It is also one of only three Israeli teams to have qualified for the UEFA Champions League group stage, and one of the two that are ordinary members of the European Club Association.

It is part of the Hapoel sports association which was affiliated with the Histadrut, and supporters of the club were often referred to as communists.

Although they beat Maccabi Hasmonean Jerusalem 2–0, Hapoel fielded an ineligible player, resulting in the cup being shared.

The club also reached the State Cup final that year, but lost 2–1 to Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Although they reached the final, they lost 2–1 to Iranian side Taj Tehran[5] (in an era when Iran and Israel had diplomatic relations).

However, the following season Hapoel finished bottom of the league (with a four-point deduction for breaking budget rules) and were relegated to the second tier for the first time in their history.

The club made an immediate return to the top division as Liga Artzit runners-up, though they only beat Maccabi Yavne to the second promotion slot on goal difference.

However, they failed to reach the group stages of the Champions League after being beaten 5–1 on aggregate by Sturm Graz.

In the 2001–02 UEFA Cup Hapoel reached the quarter-finals after knocking out Chelsea, Lokomotiv Moscow and Parma.

The title was won after a dramatic game against Beitar Jerusalem on the final day of the season, with Eran Zahavi scoring the title-winning goal two minutes into injury time.

The club also had a successful season in the Europa League, winning their group, before losing to Rubin Kazan in the second round.

After large-scale protests of the fans against the club's owner Tabib and his unprofessional conduct, he decided to leave the club after one year and sold it to Haim Ramon and to the supporters' trust called "Haadumim", "The Reds" in Hebrew, that establish at the summer of 2012 and raise 2 million shekel for 20% of the ownership.

The ground was owned by Tel Aviv histadrut branch, who were also owners of Hapoel, although today it is a municipal stadium.

[9][10][11][12] Ultras Hapoel often wave flags emblazoned with the faces of Che Guevara and Karl Marx, as well as banners with the slogan "Workers of the world, unite!".

[13] The club ultras has friendships with many other antifa supporter groups, including strong bonds with fans of FC St. Pauli, Standard Liège, Omonia Nicosia, and Celtic F.C.

[14] A Haaretz poll published in June 2011 identified Hapoel Tel Aviv as the second most popular football team among Israeli Arabs, behind Maccabi Haifa.

[15] Another survey had been conducted in March 2012 by Yedioth showed that Hapoel is the fourth most popular team among Israeli football fans (nineteen percent).