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Israel to Host Int’l Lacrosse, Basketball Championships

by ISRAEL21c |

Israel was just announced as the host of the World Lacrosse Championship in July 2018, to take place at Netanya Stadium.

The sport’s premier competition is expected to draw athletes from 50 countries and more than 5,000 fans from all over the world.

Israel’s national lacrosse team took second place in the 2016 European championship and seventh place in the most recent world championship in 2014.

Lacrosse is growing fast in Israel, with eight divisions and hundreds of players participating, according to the Israel Lacrosse Association, a nonprofit organization that represents Israel in the international and European federations. The women’s European Championships will take place in Israel in 2019.

“The success of Israel lacrosse internationally, that sees us ranked seventh in the world, and the domestic infrastructure we’ve established at grassroots level here in Israel, put us in good standing when submitting our bid to host the FIL World Championships and we’re delighted to showcase our country, our facilities, and the spirit of Israel to the world,” said Scott Neiss, executive director of the Israel Lacrosse Association.

Meanwhile, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) announced that Israel will host a EuroBasket European basketball championship for the first time ever, from August 31 to September 17, 2017.

Israel’s national team – captained by Minnesota Timberwolves NBA player Omri Caspi — will then get ready for the home-court FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Qualifiers in November. Its first-round opponents will be Great Britain, Greece and a country to be determined in pre-qualifiers.

The National Basketball Association (NBA), FIBA and the Israel Basketball Association also announced recently that the 16th edition of Basketball without Borders Europe will be held August 13-16 at the Wingate Institute in Netanya, marking the first time that this global basketball development and community outreach program will be held in Israel, targeting youth in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

(via Israel21c)

[Photo: The Lacrosse Network | TLN / YouTube ]

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