“In the entire history of Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball, the club has reached the break-even point only twice,” Maccabi Tel Aviv Basketball Club chairman Shimon Mizrahi said yesterday. He was speaking in a panel discussion on “Sports and Business,” at the "Globes" Israel Business Conference. “I am overjoyed every time we reach the break-even point,” he continued. “It’s important to remember that, in the seasons in which we won all the available trophies (European Cup, Israel championship, and Israel Cup), exceeding the budget is a certainty, and money must be brought from home.
”Sports in Israel should get tax breaks, as is the case in countries like Turkey and Greece, where only 15% income tax is levied on athletes. From the beginning, we weren’t in sports to make money, and I assume that I could have done much better for myself, were I not in the business called basketball.”
”Over the past nine years, I, other investors, and Sami Sagol invested NIS 100 million of our own money to cover the deficits created in these years,” Gitam BBDO chairman Moshe Teomim, former owner of the Hapoal Keter Tel Aviv Football Club, said yesterday. “I’ll probably leave less money to the next generation. I don’t believe it will every be possible to earn money from soccer, but it may be possible to reach the break-even point in the future, if the teams receive more revenue from betting. The entry of Arkady Gaydamak into sport is a breath of fresh air, which will bring other investors of the same size.” He was referring to Lev Leviev and Roman Abramovitch, who are negotiating to acquire the Hapoal Keter Tel Aviv Football Club.
Asked why he had invested in the Beitar Jerusalem Football Club, Gaydamak compared his acquisition to crucial events in Israel’s history. “My purpose was first and foremost to increase Jewish pride in Israel and around the world. Look what happened here after the Six-Day War and Operation Entebbe. What pride there was here, and that’s exactly why I invested in Beitar Jerusalem. My investment in sports is philanthropy, not for economic or any other kind of profit.”
Gaydamak also commented on the Israel Police investigation against him, saying, “I have no problems with answering any question. I invite you to ask the police what law I broke.”
Isfar owner Eilon (Lonny) Herzikovitch, who owns the Maccabi Tel Aviv Football Club, spoke about his many investments in the team since he bought it, estimated at NIS 100 million. He said, “If I reach the conclusion that someone else would manage the team better than I, and that it would serve the interests of the club, I’ll sell.” He also referred to Maccabi Tel Aviv’s situation after losing 3:2 to Beitar Jerusalem two days ago, saying, “We must examine ourselves, and it’s clear to me that we need a change in order to make it interesting for the public.”
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on December 6, 2005