Maccabi leaves Belgrade, Euroleague approves Limassol
After three seasons at the Pionir hall, Maccabi will play its Euroleague home games in Cyprus. The first game in Limassol is on November 12 against Hapoel.
Maccabi used the Pionir as its home hall for the last three seasons, and Novosti reports that the stands there were mostly empty. That is over: Euroleague announced today on the competition’s official website that Maccabi Tel Aviv will play its home games in Limassol, Cyprus. According to Novosti, the Euroleague Board approved the decision.
Where will Maccabi play its Euroleague home games?
The team of coach Oded Katash will host rivals at the “Spiros Kiprijanu” arena in Limassol. According to Objektiv, the arena opened in 2005, seats about 8,000 spectators and was renovated ahead of EuroBasket 2025. Limassol is the second largest city in Cyprus, with a little over 100,000 residents.
Maccabi came to Belgrade because of the situation in the Middle East and played three seasons as the host in the “Aleksandar Nikolic” hall. The move to Cyprus holds until further notice, and Euroleague said in a statement:
“We will continue to closely monitor developments in the region and remain in contact with all relevant parties. The public will be informed in good time of any changes to these decisions, should the situation in the region normalize.”
The Tel Aviv club, as Telegraf reports, hopes Cyprus is only a stopover on the way back to its home arena.
What changes for Maccabi fans?
The math is simple: the flight from Israel to Larnaca or Paphos takes about 45 minutes, and Cyprus has seen a sizable Israeli community grow in recent years. Objektiv writes that the club wants to strengthen its home-court advantage and bring back some of the atmosphere its supporters once created.
Up to 3,000 Maccabi fans and 1,500 local spectators are allowed at each game. Ticket sales will be announced soon, and season ticket holders will receive coupon codes for a 25 percent discount in the coming days. No special charter flight for fans has been planned yet for the upcoming derby with Hapoel.
What comes next for Maccabi?
Before its first game in Limassol, Maccabi visits Partizan in Belgrade on Friday, November 6, once more in the city that hosted it for three seasons. Then comes November 12 and round 11 of the Euroleague: a city derby against Hapoel Tel Aviv, the first under a Cypriot roof.
The standings give Maccabi little tailwind. The team sits in 17th place with two wins and seven losses, so home court in Cyprus will have to deliver points right away.
In its statement, the club thanked the Serbian people, Serbia’s security services, the City of Belgrade, local staff and the people at Crvena Zvezda and Partizan. The club’s message reads:
“The Serbian people opened their doors to us in an extremely difficult time. We owe them gratitude and love for that.”
Maccabi will be seen in Belgrade one more time, on Friday, November 6, and its first test in Cyprus is on November 12.
