Maccabi Tel Aviv Nears Deal to Move EuroLeague Games to Cyprus

Maccabi Tel Aviv is reportedly making significant progress in its efforts to relocate its home EuroLeague games from Belgrade to Cyprus. Club officials visited the neighboring island nation last week and met with local government representatives to advance the plan. The move to Cyprus appears to be drawing closer.

Meanwhile, the planned visit of top EuroLeague officials to Israel, initially expected within two weeks from September 19th, has been delayed. The visit by EuroLeague CEO and Competition Manager Diego Gian was intended to allow them to assess the security situation and daily life in Israel as part of Maccabi's bid to bring home games back to the country. The delay is partly due to scheduling conflicts, including an upcoming meeting in Italy.

The meeting in Italy, scheduled for tomorrow, will involve the 13 clubs that hold shares in the EuroLeague. They are expected to discuss the CEO's proposal for a franchise model and potential expansion of the league to 24 or even 28 teams, as well as possible cooperation with the NBA. A subsequent meeting on Tuesday will focus on selecting eight new clubs for franchise contracts for the next season, with applications from Hapoel Tel Aviv and Hapoel Jerusalem also to be considered. Franchise contracts are estimated to cost between 50 and 90 million euros.

The recent security incident involving a Flydubai flight to Israel, which carried approximately 180 Israeli passengers, has further complicated the security perception, though it is not directly linked to the EuroLeague's decision-making process.