Moshe “Shino” Zoertz officially submitted his candidacy today (Thursday) for the position of chairman of the Football Association in preparation for the elections to be held on 12.27.2022. Who, as I recall, had previously served as chairman of the association for a short period, and decided at the time to leave after seeing that he could not fulfill his plans, chose to return in full force and compete for the position against Oren Hasson, the incumbent chairman.
Zoertz intends, for the first time, to submit a list that is not through the centers, which has not yet happened in the history of elections for the football association. This is the first branch in which a candidate for the position of chairman intends to present a list that is not related to the centers. If this is the case, then there will be a list of Zoertz, a list of the Hapoel center headed by Hasson and another list of the Maccabi center.
In the first set, which is not decisive, but shows the balance of power, Zoertz shows unprecedented support of over 855 points out of about 1,200 points in the pot. Meaning: he receives two thirds of support, an unprecedented situation for an incumbent chairman.
Among other things, Zoertz is supported by all the big teams: Yaakov Shahar and Maccabi Haifa, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Beitar Jerusalem, Hapoel Tel Aviv, and not only them. Maccabi Netanya, Hapoel Jerusalem, Hapoel Haifa and Nes Ziona are also on the list.
On the other hand, in Hason, only Hapoel BS, Bnei Sakhnin and Kiryat Shmona are supported. Meanwhile, Jacky Ben Zaken and MS Ashdod are sitting on the fence. Even in the National League, the majority go with Zoertz: Maccabi Petah Tikva, Hapoel Rishon Lezion, Maccabi Jaffa, Hapoel PT, Hapoel RG, Hapoel Afula, Ramat Hasharon and Hapoel Acre, when Moshe Damaio of the Bnei Yehuda walks with a sturdy people.
Hasson’s camp is led behind the scenes by Teren Holva, who wants to continue to rule in Israeli football, Alona Barkat, and Avner Kopel, who sent a letter to all teams of Beitar and asked for support for Hasson. David so that he would mobilize to support Hason.
The chairman of the Histadrut has even met several times with Hasson. Bar David, who supports the incumbent chairman, met with Zoertz earlier this week and asked him to come to an agreement and not to run head-to-head. On Zoertz’s side, activists include attorney Moran Meiri, the legal advisor of Maccabi Tel Aviv and Avi Luzon.
In recent days, various parties are trying to bring about a rotation agreement between Hasson and Zoertz, so that Hasson will continue for another two years as chairman and Zoertz will replace him after two years for another six years. Hasson and Zoertz are not ready for this and are going head-to-head.
It is certain that the incumbent chairman Hasun is not happy to accept this situation, when although he invests everything in volunteering for the benefit of the association around the clock, all the majors of Israeli football and dozens of other teams do not appreciate it and want a change in leadership.
Hasson in his surroundings is trying to convey that he is really not excited by the situation because what matters is what will happen on 27.12.2022, the day of the elections, and how many people who support him will be in the management of the association and how many will be in Zuertz. He is sure he will win and continue to be the chairman.
As part of the attempt to bring about rotation, a meeting was recently held at a cafe in the Bar near the stock exchange complex between representatives of the Hasson camp: Stern Halova and Alona Barkat, when Avi Luzon and Sharon Nisanov came from the Zoertz camp. Avi Nemani also joined the meeting as someone who tries to reach out and help between the parties. There were loud shouts at the meeting .
Undoubtedly, this is only the beginning of the campaign that we will have in the next two months, but what happened today shows that the teams want elections for the leadership of the football association without the centers deciding.
