The Israeli Foundation for Athletic Excellence held a special ceremony at Maccabi Tel Aviv's Kiryat Shalom training ground

In collaboration with the Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Division, the Israeli Foundation for Athletic Excellence today held a special ceremony at Kiryat Shalom training ground to present scholarships to five athletes associated with ILAN, the Israeli Association for Handicapped Children, and four young players from Maccabi's Youth Division. The foundation was established by Yoram Danziger in memory of his late father Michael (Mopi) Danziger, a former Supreme Court judge. Mr Danziger was on hand at Kiryat Shalom to present the scholarships to the nine worthy young athletes. Youth Division director of football Nir Levin spoke to those present and participated at the awards ceremony along with Youth Division general manager Ariel Avram and representative of the MTA senior squad, Barak Itzhaki.

The youngest footballer in the MTA Youth Division to receive a scholarship was eight year-old Nitai Blaish, who plays for the Division's Under-9s. Ten year-old Shalev Reuven, a member of the Division's Under-10 Team South, was also found a worthy recipient of a Foundation scholarship. Completing the list of the Division's deserving awardees was Osher Hazan from the Under-12 Team South and Netanel Peretz from the Under-15 Team 2, the oldest of the four Division recipients. All these youngsters were chosen for their high levels of motivation, their determination and their excellence as athletes on the football pitch.