Israel Association of Baseball

In Israel, baseball is a game that is not extremely popular, although there have been several attempts at changing this. There are approximately 2,000 baseball players in Israel and Israel is ranked 42nd in the world in the sport.

Baseball was first played in the British Mandate of Palestine on July 4, 1927. The first field in Israel was built in Kibbutz Gezer in 1979, and the country now has a baseball field at the Yarkon Sports Complex in Petach Tikva. Israel sends national teams of various age groups to international baseball tournaments each year. The best recent showing to date in International Play (Pool A) was a 1st place by the Israeli Juvenile (ages 10–12) in the 2009 European Championships (CEB). Between 500 and 1,000 Israelis regularly play baseball in amateur league play. Baseball is growing at an accelerated pace, with much greater baseball identity associated with the country.

The Israel Association of Baseball (IAB), established in 1986, is a non-profit organization in Israel. Their goal is to promote and develop baseball in Israel. In order to accomplish this they teach baseball to youth, organize national tournaments as well as aid in assisting Israeli teams to compete internationally, and procuring the required equipment. Additionally they will help organize the league, ensure they have a proper field, train the coaches, umpires and player.

The IAB is a member of The Olympic Committee of Israel, The Confederation of European Baseball and The International Baseball Association. The above organization in addition to the Israel Sports Authority, recognizes the IAB as the sole governing body for baseball in Israel.

Notable players to play in the IAB include Alon Leichman and Dean Kremer.

The following clubs are registered to participate in the IAB; these are mostly youth clubs (Senior teams have a star next to their name:)

Under the authority of the IAB the Israel Baseball Academy launched in October 2014. The first year's program started in mid-October at Yarkon Sports Complex in Petah Tikva.

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Wikipedia