The club was founded in 1924 in
Beit Jann, near
Yavne'el, by Russian Jews affiliated with
Hashomer Hatzair movement. Due to unemployment in Beit Gan, the club relocated to Afula. During its early days, Hapoel Afula played mostly in
friendlies against the likes of
Hapoel Haifa and in regional leagues, comprising clubs from the
Northern and
Haifa regions. After the
Israeli Declaration of Independence, the club was re-established in 1951. At the summer of 1954, the club merged with neighboring football club,
Hapoel Balfouria, which played at the time at the
top flight of
Israeli football, and played home matches in Afula. Since the
1957–58 season, while playing in
Liga Alef, the
second tier of Israeli football at the time, the club was officially known under its current name, although they were mentioned by the press in both Hapoel Afula and Hapoel Balfouria names. the club continued to play as Hapoel Afula, and the name of Balfouria was dropped. In the
1958–59 season the club finished bottom in Liga Alef, and went to play in the relegation play-offs. In spite the club finished the relegation play-offs in a perfect record against
Hapoel Be'er Sheva,
Hapoel Netanya and
Maccabi Sha'arayim, they were eventually disqualified and demoted to
Liga Bet for fielding ineligible player. The club played for 17 successive seasons in Liga Bet, until they were relegated to
Liga Gimel at the end of the
1976–77 season. The club made an immediate return to Liga Bet, where they played up until the
1983–84 season, in which the club folded during the season. The club reformed in 2001, and reached Liga Bet in the
2002–03 season, where they finished runners-up in the North B division. In the
following season, the club won that division and were promoted to Liga Alef. After 9 seasons in Liga Alef, the club finally managed to win promotion to Liga Leumit, when they won the
2012–13 season in Liga Alef North, by a margin of ten points, and made a return to the second tier of Israeli football after 54 years. In The
2013–14 season, the club reached the top play-off in Liga Leumit, and finished in the 6th place, an achievement which was bettered in the
following season, after the club finished in the 4th place. In the
2014–15 Israel State Cup, the club eliminated top flight club,
Maccabi Petah Tikva, in the Quarter-finals by
away goals (0–0, 2–2), and reached the Semi-finals for the first time in their history. However, in the
Semi-finals, Hapoel Afula were hammered 0–7 by Hapoel Be'er Sheva in
Teddy Stadium,
Jerusalem. On 6 December 2017, the club won its first major trophy, after beating
Hapoel Ramat Gan in the
Toto Cup Leumit final. ==Current squad==