Hapoel Be’er Sheva is an Israeli football club based in Be’er Sheva, established in 1949.[1] The club’s visual identity is built around a red circular emblem, a format shared by several Hapoel clubs, which historically belonged to the Histadrut workers’ union.[1] The club’s colors are red and white.[1]
Design and History
The current Hapoel Be’er Sheva crest is a red circle divided by a soccer ball in its lower section, with the upper section combining an athlete figure with a hammer and sickle symbol.[2] A star sits above the logo, added as a reference to the club’s championships.[2] The hammer and sickle motif is not unique to Be’er Sheva: similarly named Hapoel clubs such as Hapoel Petah Tikva and Hapoel Tel Aviv share this motif in their logos.[1]
In 1993, the club management decided to change the crest. Because the club had earned the nickname “Camel” over the years, the club attempted to create a symbol reflecting it. Between 1993 and 1995, the crest featured a modified camel hump below, a soccer ball in the center circle, and the team name written in Hebrew and English at the edges.[3]
Following the club’s championship win, Hapoel Be’er Sheva introduced a new logo in June 2016. The redesign added a golden star above the logo and the club’s name in English.[4] The change was not universally welcomed by supporters: some fans objected to the removal of the words “Ga’avat HaNegev” (Pride of the Negev) from the emblem, a slogan that had been stamped on the club symbol and reflected the club’s significance to residents of southern Israel.[5]
Meaning and Symbolism
The hammer and sickle element in the upper portion of the crest reflects the club’s Hapoel heritage, a movement historically associated with the workers’ union.[1] The star above the logo signifies the club’s championship titles.[2] The slogan “Ga’avat HaNegev” (Pride of the Negev), which appeared on the emblem until the 2016 redesign, expressed the club’s role as a source of pride for the Negev region.[5]
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