Football at the 1953 Maccabiah Games
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Israel |
| Dates | 21 – 30 September |
| Teams | 7 |
| Venue(s) | 5 (in 5 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Israel |
| Runners-up |  South Africa |
| Third place |  Great Britain |
| Fourth place |  France |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 17 |
| Goals scored | 83 (4.88 per match) |
Football at the 1953 Maccabiah Games was held in several stadiums in Israel starting on 28 September.
The competition was open for men's teams only. Teams from 7 countries participated. The tournament was won by the defending champions, Israel.[1]
As part of the closing ceremony, the host and winner, Israel, played an exhibition match against a selected team from the other competing nations. The match, that was played over two halves of 20 minutes, ended goalless.[2]
Format
The seven teams were divided into two group, each team playing the others once. The top two qualified for the medals group, while the rest played for the 5th-7th places.
Preliminary round
Group A
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Israel
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 6 |
| Great Britain
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 4 |
 Switzerland
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 2 |
 Finland
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 0 |
| 21 September 1953 | |||
| Israel |
3–1 | Great Britain |
Maccabi Ground, Rehovot |
| Switzerland |
5–1 | Finland |
Hapoel Ground, Jaffa |
| 22 September 1953 | |||
| Israel |
5–0 | Finland |
Municipal Stadium, Haifa |
| Great Britain |
1–0 | Switzerland |
Hapoel Ground, Jaffa |
| 23 September 1953 | |||
| Israel |
2–0 | Switzerland |
Hapoel Ground, Jaffa |
| Great Britain |
4–0 | Finland |
Hapoel Ground, Kfar Saba |
Group B
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Africa
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 4 |
| France
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 2 |
 United States
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| 21 September 1953 | |||
| South Africa |
6–2 | France |
Hapoel Ground, Jaffa |
| 22 September 1953 | |||
| France |
3–1 | United States |
YMCA Stadium, Jerusalem |
| 23 September 1953 | |||
| South Africa |
3–2 | United States |
Hapoel Ground, Jaffa |
Final round
5th-7th places group
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| Switzerland
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 3 |
| Finland
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
| 27 September 1953 | |||
| Switzerland |
4–2 | Finland |
Maccabi Ground, Rehovot |
| 28 September 1953 | |||
| Switzerland |
1–1 | United States |
YMCA Stadium, Jerusalem |
| 29 September 1953 | |||
| United States |
w/o | Finland |
Medals group
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Israel
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 6 |
| South Africa
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 4 |
| Great Britain
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 12 | 2 |
| France
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 0 |
| 25 September 1953 | |||
| Israel |
5–0 | France |
Hapoel Ground, Jaffa |
| South Africa |
2–1 | Great Britain |
Hapoel Ground, Jaffa |
| 27 September 1953 | |||
| Israel |
4–0 | South Africa |
Hapoel Ground, Jaffa |
| Great Britain |
6–2 | France |
Hapoel Ground, Jaffa |
| 28 September 1953 | |||
| Israel |
8–1 | Great Britain |
Hapoel Ground, Jaffa |
| South Africa |
3–1 | France |
Hapoel Ground, Jaffa |
References
- ^ Israel – South Africa 4:0 in Football Herut, 28 September 1953, Historical Jewish Press (in Hebrew)
- ^ 60 Thousand Spectators at the Fourth Maccabiah Closing Ceremony[permanent dead link] Davar, 30 September 1953, Historical Jewish Press (in Hebrew)
