Women's Team
Hapoel Katamon Jerusalem, the senior women’s team of the fan-owned Hapoel Jerusalem club, is the Israeli Premier League champion for the 2025-26 season.
The title is the culmination of the meteoric rise of the team, which was founded just six years ago. However this is not a Cinderella story. The team's uniqueness in the local landscape lies in its long-term vision, and the creation of a stable professional environment that is unparalleled in the country. An expanded technical team provides the players with similar conditions to the club's men's team in the fitness, physiotherapy and mental work departments, and in the stands at Emek HaArazim you will find the most loyal and supportive fans in the country. This team is here to stay and grow.
“After four difficult years - we did it. Every time this club pushes women's football in Israel forward, and I'm sure this championship will provide a significant boost to the entire sport. I'm really proud of our journey.”
(Rachel Steinschneider, team captain, after winning the national championship, May 2026)
The senior women’s team was founded in the 2020-21 season, when it began playing in the third division. The beginning, affected by the corona virus, wasn’t smooth, but adjustments to the squad by then-coach Motti Ohayon (the former Hapoel Jerusalem centre-back) put us on track and a 7-0 win in Ashdod on the last day of the season clinched promotion to the National League in the team’s first season.
In the 2021-22 season, under the guidance of new coach Zohar Kaminski, the team’s journey to the top continued. Several veterans were brought in to complement a young home-grown spine, including captain Ruth Pinchassi and Adva Buchholz (21 goals), and a tight promotion race went right down to the wire. We eventually earned our place in the Premier League in dramatic fashion on the final day of the season, when a 4-1 away win in Beer Sheva enabled us to overtake our rivals Hapoel Tel Aviv, who were beaten in their final game.
Ahead of our first season in the top flight, the squad underwent a significant facelift in order to reach the required level. The new signings who were to make the greatest impact were co-captains Yahli Cohen, who had developed in the club’s youth department, and Rachel Steinschneider. The main objective was to avoid relegation but we surprised even ourselves, securing a place in the upper playoffs and finishing in a sensational 2nd place.
Having seen that we could play at the highest level of Israeli football, we tried to strengthen the squad in order to compete for the championship. In the 2023-24 season we won our first-ever title, winning the Athena Cup, and came within one game of the championship, but finished second again. The 2024-25 season opened with high expectations, with a deep roster now also featuring Ghanaian striker Doris Boaduwaa. The team reached the cusp of success, with finals in the Athena Cup and the State Cup (for the first time), but was unable to win either title, while in the league too the chance of a championship was lost with one game to go.
After three consecutive 2nd-place finishes, the team opened the 2025-26 season with the clear intent to continue competing for all the trophies in Israeli women's football. Following the disappointment of the previous season, the squad underwent a makeover in the summer. Experienced defender Dorine Chuigoué, Brazilian striker Jaielly, midfielder Karol Cardozo and promising youngsters Ziv Rot Hazan and Tamar Lipsicas arrived with the aim of refreshing the squad. They joined the stable and proven spine led by captain Steinschneider, striker Boaduwaa, national team players Hili Shalom, Hadas Morin, Shira Elinav and Smadar Cohen, and naturalized players Mia Shalit and Rachel Dallet. The team gelled faster than expected under the leadership of new coach Tzach Shimroni, rose to the top of the table towards the end of the second round and remained there until securing the historic championship, three games before the end of the season. Smadar Cohen experienced a huge breakthrough season with 28 league goals, and together with Jaielly, Boaduwaa, Elinav and Michaela Workou, who arrived in January, they created a diverse and prolific attacking unit. The defense, led by Dorine, was the strongest in the league.
Women's soccer in Israel still has a long way to go - in terms of conditions, public perception, institutional budgeting, coverage, amateur attitudes, and, yes, still - in dealing with chauvinism. But we are on the pitch to bring change. With continuity, community, values, to create a true soccer tradition. And we continue our journey in the 2026-27 season with the club’s first-ever participation in European competition.