- Address: Haifa
- Country: Israel
- Capacity: 30,000
- Opened: 27 August 2014
- Main use: Football
- Tenants: Hapoel Haifa (football), Maccabi Haifa (football)
Extra stadium info – Sammy Ofer Stadium
The stadium is named after Sammy Ofer, who donated money for the construction of the stadium. On 16 November 2014, the national football team of Israel played their first match at the Sammy Ofer Stadium. They faced Bosnia and Herzegovina in the game, which attracted a crowd of 28,000. The home side won the match 3-0. Gil Vermouth, Omer Damari and Eran Zahavi all scored once for Israel in the game.
Hapoel Haifa and Maccabi Haifa
Hapoel Haifa and Maccabi Haifa both use the Sammy Ofer Stadium for home games. Maccabi Haifa drew an average attendance of 23,000 in their first-ever league season at the venue. It was the highest average home attendance in the Israeli top-flight league during that football season. Maccabi Haifa, the first football club from Haifa with 100,000 followers on its main social media page, won their first domestic league title in 1984. Hapoel Haifa won their first domestic league title in 1999.
A pitch invasion
Beitar Jerusalem, which became the only club in the top-flight football league of Israel to have never signed an Arab player, won a trophy at the Sammy Ofer Stadium in 2023. Thousands of Beitar fans stormed the pitch at the venue after Beitar captured the trophy. Chaos erupted inside the Sammy Ofer Stadium following Beitar’s 3-0 victory, forcing Isaac Herzog to evacuate under heavy security. Herzog, who was born in Israel in 1960, became the leader of Israel in 2021. The football players who played in the decisive game which was won by Beitar were sent to the locker room as security attempted to restore order. Later, they were called back onto the pitch for the awards ceremony. The awards ceremony was cancelled after fans ran onto the field again.
