Voice of Jewish Sport

WHILE AVRAM Grant may not have won anything as a manager in England, he does seem to think he knows who will win next season’s Premier League. And while not exactly endearing himself to Chelsea fans when in charge of their club in 2007, he may have got back on side with some of them having backed them to be Premier League champions come May. Insisting money is the root to all footballing success – and who can disagree with him – he says: “You cannot spend so much money and not be favourites.” Stating the obvious some may say, he may have appeased a few Blues supporters, but doubt Jose Mourinho will be too happy with him.

THE SPORTING fallout of the Israel-Gaza crisis shows no signs of abating, with Israel’s Euro 2016 qualifier against Belgium, on 9 September, the latest fixture to be brought into question. Ahead of Tuesday night’s Super Cup in Cardiff, the Israeli Football Association’s President Avi Luzon met with his Belgian counterpart to discuss the tie, with an agreement that confirmation of the venue – and playing – of the game will be decided in the last week of August. Not up for debate is the staging of Israel’s David Cup tennis world group play-off tie against Argentina. Israel will lose their crucial home advantage after the International Tennis Federation rejected Israel’s appeal after the David Cup committee had ruled Israel wasn’t safe to host the tie.

FRESH FROM his junior Wimbledon title winning heroics last month, Noah Rubin claimed his latest title at the weekend when he won the prestigious US National Championships in Kalamazoo. One of the most important events for 16-18-year-olds in the country – attracting 400 competitors – Noah defeated the defending champion 6-4, 6-4, 6-3. The win though had extra significance as it also guaranteed him a place in the main draw of both the singles and doubles competitions at the US Open in Flushing Meadows later this month. Exciting times ahead.