Agudat Sport Ashdod F.C.
| Full name | Agudat Sport Ashdod אגודת ספורט אשדוד |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | 1957 Reds |
| Founded | 2015 |
| Ground | Synthetic Pitch, Ashdod |
| Manager | Pini Ayash |
| League | Liga Gimel South |
Agudat Sport Ashdod (Hebrew: אגודת ספורט אשדוד) is an Israeli football club based in Ashdod. The club was formed in 2015 by Hapoel Ashdod supporters as a resurrection of their old club, which was merged with Maccabi Ironi Ashdod to form F.C. Ashdod.
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". As Shitrit's group was affiliated with the Hapoel organization, the 1957 Reds' club was forced to drop the name Hapoel from their club's name and was registered under the name of Agudat Sport Ashdod, While still unofficially using the name Hapoel Ashdod.
On 18 September 2015 the club played it first official match, beating F.C. Tzeirei al-Hoshla 6–0 in the first round of the State Cup. The club's first manager, former Hapoel Tel Aviv player Moris Zano led the club through its first matches, but was fired in October 2015. In December 2015, the club signed Pini Balili as its new manager.
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