Israel's Football Leagues Administration has written to every club in the top professional division, demanding immediate action to make sure protected spaces at their home stadiums are ready for use, ONE reported.
The letter, sent as the 2026/27 season approaches, asks clubs to reconfirm that all safe rooms are empty, clean, organized and fit for instant use "should we need them," reflecting the still-complex security backdrop Israeli sport continues to operate under.
According to ONE, clubs are required to carry out a full inspection of every protected facility at their ground, distinguishing between standard safe rooms and any additional emergency shelters installed at the venue.
Beyond a paperwork check, the Administration wants each club to send a representative to physically walk the stadium with venue management and verify conditions in person before the campaign begins.
The wording, as quoted by ONE, is direct: clubs must confirm the spaces are "empty, clean, organized and ready for use should we need them" - language that leaves little room for delay.
The instruction is not new territory for Israeli football. A similar protocol was put in place after Operation Swords of Iron, when the league built a framework around using protected spaces and limiting personnel present at stadiums during alerts.
That earlier push saw the Leagues Administration, under chairman Erez Kalfon, launch an operation to procure and install mobile reinforced shelters at grounds where standing safe rooms could not hold everyone required to be present, with the Ministry of Culture and Sport helping fund the work, according to prior Ynet reporting.
At the time, authorities were warned that stadiums failing to install adequate protection risked disqualification, forcing their tenant clubs to relocate matches to alternative venues - a consequence the league has made clear it does not want to repeat as fixtures resume.
With the new Ligat Ha'al season on the horizon, the renewed letter functions as a check-in: a reminder that the safety infrastructure built during the war has to stay maintained and match-ready, not something clubs can let lapse once the immediate crisis eases.
