Moadon Sport Ashdod (
Hebrew: מועדון ספורט אשדוד,
lit. Sport Club Ashdod), commonly referred to as MS Ashdod (מ.ס. אשדוד,
lit. Mem Samekh Ashdod), is an Israeli professional
football club, playing in the port city of
Ashdod. The unusual name of the team (unlike most
Israeli football teams, this one only indicates the club's home city without any specific Jewish sporting association, such as
Hapoel,
Maccabi, or
Beitar) is the result of the union of two city rivals,
Hapoel Ashdod and
Maccabi Ironi Ashdod in 1999. The club currently plays in the
Israeli Premier League (
Ligat Ha'Al).
History
During the club's first years, its kit colors were completely blue. However, when Israeli footballer
Haim Revivo took a more prominent role in the club, the colors were changed to red and yellow. The decision was made that the kit should incorporate the previous two clubs' colors, Hapoel having been red and Maccabi yellow.[1]
The club was not immediately successful after the merger, and fan support was lacking. During the
2004–05 season, they reached their greatest achievement, a third-place finish in the
Israeli Premier League and a berth in the
UEFA Cup. The club also reached the final of the
Israeli Toto Cup, only to go out on penalty kicks. Their first time in a continental competition was not a memorable one, as they went out to the
Slovenian PrvaLiga runners-up,
NK Domžale.[citation needed]
Prior to the
2014–15 season, the club added Ironi to its name. However, following a dispute with fans of the previous club,
Maccabi Ironi Ashdod, during the 2–3 defeat against
Maccabi Netanya in the last match of the regular season, the club's chairman,
Jacky Ben-Zaken, decided to rename the club to
Hapoel Ashdod and to play in red shirts.[2] Despite warnings from the
Israel Football Association, which informed the club that such changes during season are illegal,[3] Ashdod did show up for their next match, which opened the
Bottom playoff, against
Hapoel Ra'anana in red shirts, with the caption "F.C. Hapoel Ashdod",[4] and was eventually disciplined.[5] Furthermore, the club was punished by
FIFA with six points deduction for failing to pay an arbitration award to
Nigerian club,
Kaduna United, for the transfer of
Efe Ambrose in 2010. As a result, the club has been dropped to the bottom place in the Israeli Premier League.[6] However, in an exceptional decision, FIFA reversed its decision after it was found out that the club did pay the arbitration award.[7] At the end of the season, the club finished at the bottom of the league, after failing to register a win during their last 15 matches, and for the first time in their history, were relegated to the second tier,
Liga Leumit, following a defeat of 0–1 against
Hapoel Tel Aviv.[8][9]
In the
2015–16 season, the club won Liga Leumit and made an immediate return to the Israeli Premier League.
Only up six non-Israeli nationals can be in an Israeli club squad (only five can play at the same time). Those with Jewish ancestry, married to an Israeli or have played in Israel for an extended period of time, can claim a passport or permanent residency which would allow them to play with Israeli status.[citation needed]