 The first club was the "Israelite Gymnastic Association Constantinople" () founded in 1895 in Istanbul, Turkey by Jews of German and Austrian extraction who had been rejected from participating in other social sport clubs.Two years later, "haGibor" was formed in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, and 1898 saw the founding of Bar Kochba Berlin along with "Vivó és Athletikai Club" in Budapest, Hungary.Other clubs that followed were named after “Bar Kochba” or Hebrew names such as “Hakoah” or “Hagibor” that symbolized strength and heroism.