Drama in local sports: Football club loses millions of shekels
The Givatayim City Council has voted to cut all municipal support for Hapoel Ramat Gan following a public dispute between the mayor and club management.
Drama in local sports: The Givatayim City Council voted this evening (Wednesday) for the immediate cessation of all municipal support for the Hapoel Ramat Gan football club. The decision comes following an update to the sports support criteria, according to which Givatayim's public funds will be allocated solely to adult teams bearing the city's name, without connections or combined names.
The municipal move leads to a loss of annual support estimated at approximately 2 million shekels. This involves direct funding of about 850 thousand shekels in current expenses, alongside the value of using the Sheret home stadium, estimated at an additional 1.2 million shekels.
"Givatayim is a city in its own right, not dependent on or an appendage of another city," clarified Mayor Ran Konik during the council meeting. "Until 2013, the municipality did not support the club at all. The only 13 years in which support was transferred are the years I have been in office, out of respect for the historical importance. From this evening, the funding stops."
The tension escalated following a statement published by the club, in which it was claimed that the move stemmed from the municipality's desire "not to be part of the club," and therefore it will continue to operate under the name "Hapoel Ramat Gan."
In a sharp response on social media, Konik rejected the club management's claims and presented a completely different picture. According to him, the Givatayim Municipality even acted before the Football Association to approve an exceptional move in the regulations that would allow adding the name "Givatayim" to the club's official name during the month of July.
"The Association took an exceptional step to help Hapoel Ramat Gan," wrote Konik. "For reasons known to the club, its owner Hanan Slanson chose not to submit the request on time, and the window closed. What was written in the club's post as if the name was added is a gross lie. I am sorry for the strange conduct and the choice to remain only Hapoel Ramat Gan, but I respect the decision and wish the team success."
