JERUSALEM, Oct 16 - Israel's Fottball Association
(IFA) chairman Gavri Levi issued a stern warning for the future
of Israeli soccer on Thursday, saying that without the injection
of cash from a new pay-per-view TV deal, the sport could die.
Pay-per-view matches are set to be introduced for some
premier league matches on Saturday for the first time.
"This is a crucial weekend and Israeli soccer's future
depends on the success of this venture," Levi said.
Levi was instrumental in forging the deal to sell the rights
and stayed on an extra two months as chairman of the IFA to see
the deal through. He is set to step down on October 27.
"Israeli (professional) soccer will only be rescued by
pay-per-view TV. We simply cannot afford for it to fail, but if
we get 50-70,000 subscribers (in the first week) it will be a
success," he said on Israel Army Radio.
With the Israeli economy in deep recession, the TV rights
have been sold to a company partly owned by super agent Pini
Zahavi, called Charlton, for