League leaders are working to change the agreement signed with the basketball union back then in 2002, Israel Today learned, but they are expected to have a stubborn battle: the transfer of authority to determine the ascents and decreases, reducing the annual payment and replacing the trophy system

• Chairman of the Administration, Samuel Frankel

  Photo:

  Danny Maron

League leaders are working to change the deal with the basketball union, Israel Today said. For a long time, the Administration has expressed great dissatisfaction with some of the clauses of the agreement, and the recent events with the National Administration have led the organization's decision to act to change the agreement.

In the coming weeks, the board of directors will be convened for a special meeting, where final decisions will be made on the matter, and then a letter of demand will be sent to the union leaders to enter into contacts to renew the agreement.
The administration claims that the contract between the parties, signed more than 18 years ago (June 2002) at the time of the establishment of the administration, was made exclusively by the union, and in addition, over the period since then, there has been a need to update the agreement and make it more relevant to the current state of Israeli basketball. One of the key issues that the Administration wants to change is the section that determines the number of immigrants and descendants in the Union's exclusive authority.

In addition, the administration wants to reduce the amount they are required to pay each season to the union for the right to run the league. According to the administrative agreement, every season, NIS 2 million, a million and a half directly, plus a few hundred thousand NIS, must be passed on to judges, payment of active players and additional expenses.
Another requirement that would be raised would be to change the game method at the National Cup. One of the proposals is to start the plant from the quarterfinals, and the eight teams that finished the first round in the top eight places will participate in the games, much like in some European leagues.

Union chairman Amiram Halevi will meet with the sports ministry today // Photo: Alan Shiber

In the same matter, in recent days, Maccabi Tel Aviv has firmly announced to the administration that it does not intend to participate in the recent "Israeli Cup" tournament, following the heavy game load. According to the suggestion, the first eight in the Premier League were scheduled to participate in a national tournament in December , But the administration also understands that the idea is irrelevant and is likely to come off the agenda.

The union is unlikely to agree to the administration's requirements, claiming that by law, the responsibility for Israeli basketball leagues lies with their authority, and they are the ones who will determine the terms of the agreement. In any case, no discussion should be held on the matter until the union management election and the chairmanship in May.

And what about the Ministry of Sports?

The subject of tests for support by more Israeli players who have been involved in Israeli basketball over the past week will come up at a meeting today between the heads of the sports ministry and the members of the basketball union.
The ministry did not like the personal attacks of the National League administration chairman, Anchor Yohananov, on Minister Miri Regev and CEO Yossi Sharabi, and the issue should be raised during the meeting. Also, the professionals in the ministry will come up with the idea of ​​consolidating the two leagues under one administration, as was done in football, though the chances of that seem very low.

Another issue that concerns the basketball world is the number of ups and downs. The administration continues to strongly argue that the union's decision on two immigrants and two descendants is invalid, because according to the existing agreement, the union must give the administration a one-year advance warning of change, and if there is, a change will only be made by the end of the 2020/21 gaming season. The union says the decision is valid and there will already be two immigrants and two descendants this coming season.