Bnei Sakhnin F.C.

Infobox Football club
clubname = Bnei Sakhnin


fullname = Ihoud Bnei Sakhnin FC איחוד בני סכנין اتحاد أبناء سخنين
founded = 1996
ground = Doha Stadium
Sakhnin
capacity = 5,000
chairman = flagicon|Israel Mazen Genaim
manager = flagicon|Israel Freddy David
league = Ligat ha'Al
season = 2007-08| position = Ligat ha'Al, 4th
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Bnei Sakhnin F.C. ( _he. איחוד בני סכנין‎, "Ihud Bnei Sakhnin", _ar. اتحاد أبناء سخنين, "Ittihad Bnei Sakhnin", literally Sons of Sakhnin United), is an Israeli football club based at the Doha Stadium in Sakhnin. They are the most successful Israeli Arab club in the country, having won the State Cup in 2004.

History

Early years

The club was formed by a merger of Maccabi Sakhnin and Hapoel Sakhnin in 1996, taking the names "Ihoud" ( _he. איחוד, "United") and Bnei ( _he. בני, "Sons of") in the process. Despite dropping the names Maccabi and Hapoel, UEFA still refers to the club as "Hapoel Bnei Sakhnin".

Liga Leumit years

Bnei Sakhnin were promoted to Ligat ha'Al in 2003 as Liga Leumit runners-up. They were promoted alongside fellow Israeli-Arab club Maccabi Akhi Nazareth, becoming the joint-second Israeli-Arab club to play in the top flight after Hapoel Taibe. Promotion was only won on the last day of the season, the club overtaking Hapoel Jerusalem when they won 1-0 away to Maccabi Kiryat Gat, whilst Hapoel were held to a 0-0 draw at Hapoel Ra'anana.

Ligat ha'Al

Prior to their first season in the top division, Bnei Sakhnin were favourites to be relegated, and it was thought that Akhi Nazareth had a better chance of survival. Questions remained as to whether the squad that gained promotion would be able to compete at the top level, along with the added pressures not to become the next Hapoel Taibe (who were relegated in their first season in the top flight, and subsequently suffered financial problems leading to repeated relegations thereafter). They also lost manager Momy Zafran who resigned shortly after the club won promotion, replacing him with Eyal Lahman, who was a bit foreign to the club. In addition, the club had to play games in Haifa's Kiryat Eliezer Stadium, as their home ground in Sakhnin was deemed unfit for the Premier League.

The club signed former Maccabi Haifa striker Raffi Cohen and loaned another striker, Lior Asulin from Maccabi Herzliya. Sagi Strauss was brought in to mind the nets from Maccabi Petah Tikva.

Despite the gloomy predictions, the club defied the odds, eventually finishing 10th, four points clear of relegation, whilst Akhi Nazareth finished bottom. However, the highlight of the season was the State Cup victory, also a first by an Israeli-Arab club. In the final, Sakhnin beat surprise finalists, second division side Hapoel Haifa 4-1. The team gained a reputation for being a tough, combative outfit, similar in style to the Crazy Gang period at English club Wimbledon. Captain and club stalwart Abbas Suan (he had been at the club since its formation, having been part of the Hapoel Sakhnin team since 1994) won particular acclaim, gaining a call-up to the Israel squad, and winning his first cap in February 2004.

The cup win meant that the club became the first Arab team to play in Europe, entering the UEFA Cup. After beating Partizani Tirana 6-1 on aggregate in the second qualifying round, the club faced Newcastle United in the first round. However, Sakhnin were beaten 7-1 on aggregate, including a 5-1 home defeat in a match played at the National Stadium in Ramat Gan due to security concerns.

During the 2004/5 season, with its stadium still under development the club played many of its home matches at Hapoel Nazareth Illit's Municipal Stadium.

During their spell in the top flight, several Sakhnin games were plagued by hooliganism. Despite chairman Ghnaim's stated mission to create a "cultural rainbow" from his football club, games against Beitar Jersalem were particularly violent, at least partially due to the presence of Beitar's notoriously anti-Arab supporters [http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,15410-1236386,00.html] (when Sakhnin won the State Cup, Beitar fans paid for an obituary to be printed in Israel's leading daily Yediot Aharonot, claiming that Israeli football was dead). On January 29, 2005 Sakhnin fans rioted during a home match (played at Kiryat Eliezer) against Hapoel Tel Aviv after a violent incident on the field between a team official and a referee, who had earlier had sent off two Sakhnin players. As a punishment, the IFA ordered the club to play two games behind closed doors.

Liga Leumit Return

Despite a large cash injection made by Israeli billionaire Arcadi Gaydamak ($400,000) in the hope of promoting peace and harmony among the citizens of Israel, [ [http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/15/sports/soccer.php Soccer: In Israel and Italy, storied teams rise - International Herald Tribune ] ] and a return to their rebuilt home stadium (largely financed by the Emir of Qatar, hence the renaming to Doha Stadium), Sakhnin were relegated in 2006, finishing nine points from safety. However, with one of the largest budgets in the division (around five and a half million shekels), the club are amongst the favourites to return quickly to Ligat ha'Al, despite losing many players to other top flight clubs.

ponsorship

During the 2005/6 season, the club signed a shirt sponsorship deal with Israeli mobile phone company Cellcom. Talks are currently ensuing over continuing the deal even though the chief executive of Cellcom's Arab sector affairs, Suliman Diab, has left his non-executive post with Bnei Sakhnin to join Liga Artzit (third tier) side Bnei Tamra.

The club's budget was bolstered on June 15, 2006 when Gaydamak announced that he would donate two million shekels to the club in hope that they will make a return to Israel's top league.

upport

The fan base of Bnei Sakhnin is smaller in comparison to other Israeli clubs. The majority of fans of Bnei Sakhnin are Arab Israelis, but the club also has many Jewish Israeli fans from the neighbouring kibbutzim.

Big matches (especially those against rival club Beitar Jerusalem) can attract large crowds but toward the end of the 2005/06 season when the club was set to be relegated, the attendance at matches declined dramatically. The peak of fan attendance was the Israel State Cup final when Ramat Gan Stadium was filled with Arabs from Israel, Jordan, Qatar and the UAE who had all come to support the club.

Players

Current squad

"As of July, 2008"

Notable former players

References

External links

* [http://www.abna-sakhnin.com Official website]
* [http://www.fcbneisakhnin.nl FC Bnei Sakhnin Supporters Club] nl icon