FIFA pushes for Israel vs. Palestine opening game for youth tournament
According to "The Athletic," FIFA is counting on the fact that the opening match of the U-15 tournament will be between the teams, but is encountering difficulties
FIFA is pushing for the opening match in its first-ever under-15 (U-15) football tournament to be between the Israeli national team and the Palestinian national team. This is according to a report Monday in "The Athletic" citing sources familiar with the plans.
FIFA will hold the tournament, which will be open to all 211 member football associations, in September in the United States. Among the countries that will be able to participate is Russia, which has been suspended since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
However, the organization's plans are not progressing well. When FIFA President Gianni Infantino tried to get representatives from Israel and the Palestinian Authority to be photographed together on stage at a conference last month, Jibril Rajoub, President of the Palestinian Football Association, refused and shouted at him: "We are suffering."
Infantino, after calling out to the representatives, said on stage: “We have a beautiful Under-15 tournament coming up, in which we will invite all 211 countries to participate, all the children of the world. Let’s do it for this. Let’s work together, you have the support of the whole room.”
A spokesperson for the Israel Football Association said, "Chairman Moshe Zuares will stick to what he has publicly stated several times at the FIFA Congress and elsewhere—we are more ready than ever to use football as a tool to promote normalization and peace."
"Our hand is always extended toward a better future for everyone. We hope to find a courageous partner on the other side."