04.03.2026 23:00
EuroLeague announced the countries where Israeli and Dubai teams will play their home games due to the war in the region. EuroLeague had banned Russian teams from the organization following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but no such sanctions were imposed on Israel. Sports fans had requested that Israeli teams be banned from all organizations after the outbreak of the war.
EuroLeague has approved that Israeli and Dubai teams play their remaining home matches of the 2025-2026 season in alternative countries due to security concerns arising from the war with Iran in the region.
THE COUNTRIES WHERE THEY WILL PLAY THEIR MATCHES HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED
According to a statement from the organization, Israeli teams in the EuroLeague, Maccabi Ramat Gan, will play their home matches at the Aleksandar Nikolic Hall in Belgrade, Serbia, while Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv will play their home matches at Arena 8888 in Sofia, Bulgaria. Dubai Basketball will also hold their home matches at the Zetra Arena in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
MORE INFORMATION WILL BE PROVIDED IN THE COMING DAYS
Hapoel Midtown, one of the teams in the BKT European Cup, will play their home matches at the Ranko Zeravica Sports Hall in Belgrade, Serbia. The statement noted, "The EuroLeague will continue to monitor the situation by staying in communication with all parties involved and will announce any changes regarding the above decisions if the situation in the region changes. The EuroLeague is evaluating the best options for rescheduling or relocating the matches of the affected teams due to the postponement of matches in weeks 21 and 30. More information will be released in the coming days."
RUSSIAN TEAMS WERE EXCLUDED
This decision brought to mind the previous decision made by EuroLeague against Russian teams. In 2022, following Russia's attack on Ukraine, Russian clubs were banned from the league, and their participation in the league was completely terminated. Sports fans had requested that Israeli teams also be banned from all organizations following the outbreak of war.