Maccabi Tel Aviv set to play EuroLeague home games in Limassol

Maccabi Tel Aviv are due to play their EuroLeague home games at the Spyros Kyprianou arena in Limassol, starting with the Tel Aviv derby against Hapoel on November 12. The move still awaits official confirmation from the club and from the EuroLeague itself, with plans for each game providing for 3,000 tickets for Maccabi supporters, 1,500 for the Cypriot public and 100 for fans of the visiting side; final arrangements for spectators have not been agreed. Maccabi are still asking the EuroLeague for permission to return to their home ground in Israel. Should Euroleague not yield by January, the game against Panathinaikos on January 7 will also be played in Limassol. The Cyprus Mail was informed that the EuroLeague was initially against the move to Cyprus due to its sponsorship deal with Turkish Airlines. According to local media, a Maccabi representative spoke by telephone with one of the deputy police chiefs regarding the team’s presence and the running of the games. From Monday, a designated police liaison is due to coordinate with the club’s managers at police headquarters level, covering the number of people travelling and their movements. A video conference with Maccabi officials is planned to settle the details of police cover, and the club is expected to send an official letter within days on fan and team movements. Maccabi were due to host Real Madrid in Limassol on October 22, but the game was played at the Aleksandar Nikolic Hall in Belgrade, which the club has used as its home court since the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023. Maccabi formally asked Cyprus to host the games in a letter to President Nikos Christodoulides on September 22. Between 12 and 15 home games were expected in Limassol, depending on how far the club progressed. Police unions have warned that the games would need about 500 officers and called them a “huge additional responsibility” for a force already short of staff. A police source put the policing cost of all the games at more than €1 million. Justice Minister Costas Fitiris told MPs on Monday that Cyprus had accepted a request to invoice Maccabi for the policing, although no game had yet been played on the island.