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Tel Aviv Ibex
Rugby team From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Tel Aviv Ibex (Hebrew: אייבקס תל אביב; Arabic: آيبكس تل ابيب) is a rugby union club based in Tel Aviv, Israel. It is the first and only LGBTQ+ inclusive men's rugby club in Western Asia.[1]
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History
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Foundation and name
The club was founded in 2021 with just ten players, most of whom had not played rugby before.[1] One founding member later described to Mako News how as a school kid he was always "the student chosen last in sports lessons".[2] The club was initially called the Tel Aviv Leviathans, later renaming, getting the new name from the desert-dwelling species of wild goat native to the Levant.
Subsequent chronology
The club affiliated with the Academic Sports Association (ASA) in 2022,[2] and in 2023 became a member of International Gay Rugby.[3]
In April 2023 Ibex partnered with two other inclusive clubs — the Berkshire Unicorns and the Bristol Bisons — to compete at the Union Cup in Birmingham. Ibex contributed four players to a joint team playing under the Berkshire Unicorns banner.
In May 2023 the club won a national sevens tournament[2] hosted by Yizre'el Rugby Club.
The club competed at the biennial Bingham Cup in Rome in May 2024,[1] winning the Gladiator Plate against Orlando Otters RFC with a score of 19-5.
The team was expelled from the 2025 International Gay Rugby Union Cup tournament after the Oslo-based Norwegian team refused to play them, stating some members of the team served in the IDF, which is compulsory in Israel.[4][5]
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Composition
Ibex players come from a variety of cultural backgrounds and sexual identities, including both members of the LGBTQ+ community and straight allies.[2]
According to an i24NEWS news report on the club in June 2024, Ibex counts both Jewish Israelis and Palestinians amongst its team,[1] with the report describing it as "a delicate coexistence that keeps politics off the rugby pitch, but forces the players to encounter viewpoints they might not otherwise hear".[2]
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References
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