In 2010, Scott Neiss decided to make lacrosse the No. 1 sport in Israel. The catch? The 25-year-old from Long Island had never played the game. Nor did he live in Israel.

But on a trip to the country after graduating from St. John’s University, where he had worked full time for a pro lacrosse league, he wondered if he could run a team of his own. “I’m always on, work-wise,” he said. While in Israel, he started asking about sports and facilities, and realized that he could rally enough Jewish-American talent to be competitive right away.

Eight years later, he has developed the nonprofit Israel Lacrosse Association, which has an eight-city league, has been a catalyst for youth engagement and, starting on July 12, will host the largest world championship in the sport’s history when 46 teams descend on Netanya for 11 days of competition. It will be the first time in the event’s five decades that it will be hosted outside the United States, Canada, England or Australia.

Back home after that post-college trip, Mr. Neiss cold-called the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame goalie Bill Beroza and asked him to coach an Israeli team. At that point, Mr. Neiss had only a website, a logo and a sketch of a plan. There was no equipment, no players and no infrastructure. And Israel was a country largely unfamiliar with lacrosse.