Maccabi Tel Aviv Moves EuroLeague Home Games to Limassol, Starting With Hapoel Derby
Maccabi Tel Aviv will move its EuroLeague home games from Belgrade to Limassol after receiving official approval, the club announced on November 4. Its first game in Cyprus is the derby against Hapoel Tel Aviv on Thursday, November 12, at 21:05 Israel time.
The new venue is the Spyros Kyprianou Athletic Center. Maccabi says it has permission to admit up to 3,000 of its supporters and another 1,500 local spectators to each game, giving fans specific attendance limits to work with as the club opens its new European base.
A New Home After Three Years
The move follows three years of hosting EuroLeague opponents in Belgrade. Maccabi's announcement says the Limassol arrangement applies to its home games in the 2026/27 season until further notice, beginning with the round 11 meeting against Hapoel.
The club's official fixture calendar lists the derby for 21:05 on November 12. Cyprus and Israel are both on UTC+2 on that date, so spectators traveling from Israel will not need to adjust the clock for the game.
Maccabi's separate away game against Partizan in Belgrade remains scheduled for Friday, November 6. The change concerns where Maccabi hosts opponents, while its European away schedule continues.
Maccabi said the move would bring its games closer to supporters in Israel and to the large Israeli community that has developed in Cyprus in recent years. The club hopes the change will strengthen its home atmosphere and restore more of the energy its supporters bring to games.
Capacity and Admission Are Different
Maccabi says the Spyros Kyprianou arena opened in 2005 and now has approximately 8,000 seats, following renovation ahead of EuroBasket 2025. The permitted attendance for its games is lower than that overall capacity.
The two admission allocations add up to 4,500 spectators. Supporters planning a trip therefore need a ticket for the particular fixture, even though the arena has more seats than the number currently authorized for these games.
The club said season ticket holders would receive coupon codes for a 25% discount. Its November 4 announcement also said there was no club Stars travel package planned for the upcoming derby.
Getting to Limassol
In a travel note published on November 5, Maccabi directed visitors to Larnaca or Paphos airports. It said shuttle services run from both airports to Limassol, with taxis another option for reaching the coastal city.
The club described flights from Israel as taking roughly 45 minutes. That is its estimate of flight time; reaching the arena also requires the onward trip from the airport and local arrangements in Limassol.
The fixture brings both Tel Aviv teams to Cyprus after a week in which Hapoel's European calendar included its home meeting with Barcelona in Sofia. For supporters, the host city is part of the fixture information to check before arranging travel.
The League Keeps Reviewing Arrangements
In its statement on the approval, Maccabi said Israeli clubs are using alternative venues because of the regional security situation. EuroLeague will continue monitoring developments and remain in contact with the relevant parties about those arrangements.
The club thanked Serbia's public, security services, the city of Belgrade, its local staff and the Partizan and Crvena Zvezda organizations for their assistance during the years it hosted games there.
