BREAKING NEWS

Women’s hoops league continues strike

Players and coaches from the women’s basketball Premier League will demonstrate in front of the home of Minister of Culture and Sport Miri Regev on Sunday, protesting the lack of funding that saw the teams go on strike last week.
The semifinal playoffs were set to get underway last Thursday, but it remains to be seen when they will actually begin, with the league and the Ministry failing to reach an agreement regarding the amounts the league will receive.
The chairman of the women’s league, Iris Stark, sent a letter to Regev last week threatening to suspend top flight games due to financial difficulties. Stark complained that the league hasn’t received the NIS 2.4 million it was promised by the Ministry via Athena, Israel’s project for the promotion of women’s sports in Israel, and went through with the threat after little progress was made over the subsequent 48 hours.
The Director General of the Ministry of Culture and Sport, Yossi Sharabi, said last week that NIS 600,000 will be transferred to the league immediately, with a similar amount to be handed to the league later this season. However, that did little to pacify the league, which said it will continue to strike until it receives the full amount it believes it is owed.