Jewish, Arab, Druze, and Bedouin children unite on the football field
The Peres Center's Mini Mondial returns to Herzliya on June 24 with a Peace Team featuring diplomats from 13 countries, as the organization marks 30 years since its founding
Hundreds of Jewish, Arab, Druze, and Bedouin children aged 8 to 12 will take to the field together next week when the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation hosts its 2026 Mini Mondial at Herzliya Stadium on June 24.
This year's event will feature a Peace Team made up of children from the center's football programs alongside diplomatic representatives from 13 countries, including the US, UK, Germany, Canada, France, and the EU. The team will be jointly captained by representatives of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, the three nations set to co-host the next FIFA World Cup.
The Peres Center's annual flagship initiative brings together children from communities across Israel, from Tel Aviv-Jaffa to Be'er Sheva, Rahat, Tamra, Safed, and communities on the Golan Heights and in Israel's frontline northern border regions.
Its mixed-team format, in which children play alongside rather than against one another across ethnic and geographic lines, has earned recognition from FIFA, UEFA, Adidas, and the Israel Football Association.
Israeli Premier League footballers, ambassadors, members of the diplomatic corps, and municipal leaders from across the country are also expected to attend.
The event carries special resonance this year as the Peres Center marks two milestones simultaneously: 30 years since its founding and a decade since the passing of former Israeli President Shimon Peres, whose belief that a better future must be imagined and built, not inherited, is the basis of the center's mission.