Drama in Israeli volleyball: It was decided to close the industry

Great drama and rage among volleyball teams following the simulation data of the support budget for 2021, which were revealed in ONE. A senior source in the industry warns this morning (Thursday): “I understand that a decision was made to close the volleyball industry.”

Remember, according to the simulation of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, there are some leading industries that could suffer cuts of millions of shekels, such as judo, whose support money will drop by 1.4 million shekels despite winning two Olympic medals at the Rio 2016 Olympics, gymnastics will be cut by 6.1 million shekels And football will receive a budget that will be reduced by NIS 10 million.

In addition to them, the volleyball industry – which is very difficult to exist today – is on its way to suffering from budget cuts, so that instead of NIS 11.6 million, it will receive only NIS 9.3 million in the coming year as part of the new support tests. It should be noted that they have not yet been approved, but for an association whose financial turnover was NIS 14 million in 2018 and has about 5,700 registered players, this is a severe economic blow that will probably lead to its closure.

A senior member of the Volleyball Association claimed: “The association acted in accordance with the policy of the Ministry of Sports and the criteria of the Lubetzky Committee as requested. Letters sent to the heads of Israeli sports last night state that the cut in the industry’s support budget over the past two years will amount to over NIS 6 million, a cut that is disproportionate, impossible and unacceptable. This is the death of the third largest industry in Israel with almost 6,000 active athletes. “

Hapoel Mate Asher / Acre (Photo: Volleyball Association)

Indeed, the records show that Israeli volleyball received NIS 15.6 million in support in 2019, NIS 11.8 million in 2020 and only NIS 9.3 million will be allocated to the industry in the simulation planned for the coming year. Therefore, Israeli volleyball is expected to undergo NIS 6.3 million in cuts in two years. This is a sharp decline.

According to various factors in the volleyball industry, there is great anger among the associations over the decision. “If the new distribution plan is approved as it is, the cut in support for associations will be greater than 50% within two years, also due to the increase, requested by the state, in the number of active groups,” the industry noted.

A senior board member of the Volleyball Association said: “We feel there is a guiding hand from above that has set itself the goal of eliminating our industry.” The CEO of a large association added: “We will not allow the injury of thousands of volleyball players. We will go to war, including the suspension of all league activities. And let them not tell us this is just a simulation because we heard it last year and my association’s budget was cut by 35% a year. “