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Following the conclusion of the 2021/22 Bundesliga season, Borussia Dortmund will go on tour to Israel from May 15-18, 2022. A friendly match against five-time Israeli champions Maccabi Netanya is on the agenda, as is a visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial. In addition to the entire first team squad, members of the BVB management team and several BVB legends will also be part of the delegation from the eight time German champions.
“We have long established connections to and with Israel, so we were particularly pleased to receive an invitation to play a friendly against Maccabi Netanya,” said BVB CEO Hans Joachim Watzke, adding: “We were welcomed with open arms during our visits to Israel in 2019 and 2020, and had many memorable encounters with people in the country. All the more reason then that I’m looking forward to bringing the team along to meet new friends and pay a visit to our many fans in Israel.”
Carsten Cramer, from the BVB board of management, adds: “It is a matter of course for us to take the opportunity of this trip to visit Yad Vashem with the entire Borussia Dortmund team. We are particularly excited about seeing the progress made in the construction of the ‘House of Collections’.” BVB have supported the project through a donation of one million euros. The ‘House of Collections’ will provide a space for documents, artefacts and works of art to be preserved for future generations, thereby giving visibility to the history of the Holocaust and Jewish people.
On Tuesday, May 17 (kick-off time still to be confirmed), the Black & Yellows will face Maccabi Netanya at the 29,400 seater Bloomfield Stadium. Incoming sporting director Sebastian Kehl explains: “At the end of our season, with all its ups and downs, we are looking forward to an exciting showdown with a top Israeli side. We are keen to experience what is sure to be a jubilant atmosphere in the stadium and would like to play our part in making it an unforgettable evening for the many BVB fans in Israel.”
Earlier in the day, under the motto “Hummus Bier Borussia”, there will be a meeting with the fan club “Israeli Borussians”, to which people of the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths equally belong. The fan club thus represents modern Israel, a country full of joie de vivre, hospitality and cultural coexistence. Borussia Dortmund is receiving support in the planning and implementation of the trip from the COMTEC Group, which has been accompanying international events in Israel for more than 40 years, including several friendly football matches.
Niv Goldstein the CEO of Maccabi Netanya: “I am proud and happy to announce the historic game between the two clubs. This is another step on the way to fulfill the Maccabi Netanya’s fans dreams. Thanks to the upcoming game, we will be able to promote the club’s ambitions in everything related to international relations, extensive collaborations with Elite clubs, imparting extensive professional knowledge to the coaches of the youth department and creating a window of opportunity in new markets around the world. I sincerely hope that this event will attract tens of thousands of fans of the FCMN, who will come to celebrate with us this one-time festival – together we will paint Bloomfield and hang the club’s flag on German soil! A yellow wall in Bloomfield.“
