It is the busiest week of the Israeli football calendar outside the domestic season itself: within the space of nine days, all four Israeli clubs still alive in Europe learn whether they are one step closer to the lucrative league phase of the Champions League, Europa League or Conference League, or heading out of the continent altogether.
Hapoel Be'er Sheva, champions of Israel last season, carry the flag in the top tier. Having eliminated Vikingur Reykjavik of Iceland 2-0 in the second qualifying round, the Negev side now face Serbian giants Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League third qualifying round, with the first leg on August 4 and the return in Be'er Sheva a week later, on August 11.
Sport5 reports that the tie already guarantees Be'er Sheva a soft landing: even a defeat to Red Star drops them into the Europa League play-off round rather than out of Europe, worth a minimum €3.17 million to the club, rising to €4.31 million more should they get past the Serbs and reach the Champions League play-off itself.
Maccabi Tel Aviv's route into Europe came through last season's State Cup triumph, and having seen off Moldovan side Sheriff Tiraspol - with the return leg played in Batumi, Georgia rather than the contested Tiraspol ground - they now meet CSKA Sofia of Bulgaria in the Europa League third qualifying round, first leg on August 6 and the second on August 13, per Sport5's report.
As with Be'er Sheva, defeat would not end Maccabi's European summer: a loss to CSKA Sofia sends the Yellow-and-Blue into the Conference League play-off round instead, with Sport5 citing a guaranteed €750,000 in prize money already banked and a further €3.17 million on offer if they progress in the Europa League.
Beitar Jerusalem and Hapoel Tel Aviv, both of whom qualified for the Conference League through their league placings, do not enjoy the same cushion. Having progressed past Cypriot side AEK Larnaca in a second qualifying round tie that finished level on aggregate after two tense legs, Beitar now face Austria Wien of Austria in the third qualifying round, also scheduled for August 6 and 13, Sport5 reports.
Hapoel Tel Aviv, meanwhile, advanced past Bulgaria's Ludogorets Razgrad and have been drawn against GKS Katowice of Poland over the same two dates. Sport5 puts a place in the Conference League play-off round at €750,000 for either club, with €550,000 already guaranteed simply for having reached this stage - but for both Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, there is no parachute: lose this tie and the European campaign is over.
That asymmetry is the real story behind the numbers. Israel's two highest-ranked entrants are cushioned by UEFA's tiered qualifying system, which drops losing sides down into the next competition down rather than eliminating them outright; Beitar and Hapoel Tel Aviv, starting in the Conference League itself, have no such safety net and are playing knockout football in the truest sense.
Winners of all four ties move into the play-off round, the last hurdle before the revamped league phase of each competition, with first legs pencilled in for August 18-20 and the second legs a week later, August 25-27, according to Sport5.
For a football association whose clubs' European coefficient underpins Israel's access to the continent's most valuable competitions, a strong showing from all four sides this month carries weight well beyond the clubs themselves - both financially and for the country's standing when the next qualifying draw is made.
