Maccabi Petah Tikva ground

Attendance: 3000

Referee: Stollery

Minor Cups and Leagues

Tel Aviv District Cup

This cup was contested by six teams, playing in a double round-robin league format. Three of the teams, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Hapoel Tel Aviv and Maccabi Avshalom Petah Tikva were Jewish teams, and three, RAF Ramla, Wireless Sarafand and PGH Sarafand, were British military teams. The competition was won by Maccabi Tel Aviv, although it was never completed. The British teams withdrew after seven rounds of play, and the final round match between leaders Maccabi Tel Aviv and second-placed Maccabi Avshalom Petah Tikva wasn't played as Petah Tikva failed to show to the match.[4]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GR	Pts		MTA	MPT	PGH	RAF	HTA	WIR
1	Maccabi Tel Aviv	9	8	1	0	24	6	4.000	17		—	3–0[lower-alpha 1]	4–1	3–2	1–0	5–1
2	Maccabi Petah Tikva	7	5	0	2	14	9	1.556	10		1–2	—		4–1	4–1	1–0
3	Palestine General Hospital	8	4	1	3	12	15	0.800	9			0–1	—	2–2	1–0	2–0
4	RAF Ramla	9	2	3	4	19	20	0.950	7		1–1		6–0	—	3–1	1–2
5	Hapoel Tel Aviv	10	3	0	7	18	19	0.947	6		0–2	2–3	1–2	6–2	—	5–0
6	Wireless Sarafand	9	1	1	7	6	24	0.250	3		0–3		1–4	1–1	1–2	—

Updated to match(es) played on 6 April 1929. Source: Ha'Aretz
Notes:

1. The league committee set up the match as a championship decider. As Maccabi Petah Tikva failed to show to the match, the committee awarded the match and the title to Maccabi Tel Aviv.[5]

Jerusalem Cup

This cup was contested by five teams, playing in a double round-robin league format. Maccabi Hasmonean Jerusalem's senior team won the cup.[4]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GR	Pts		MHA	STG	POL	MHB	HJE
1	Maccabi Hashmonai A	8	6	2	0	23	5	4.600	14		—	2–2	2–1	4–0	7–1
2	St. George	8	4	2	2	25	8	3.125	10		1–1	—	3–4	4–0	5–0
3	Police XI	7	5	0	2	18	11	1.636	10		0–3	1–0	—	[lower-alpha 1]	3–2
4	Maccabi Hashmonai B	7	0	2	5	4	16	0.250	2		0–2	0–2	1–3	—	1–1
5	Hapoel Jerusalem	8	0	2	6	6	36	0.167	2		1–4	0–8	0–7	2–2	—

Updated to match(es) played on 6 April 1929. Source: Ha'Aretz
Notes:

1. The match between Police XI and Maccabi Hasmonean B wasn't played, as its result couldn't affect the cup winner.

Nashashibi Cup

This cup was a knock-out competition named after Raghib al-Nashashibi, mayor of Jerusalem. The cup was won by Hapoel Jerusalem.

Quarter-finals

Home Team	Score	Away Team
Hapoel Jerusalem	2–0	Maccabi Balfour
Maccabi HaSemel	6–0	Maccabi HaGibor
St. George	2–2 2–0	Hapoel Yona

Semi-finals

Home Team	Score	Away Team
Hapoel Jerusalem	4–1	British Police B
St. George	4–3	Maccabi HaSemel

Final

Home Team	Score	Away Team
Hapoel Jerusalem	2–1[6]	St. George

Jaffa Mayor Cup

This cup was contested in a single match on 30 March 1929 between Hapoel Tel Aviv and an Islamic Sports Club from Jaffa. Hapoel won the match and the cup 5–1.[7]

Mr. Guth Cup

This cup was contested in a single match by Maccabi Hasmonean and a select team from the Palestine Police Force. The match, played on 16 March 1929 ended in a 1–1 draw and a replay was arranged.[8] A replay, arranged for 6 April 1929 ended goalless,[9] and a third match, played on 14 April 1929 was won by the British Police 3–1.[10]

Notable events

• On 29 and 30 September 1928 the Hapoel organization held the first Hapoel Games in Tel Aviv. Three football matches were played during the event, in which Hapoel Jerusalem have beaten a team composed of footballers from Zikhron Ya'akov, Binyamina, and Hadera 1–0, and a team composed of footballers from Netanya, Kfar Saba, Ra'anana and Herzliya 3–0, while a match between Hapoel Tel Aviv and Hapoel Haifa was abandoned at the 63rd minute due to the late hour, with Haifa leading 2–1.[11][12]
• On 20 October 1928, Maccabi Avshalom Petah Tikva celebrated the opening of its ground. During the celebrations a football match was played between the hosts and a British military team from Sarafand and Ramla, the hosts winning 3–1.[13]
• In early November 1928 Hapoel Bnei Brak was formed.[14] The club was a minor club and played mostly in third tier before the Declaration of Independence. In 1954 the club merged with Hapoel Kiryat Ono.[15] The club played its first match on 22 December 1928, against Hapoel Petah Tikva.[16]
• A team from the American University of Beirut visited and played four matches against local teams, scoring 3 victories (3–0 over Maccabi Avshalom Petah Tikva, 1–0 over Hapoel Tel Aviv and 2–1 over Arab Team St. George) and 1 loss (0–2 against a select XI from Jerusalem teams of Maccabi Hasmonean and HaSemel).[17]
• On 1 May 1929, Hapoel Tel Aviv embarked on a tour of Syria and Lebanon.[18] Hapoel Played two matches in Beirut, losing both, 1–3 or 2–3 to American College and 3–5 to Al-Nahda. In Damascus, Hapoel played against Barada SC and won 3–2 or 2–1, after which local fans rioted. Hapoel played one match in Aleppo, which it won 1–0.[19][20][21][22][23][24]

References

1. In Sport Do'ar HaYom, 19 August 1929, Historical Jewish Press (in Hebrew)
2. Attack on the Bukharan Neighborhood Do'ar HaYom, 18 August 1929 Historical Jewish Press (in Hebrew)
3. Tel Aviv - Football Davar, 15 September 1929, Historical Jewish Press (in Hebrew)
4. The District Cups of 1929 Eran R, 14 August 2014, israblog.co.il (in Hebrew)
5. "על הספורט ועל תפקידנו בו" [On Sport and On Our Role Within It]. Do'ar HaYom (in Hebrew). Jerusalem. 19 April 1929. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
6. Palestine from Day to Day – Hapoel Wins Nashashibi Cup The Palestine Bulletin, 26 April 1929, Historical Jewish Press
7. Tel Aviv – In Sport Davar, 31 March 1929, Historical Jewish Press (in Hebrew)
8. In Sport Do'ar HaYom, 17 March 1929, Historical Jewish Press (in Hebrew)
9. In Sport Do'ar HaYom, 7 April 1929, Historical Jewish Press (in Hebrew)
10. In Sport Do'ar HaYom, 15 April 1929, Historical Jewish Press (in Hebrew)
11. Tel Aviv - In Hapoel Gathering Davar, 1 October 1928, Historical Jewish Press (in Hebrew)
12. Results of Hapoel Games Davar, 11 October 1928, Historical Jewish Press (in Hebrew)
13. Maccabi Avshalom Celebration Do'ar HaYom, 21 October 1928, Historical Jewish Press (in Hebrew)
14. Tel Aviv - In "Hapoel" at Bnei Brak Davar, 5 November 1928, Historical Jewish Press (in Hebrew)
15. FA Operated Maariv, 29.8.54, Historical Jewish Press (in Hebrew)
16. Bnei Brak - in Hapoel Davar, 24 December 1928, Historical Jewish Press (in Hebrew)
17. In Sport – International Competitions Do'ar HaYom, 31 March 1929, Historical Jewish Press (in Hebrew)
18. Tel Aviv – In Sport Davar, 2 May 1929, Historical Jewish Press (in Hebrew)
19. In Sport - Hapoel T.A. in Syria Do'ar HaYom, 12 May 1929, Historical Jewish Press (in Hebrew)
20. The Assault on Hapoel in Damascus Davar, 12 May 1929, Historical Jewish Press (in Hebrew)
21. Hapoel's Incident in Damascus Davar, 16 May 1929, Historical Jewish Press (in Hebrew)
22. In Sport - Hapoel in Syria Davar, 16 May 1929, Historical Jewish Press (in Hebrew)
23. In Sport Do'ar HaYom, 20 May 1929, Historical Jewish Press (in Hebrew)
24. Hapoel Tel Aviv Beat the Syrian Champions in Damascus Archived 2014-10-28 at the Wayback Machine, Asher Goldberg, 24 August 2011, football.co.il (in Hebrew)