Hapoel Be'er Sheva Advances to Champions League Playoff Stage, Eyes Historic Group Qualification

Hapoel Be'er Sheva has defied expectations by defeating Red Star Belgrade to reach the playoff round of the UEFA Champions League qualifiers. This marks the third time in the club's history that Be'er Sheva is just two matches away from qualifying for the Champions League group stage, a historic milestone for the team. The achievement continues a strong tradition of Israeli clubs performing well at this stage since its inception in 2009.

Since the playoff round was introduced in 2009, Israeli teams have reached it 17 times (excluding the current season), with ten different appearances by Israeli clubs. Maccabi Haifa has reached the playoffs four times, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Be'er Sheva twice each, and Hapoel Tel Aviv and Ironi Kiryat Shmona once each. Out of these ten appearances, Israeli teams have advanced to the group stage four times.

The first Israeli success was in the 2009/10 season when Maccabi Haifa defeated Red Bull Salzburg to qualify. The following year, Hapoel Tel Aviv also overcame Salzburg to make their first and only group stage appearance to date. Maccabi Tel Aviv repeated the feat in the 2015/16 season by eliminating FC Basel, with Eran Zahavi scoring all three goals in the two-legged tie. Most recently, Maccabi Haifa advanced three years ago by beating Red Star Belgrade in dramatic fashion.

Be'er Sheva has reached the playoff round twice before but failed to advance. In 2016/17, they lost to Celtic despite a strong second-leg effort, and in 2017/18, they were eliminated by Maribor after a narrow aggregate defeat. This season, Be'er Sheva aims to rewrite history by qualifying for the Champions League group stage for the first time in the club’s history, continuing the proud legacy of Israeli football at this level.