Maccabi Kiryat Gat F.C. was an Israeli football team based in the southern city of Kiryat Gat. The club's best achievement has been promotion to the Premier League as Liga Leumit runners-up in 2001, after beating Hapoel Beit She'an on the final day of the season. However, in their first season in the top division, they finished at the bottom of the table, six points from safety, and were relegated back to the second tier.

The Israeli Premier League is a professional association football (soccer) league, that operates as the highest-division of the Israeli football league. This top tier league is contested by 14 clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with its second division Liga Leumit. Seasons run from August to May, with teams playing between 33 and 36 matches each, totalling 240 matches in every season.