The Israeli team Hapoel Tel Aviv officially announced that it plans to play its home games of the new 2025/2026 season in the Euroleague in the capital of Bulgaria, Sofia, sportal.bg reported.
The president of Hapoel Tel Aviv Ofer Yanai announced that the team will not participate in the Israeli championship while military operations in the country continue. The players, coaches and all staff will travel to Sofia and will remain in the city, and the team will also conduct its training on Bulgarian soil.
"We plan for the team to stay in Sofia until the end of the war and then return to Israel, and with it the Euroleague to return to Israel. "And instead of the Israeli championship, we will play in the Adriatic League," Yanai told the Greek publication "In Sports".
Last season, Hapoel Tel Aviv participated in the Eurocup tournament and played its home games in another Bulgarian city, Samokov, and by winning the title in the competition, it also secured a place in the most prestigious European club basketball tournament - the Euroleague.
Hosting the Israeli team in Sofia, if it actually becomes a fact, means that Bulgarian fans will be able to see on home soil with the team of his club team Olympiacos and the Bulgarian superstar in European basketball, Alexander Vezenkov.
As Sportal.bg wrote on Tuesday, the probability of “Arena Sofia” to host Euroleague matches in the new season is very big, and currently working hard to ensure that the hall will cover, acquire the necessary license and be able to meet all the requirements in order to be able to host matches from the prestigious competition. If this really happens, then this will become a great gift for basketball fans in our country.
It can even be called a dream come true for basketball fans in Bulgaria, as they will be able to see as many as 19 Euroleague matches and absolutely all the stars in the strongest club tournament in Europe, as Apoel will host each of the Euroleague teams. The new Euroleague season starts on September 30, and now the people responsible for the hall are expected to do everything possible to meet the standards and for our home capital to become part of the most important club basketball tournament on the Old Continent.
As is known, Fenerbahçe defeated Monaco in the battle for the title last season, where the Greek giants Olympiacos and Panathinaikos finished third and fourth respectively. Then the final four took place outside of Europe for the first time - in Abu Dhabi.