JERUSALEM, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Eight-time German champion Borussia Dortmund will play a friendly match with Israeli Premier League club Maccabi Netanya, the clubs announced on Monday.

Dortmund is scheduled to arrive in Israel on May 15, the day after the club's last Bundesliga match this season against Hertha Berlin.

The match against Netanya is scheduled to take place on May 17 at the 29,400-seat Bloomfield Stadium in the coastal city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, the clubs said.

"We have long and established connections with Israel, so we were particularly pleased when we received the invitation to play a friendly match against Maccabi Netanya," said Hans-Joachim Watzke, CEO of Borussia Dortmund.

"I am looking forward to being able to visit our many Israeli fans with the team and to making new friends," he added.

With four rounds left in the Israeli Premier League, five-time Israeli champion Netanya is ranked fourth, after achieving two consecutive 3-0 wins in the last two matches against the table leading teams Maccabi Haifa and Hapoel Beer Sheva.

The stadium in Netanya, a coastal city 30 kilometers north of Tel Aviv, has only 13,600 seats, so the match will take place in a larger stadium.

"This is another step on the way to fulfilling the dreams of our fans," said Maccabi Netanya CEO Niv Goldstein.

"Thanks to the match we will be able to promote the club's ambitions regarding international relations, extensive collaborations with elite clubs and imparting extensive professional knowledge to our youth teams' coaches," he added. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)