The competition was established in 1982, as a season opening tournament, and was named after
Yehuda Lilian, a former
IFA treasurer and
Hapoel member, who died in February 1982. Parallel to this competition the
IFA also held the
Israel Super Cup, which was played at the end of the season, and the
Toto Cup, which was played throughout the season, mostly on weekdays. Due to dwindling interest in the competition, and the preference to give more weight to hold most of the
Toto Cup matches before the beginning of the league season, the cup was cancelled in 1989. ==Format==