Hapoel Tel Aviv in London for basketball Euro Cup showdown against the Lions

With both sides boosted by new sponsorship, organisers say the sport is on the up both in the UK and in Israel

An Israeli basketball team are playing the UK’s premier side at a showcase match at Wembley on Wednesday evening, with organisers hailing it as a landmark moment for the grassroots-driven sport.

Hapoel Tel Aviv, which is sponsored this year by Vegan Friendly, will play the London Lions at the indoor OVO Arena next to the famous Wembley Stadium in a game described as “a record breaking milestone for British basketball”.

Majority owned by Jewish American investment firm 777, the Lions are the only British team to have the current roster of international accolades secured at Euro Cup level and beyond.

The company said it had “made strategic shifts in propelling grassroots, community-driven sports in the UK, supporting the Lions to their current stage of sporting prowess, a platform of success that has never been achieved before”.

There are currently more than 230,000 British over-16s who play basketball at least twice a week and the British Basketball League is now in its fourth decade, boosted by fresh investment last year from Miami-based 777.