Category: Community

Yellow-and-Blue Crosses Continents

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Maccabi Tel Aviv FC works with many non-profit organizations on a frequent basis and contributes to the social and logistical aspects of these institutions. A week ago, the Youth Department received a request to contribute various types of football equipment.

Itamar Dubinsky who is in the midst of working on his doctorate, travelled to the football academy in Ghana as part of a study he is working on through the Ben Gurion University. Dubinsky took off for the Unistar Soccer Academy in Ghana where he is the editor of this study, to interview children and the employees of the acadmey in order to learn about the development of populations through the football academy itself.

צהוב חוצה יבשות

Dubinsky’s study explores four different football academies with Unistar being the one he is currently working on. This academy also received various articles of equipment from Maccabi Tel Aviv including jerseys, shorts, balls, hats and more. Dubinsky spoke to the Official Website about the academy and the importance of football to this area: “It’s an academy that serves 70 children and was founded by a Ghanian named Ernest Cooper in 2009 in a small city in the south of the country.”

The doctorate candidate Dubinsky also spoke about the importance of Maccabi’s equipment contribution: “Ernest is the sole financier of the academy which is a tremendous amount for just one person to handle. His contributions include free tuitio20160204_174643n for the children to attend school, meals three times a day, housing, operating expenses and more. The 15-year olds and younger age groups received the donated equipment. This team is composed of children from all over Ghana and its neighboring countries where scouts can come and see which children may have a future as professional footballers. Ernest hopes to sell the rights of the various players in order for him to continue the academy and the further development of the community.”

Dubinsky also commented on the relationship that has been established between the club and the football academy: “The Academy was so happy with the contribution and it was just what they needed, so now they’ll wear Maccabi kits when they play. I believe that the donation did wonders of good for Maccabi in Ghana and picked up 70 new fans. The academy plays matches every week against other teams in Ghana so that will also help raise awareness about Maccabi throughout other communities in the country.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv recognized at UNICEF Israel Event

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Just prior to last night’s match against Beitar Jerusalem, UNICEF Israel held a special event at the Beit Heseg in Tel Aviv which was attended by the Commercial Director Sharon Tammam and the Corporate Liason Manager, Yonit Nakari.

During the event, Maccabi Tel Aviv was honored by UNICEF for their collaboration in helping children in Israel and around the world. UNICEF CEO, Jonny Cline congratulated the club: “Maccabi Tel Aviv is a club that excels not only on the pitch but also with the community. We are very proud to be partners with a club like this.”

Caryl Stern, the President and CEO of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF and leading business people from the Israel and around the world attended the event. The guests at the event had the opportunity to hear from Gillian Mellsop, UNICEF’s Representative from Ethiopia about the difficulties facing children growing up in the third world and how they can be helped.

Holocaust Survivor Zvi Mel speaks to Youth Department

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Today, Wednesday, marks the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, when the world looks back at the terrible tragedy that befell all of mankind and especially the Jewish People. The Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Department took the opportunity to educate the players about the horrors that occurred during this very dark time in history. The Under-15 side of Ran Elias were honored to hear from Zvi Mel, a Holocaust survivor and longtime Maccabi Tel Aviv fan talk about his own experiences.

Mel discussed his difficult upbringing as a child when his German friends became his enemies, his family’s travels, losing many friends and acquaintances along the way and the incredible survival of a little boy who lost his whole world.

The young players were fascinated by his personal journey and at the end of the presentation asked what helped him survive the Holocaust and how he felt making it through the inferno to begin a family in Israel. Following the program, the players presented Mel a gift who emotionally thanked the children. Zvi Mel’s life story can be found in his autobiography.

  • מאמנה של נערים ג'2 רן אליאס

  • נערים ג' מקשיבים לסיפורו של ניצול השואה צבי מל

“It’s a privilege to contribute to the community”

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As part of the ongoing activities of the Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Department, the players from various age groups participate in bi-weekly events with the “Educating for Excellence” organization.

The non-profit organization helps reduce the social gaps and creates equal opportunities for children with potential for excellence who reside within Israel’s social and geographic periphery. Together with the Maccabi Youth Department, children from all age groups participate in joint programming led by coaches from the various teams.

Kfir Alfonte and Eliran Mizrachi who coach the Under-12 and Under-11 clubs spoke about the activities that they do with the organization’s children and what the Maccabi youth gain from the experience: “It’s a program where 10 children of different ages come to the Youth Department, “ Elfonte explained. “We bring our Under-12 and Under-11 sides and we have a tournament that features both the organization’s children and those from our youth department. We all enjoy it very much, and our kids also understand the importance of these programs.”

The coach also discussed what the “Educating for Excellence” children gain from the activities: “I believe that the children from ‘Educating for Excellence’ feel that they are doing something that at first they believed they couldn’t do and it gets them closer to their dreams. These children are very special and there are even two kids that perhaps could join Maccabi in the future.”

Eliran Mizrachi who also leads the joint programs, commented about the activities from his point of view: “We began these activities 2-3 years ago with the youngest age groups in the department. This year we’ve done a number of groups with them and it’s been a lot of fun. We are teaching them what Maccabi Tel Aviv is and we are giving them the opportunity to play with children who are terrific players at their same age.”

Mizrachi continued talking about what the Maccabi children gain from the experience as well: “This imbues patience in their understanding of other children, the fact that there are others who aren’t as fortunate as them and don’t have the opportunities to obtain the tools succeed. Working together with them on the pitch, with players of different levels gives them the chance to enjoy the programming and this is the message that we also want to send to their schools. We want them to understand that they are role models even at this young age and to grasp what it means to be a player with Maccabi Tel Aviv and not take that fact for granted.”

In terms of the importance of these activities for the coaches, Mizrachi said: “We as coaches know and understand that it’s not just about being a professional on the pitch but off of it as well. Respect and good values come before everything else. It’s a privilege to contribute to the community and we do so with pride and joy.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv Community Day at Kiryat Shalom

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You’ve asked, wondered and demanded… and now it’s happening – The Maccabi Tel Aviv Community Day at Kiryat Shalom. Beginning this month until the end of the season, we’ve chosen one day where 150 fans can come to Kiryat Shalom and meet the players face to face, take pictures and receive autographs.

How does it work?

Registration is open to all Maccabi FIRST members for the Community Day this coming Tuesday March 08th between 15:00-16:00 at the Kiryat Shalom Training Facility. The event is limited to 150 participants ONLY.

Each person may register up to 3 participants which includes the person submitting the registration. Juts like when you make a reservation at a restaurant, you request a table for yourself plus 2 friends for a total of 3 ONLY.

IMPORTANT:

If weather conditions don’t allow for the Community Day to take place, you will be notified a few hours prior to the event and you’ll be able to participate in the Community Day the following month.

All participants must arrive at the Kiryat Shalom Training Facility by 14:30. Should you be delayed, you may not be able to participate in the event.

Participants may register only once per season.

Following your registration, a Maccabi representative will be in touch with you to get all of the participants necessary details.

Entrance to the Training Facility will be granted only after a full security check. Each participant will need to present their Teudat Tzehut ID Card, License of Passport in order to take part in the event. Entrance will not be granted to those whose names do not appear on the official registration list!

Participants are not allowed to bring with professional photographers or videographers. 

For the rules and regulations, please click on the following link.

Get Ready… Here comes Maccabi’s Community Day

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Do you want to meet Zahavi? Get a Selfie with Itzhaki? An autograph from Dor Peretz? Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Community Day is here. Registration will open tomorrow, Thursday January 21st at 12:00 to the first 150 Maccabi FIRST members who will have the opportunity to meet, take pictures and receive autographs from the Maccabi Tel Aviv players. IMPORTANT! The event is open to 150 participants ONLY!

You’ll find out the rest of the details tomorrow when registration opens. But for now, mark down in your diaries:

When does registration open? Thursday January 21st at 12:00

Where? The Official Maccabi Tel Aviv Website

When is the Community Day? Sunday January 24th, 15:00 at the Kiryat Shalom Training Facility.

You set up a reminder? Great. We’ll see you tomorrow

Follow the Shield Project

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We all know that feeling. As the parent of a child that is about to be drafted or if you’re about to be drafted to join the IDF, the pre-draft emotions run high and are all familiar to us. The “Achim LaSemel-Brother’s Shield” organization in cooperation with Maccabi Tel Aviv are proud to present a pre-army program for youth aged 16-18 that are going into combat. The program will primarily provide tools and values to help prepare the youngsters for the challenges that they will face when going into combat duty.

The ultimate goal of the project is to prepare the soldiers for the future, especially in the areas of physical fitness, with an emphasis on the mental and psychological aspects. In addition to the rigorous physical fitness practice sessions that the trainees will take part in every two weeks, they will also enjoy lectures from professional and army personnel, organization volunteer activities and team building exercises.

The meetings will take place every Wednesday at 18:00 at the HaYarkon Park and will be conducted by a professional instructor with army experience and most importantly a Maccabi fan. The cost of participation in the program is a nominal fee of 150₪ to cover the necessary expenses such as insurance of the participants.

The first introductory meeting for those interested to learn more about the project will take place on Monday December 21st at 18:00 by the grass area close to Gate 8 at Bloomfield Stadium. If you are planning to attend the meeting please register by clicking the following LINK

“We’re fighting for the top of the league against them”

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Following this morning’s practice at Kiryat Shalom, some of the Maccabi Tel Aviv players hurried to get to a no less important activity, visiting the children at the Oncology Department at Schneider Children’s Hospital. Gal Alberman, Eitan Tibi, Oz Rali and Daniel Lifshitz went over to the hospital to bring gifts from the club and of course spoke with the children and took pictures with them making sure that they all had smiles on their faces.

Gal Alberman spoke to the Official Club Website after the visit and discussed the importance of such activities: “We as a club try to do these types of things on a regular basis. It doesn’t matter if it’s four days before a match, two days before or even one day before a game, we know how to make the distinction and take these activities into proportion.”DSC_4420

His feelings during the visit:

“It’s very emotional, especially since I have a brand new daughter. You see children here that need help and if we can make the situation they are in better we do it with love. We have an obligation as players to help and Maccabi as club is always looking for ways to continue to work on social aspects and also fight against those who want to damage our sport. We as players are proud to be a part of this.”

On the lengthy preparation time the club has to get ready to play Hapoel Beer Sheva:

“On the way to practice this morning I was thinking to myself as to when the last time it was that we had four full days to prepare for just one match and not for other midweek games. The Champions League was no excuse for us. We wanted to be there and once we got there we knew we also had to make sure that we competed in the domestic league. Beforehand we didn’t look at it as an excuse and now we are not looking at it as an advantage, except that now we have four days to get ready for one match and not a series of games.”

Getting ready to do battle with the desert Reds:

“We already played Beer Sheva this year and beat them. We’re fighting for the top of the league against them and the result doesn’t really matter because there is still a long way to go, 66 points if I’m not mistaken. It doesn’t make a difference what happens in this match nothing will be decided. We’ve been in very big situations this season and we don’t want to take this out of proportion. Of course we want to win and improve our standing but we’re not obsessing over this match.”

Micha & Dasa take part in Special Olympics Program

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Maccabi Tel Aviv continued its close work with the community as just last week a group of physically challenged athletes from Rechovot came to tour the Kiryat Shalom Training Facility. While there they met with some of the first team players including Eli Dasa and Dor Micha and played with the two Under-15 teams under the direction of Ran Elias where they also went to various stations to practice their football skills. At the end of the tour and activities the players received gifts from the club.