The State of Sports in Israel

by Bryan Joiner

The war in Lebanon shook the Israeli sports world as much as it shook all facets of Israeli life. Here's a rundown on the state of sports in Israel.

Maccabi Haifa has been the dominant soccer team in Israel recently, winning four consecutive championships. Every year, the titleholders of leagues sanctioned by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) play in an international tournament called the Champions League. Maccabi Haifa was supposed to host the Liverpool FC of the English Premier League in the qualifying rounds on August 22, but UEFA moved the game to Kiev, Ukraine after the Haifa rocket attacks began on July 12.

The venue change was a big deal. Liverpool won the Champions League in 2005. It is the highest honor afforded to a club team. Liverpool defeated the Israeli team 2-1 earlier this month in England. If Haifa could defeat Liverpool 1-0, the Israeli team would oust Liverpool from the final rounds of the 2006 Champions League tournament—a shocking upset.

In Kiev, Maccabi Haifa and Liverpool played to a 1-1 draw. Liverpool was roundly criticized for its pool play, and Maccabi Haifa was praised for its effort. The game was close enough for Haifa coach Roni Levy to suggest that his team would have won had the game been played in Israel.

Israel's national basketball team has also been notified that it cannot play its European Championship qualifying games at home. Israel is scheduled to face Bosnia on August 31, but the International Basketball Federation says the game must be played elsewhere.

With everyone abandoning Israel as a sports venue, it may surprise you to learn that there is a group of Americans who are starting a baseball league in the country. The group is led by Dan Duquette, former general manager of the Boston Red Sox, and held tryouts last week at Duquette's baseball academy in western Massachusetts.

Before the outbreak of the war, the Israel Baseball League was scheduled to begin next year. [Duquette said the league is "moving forward as planned with an opening date of June 22, 2007."] The goal of the IBL is to help Israel field a team in the 2009 World Baseball Classic tournament and to train Jewish baseball and softball players in America, with the aim of bringing them to Israel to play professionally.

(Image from flickr.)