Israel Baseball League

The all-American sport popular in other countries including Japan has always had much interest in Israel but never on a real professional level and the Israel Baseball League (IBL) is looking to put things on a pro footing.

To help fulfil this, a series of new baseball fields will be built along with an investment into equipment and players from the American league will visit to give coaching.

Existing facilities have been rundown over the years and the IBL hopes to renovate them to international standards.

The Israelis are hoping to involve the many thousands of Americans who travel to Israel or spend time there studying to play against locals.

But it looks like it will not just take time to get Israelis up to a pro level, it will also take passion for making it happen.

And its passion that Israel has for the game. It already has two non-pro groups promoting the game of bat and ball - The Israel Association of Baseball and the Israel Softball Association - both of which are run by volunteers.

By moving up to a professional level, the Israel Baseball League hopes its profile and support will also rub off to its two amateur siblings and in the process provide further supporting activities for Israelis to take part in and aim for international status.

For more information: www.israelbaseballleague.com