Maccabi Tel Aviv formally asked Cyprus on Tuesday to host its Euro League home games.

The Israeli basketball club sent a letter to President Nikos Christodoulides expressing its intention to use Cyprus as its home venue.

The government has declined to give details of the discussions to local media, citing ‘security considerations’.

The request comes after Maccabi’s recent participation in the Neophytos Chandriotis tournament in Nicosia, which provided a test of the facilities, accommodation, transport and policing arrangements that would be required for regular fixtures.

Two venues are understood to be under consideration, those being the Tassos Papadopoulos Eleftheria stadium in Nicosia and the Spyros Kyprianou sports centre in Limassol.

The proposal also comes after Cyprus reportedly rejected a similar request from Maccabi in June 2025.

At the time, Phileleftheros said police had raised concerns that they could not guarantee the safety of the events or take on the operational demands of hosting high-risk sporting fixtures.

Maccabi had proposed flying supporters to and from Cyprus on the same day as matches with enhanced security measures.

Maccabi was among five Israeli basketball teams that staged home matches in Cyprus after the October 7th Hamas attack, with games played behind closed doors.

The government’s position on hosting such fixtures subsequently changed, amid security concerns.

There have also been security concerns surrounding Maccabi supporters in Cyprus, although the most serious incidents involved the club’s football team rather than its basketball side.

In August 2023, six Maccabi Tel Aviv football supporters were arrested in Larnaca before a match against Aek after police found flares and smoke bombs in their possession, wiht four later fined after pleading guilty to possessing banned items.

On the same occasion, police received information that a group of Omonia hooligans were seeking a confrontation with Maccabi fans in Larnaca.

No serious clash took place after police intervened, however days later, around 10 Maccabi supporters attacked five Aek fans in Tel Aviv.

Maccabi Tel Aviv is one of basketball’s most established clubs and a regular EuroLeague participant.