Chairman Ya'akov Shitrit Founded 2015 | Manager Adam Shushan | |
Ground Synthetic Pitch, Ashdod | ||
Hapoel Bnei Ashdod (Hebrew: הפועל בני אשדוד) is an Israeli football club based in Ashdod. The club was formed in 2015 by Hapoel Ashdod supporters headed by former Hapoel Ashdod chairman Ya'akov Shitrit, as a resurrection of their old club, which was merged with Maccabi Ironi Ashdod to form F.C. Ashdod.
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Origins and formation
In 1998, Hapoel Ashdod and rival club Maccabi Ironi Ashdod were in debts and in decline and in order to save both football clubs, they were merged to form F.C. Ashdod. However, former supporters of Hapoel Ashdod were dissatisfied with the merger and set up a new club, Hapoel Namal Ashdod. The new club collapsed in 2004 due to financial difficulties.
In 2015, two separate initiatives were set to re-establish Hapoel Ashdod, one headed by former Hapoel Ashdod and Hapoel Namal Ashdod chairman, Ya'akov Shitrit, and the other headed by fans group named "1957 Reds". Shitrit's group was affiliated with the Hapoel organization, and was registered with the IFA as Hapoel Bnei Ashdod.
History
On 18 September 2015 the club played it first official match, beating F.C. Be'er Sheva Haim Levy 3–2 in the first round of the State Cup. Initially, the club was coached by former Maccabi Kiryat Gat player Nir Hazut but Hazut quit before the beginning of the season and was replaced by Ami Jerbi. However, Jerbi left in November 2015 and was replaced by Avi Malul, which left himself in February 2016 and was replaced by Adad Shushan.