Issam Khalidi
Abstract
This article demonstrates Palestine’s struggle to join FIFA, the International Football
Association, and the challenges it faced
during that journey of a half century. It shows the criteria that qualified
Palestine to be a member of FIFA. Palestine’s accession to FIFA in 1998 marked
the beginning of a greater and more visible manifestation of Palestinian
national identity in sports on an international stage. The article identifies
the benefits that Palestine enjoyed as a FIFA member, and highlights the
Palestine Football Association’s calls to expel Israel from FIFA. Palestine’s
membership in international organizations (like FIFA, the Olympic Committee,
and others) paved the way for its acceptance as a non-member observer state at
the UN in November 2012.
Keywords: FIFA;
IOC; PFA;
Palestine Sports Federation; football; Zionists; UNRWA; PLO; Oslo Accords; Gaza.
Throughout different historical stages, Palestinians sought through football a sense of national
identity, independence, and world recognition. In 1998 Palestine joined the
International Football Association – FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football
Association). Palestinians had been striving to achieve this goal since the
1940s, more than half a century. This achievement was reached after a long
process that mirrored Palestine’s efforts to be regarded as a sovereign nation,
allowing it to take its rightful place in international sporting events as well
as in other international realms.[1]
Palestine’s accession to FIFA in 1998 marked the beginning of
a greater and more visible manifestation of Palestinian national identity in
sports on an international stage. It is the recognition of Palestine’s name,
its flag, and its people that caused Israel more worry than anything else, as
demonstrated by the passing of its Nation-State Law in 2018. Palestine’s
membership in international organizations (like FIFA, the Olympic Committee,
and others) paved the way for its acceptance as a non-member observer state at
the UN in November 2012.[2] More recently, in 2023, the Palestinian national football
team reached the second round of the Asian Cup for the first time in its
history, despite the war of extermination to which Palestinians are being
subjected. Also, as part of the Asian Football Confederation’s qualification
for the 2024 World Cup, the Palestinian team tied with South Korea 1–1 and
Kuwait 2–2 in November 2024. Palestine is currently ranked 103 (of 210) in
FIFA’s world rankings, which is a positive result for Palestine at this time.[3]
Recently, sports, particularly
football, have begun to play a small but steadily increasing role in the
Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement that targets
Israel for its ongoing violations of international law and Palestinian human
rights. Since 2016, this issue has become a focal point due to the independent
efforts of BDS groups and civil society more broadly.
Early Days
Since the beginning of Jewish
immigration to Palestine Zionism saw in sport a way for achieving their dream
of the “National Home” and a pivotal means for promoting Jewish national
sentiments. Since the early 1910s, the Zionists started establishing sports clubs
such as Maccabi, Ha-Poel, and Betar that reflected political affiliations. In
1925 the Maccabi World Union was moved to Palestine. In 1926 the Ha-Poel
organization was established, followed by Betar headed by the Zionist
revisionist Ze’ev Jabotinsky who led a struggle for state recognition. These
organizations took sports as a cover for their political and paramilitary
activities. In 1938, Elitzur, the sports organization of the religious workers
movement, was founded at the initiative of R. Meir Bar-Ilan. Its early years in
Palestine were devoted to mixed military and sports activities in the framework
of Palmach and the Haganah and also to help illegal immigrants enter Palestine.[4]
In 1924, the leadership of the
Jewish Maccabi Athletic Organization sought to gain membership in the
International Amateur Athletic Federation representing sports such as track and
field, and cross-country running. According to IAAF’s rules, this initiative
ended in failure, as it was determined that Maccabi did not represent Arab,
British, and Jewish sportsmen in Palestine equally. However, this unsuccessful
attempt did not discourage the Maccabi leader Yosef Yekutieli from applying to
gain Maccabi membership in the FIFA in early 1925. Yekutieli (the head of the
Maccabi World Union, who founded the [Mandatory] Palestine Football Association
and the [Mandatory] Palestine Olympic Committee) decided to employ a different
tactic this time by first establishing the Palestine Football Federation.[5]
According to FIFA rules, only
associations representing states could be accepted as members. Thus, Maccabi
officials were compelled to invite not only their Zionist political adversary, Ha-Po’el,
but also Palestinian Arab teams to join the Palestine Football Association
(PFA). In addition to the fourteen Zionist representatives that participated in
the first meeting of the new football association directorate, one Arab
delegate took part – a member of the Nusseibeh family (Ibrahim) representing
the Arab Sports Club of Jerusalem.[6]
However, despite his involvement in this first session, Nusseibeh’s name never
again appeared in the directorate’s protocol.[7]Nevertheless,
during the first years of the PFA, Arab teams did participate in the games of
the association. A report submitted to FIFA in 1929 describes three football divisions
in Palestine: ten teams in the first, twenty in the second (five of them Arab),
and thirty-nine in the third (six of them Arab).[8]
Within three years of its
founding, the PFA adopted Zionism’s blue and white colors and dropped Arabic and
made Hebrew their official language. The Zionist anthem “Ha-Tikva” was played
alongside Britain’s “God Save the King” at the start of official matches. The [Mandatory]
Palestine Olympic Committee followed a similar pattern with its nine members,
seven of which were Jewish.
It is important to note that
sports culture started to emerge decades before the immigration of Jews to
Palestine. The Zionist leadership viewed establishing athletic federations and
committees as a means of achieving overall Zionist goals of establishing and
legitimating Zionist claims to Palestine. These official organizations helped promote
Palestine as “Jewish,” both regionally and internationally, and were seen as
instrumental in achieving the leadership’s national and political goals.
The founders of Zionism saw sports’ emphasis on organizational unity and
physical fitness as a tool for fulfilling its goal of a new society. Reflecting
on the Zionist spirit, Theodor Herzl wrote in his diaries, “I must train the
boys to become soldiers…. I shall educate one and all to be free, strong men,
ready to serve as volunteers in the case of need.”[9]
Zionism quickly established
athletic clubs to build physical fitness–and military preparedness. It is true
that Arab sports lagged behind Jewish sports. The Jews came to Palestine from developed industrial
societies. They had a good understanding of
administrative organization in all aspects, including sports. The Yishuv, and
the Zionist movement that represented it, consequently received powerful
external support from many of its coreligionists elsewhere, from Britain as the
greatest imperial power of the day, and as well as from the League of Nations.[10]
The exploitation of the PFA by
the Jewish athletic officials and the continued marginalization of the
Arabs were among the Zionist goals, especially after they were able to join
FIFA in June 1929; Palestinians were vocal about their
dissatisfaction with the ploys the Jewish side used in seizing this
Association.[11]
The Association’s joining FIFA was a valuable opportunity for the Zionists to make
the Jewish identity prominent and represent Palestine as a Jewish nation at the
international level, despite Jews representing at the time only one fourth of
Palestine’s population. With the cooperation and support of the British, Zionists
proved to be able to represent Palestine as a Jewish nation in the preliminary
games of the World Cup in both 1934 and 1938.[12]
Resulting from the gross
transgressions by the Zionists in the Palestinian Football Association and also
resulting from the 1929 riots, many of the Palestinian sporting leaders
established the Arab Palestinian Sports Federation PSF in April 1931. Following
the outbreak of the 1936 revolt, the activities of the PSF became hindered and eventually
the PSF was totally paralyzed at the end of the 1930s. Few of its members
joined the Jewish-oriented PFA.[13]
The Zionist effort to solidify
ties with the British, as well as with other nations, through football was
boosted by Palestine’s admission to the world football body, FIFA. Within a
decade of its founding, the PFA sought FIFA’s permission to play regional teams
that were not members of the world body in a bid to strengthen Zionist ties
with its non-Palestinian Arab neighbors as well as with British colonial teams
in the Arab Middle East, and to obstruct Arab Palestinian teams, which it had
alienated or excluded from the PFA, from competing with teams from other Arab
counties.[14]
To this end, the PFA in the mid-1930s used its authority as the national
association to prevent Palestinian teams from playing neighboring Arab squads
on the grounds that they were not members of the PFA.
After the Arab PSF re-established
itself in September 1944, it strived to join FIFA. In order to achieve
this goal, it strengthened its links with brotherly football federations in
neighboring Arab countries, detailing for them the sports conditions in
Palestine and the conflict with the Zionist-dominated PFA. The desire to be
enrolled in FIFA came at a time of escalation in the conflict between Arabs and
Zionists. Through FIFA membership, the Palestinians wanted to give proof that
they were the real legitimate representative of Palestine and they constituted
the majority in the country.[15]
The issue of the PSF’s application was discussed at the FIFA conference in
Luxemburg in August 1946. Evidence confirms that, prior to 1948; there
were some sixty-five social athletic clubs in Palestine. Approximately fifty-five
of them were members of the Arab Palestine Sports Federation, which included
athletic clubs from all over Palestine.[16]
The secretary of the Palestinian Sports Federation, Abd al-Rahman
al-Habbab, planned to attend the FIFA meeting in Luxembourg which was scheduled
on 25–27 July 1946 to explain the point of view of the Arabs of Palestine
regarding registering their federation in the international association.
However, the international body refused al-Habbab to attend for unknown
reasons.[17]Several factors could have contributed to this, but the main
one was likely the
enormous influence that the [Mandatory] Palestine Football Association had in
FIFA. FIFA’s indifference to the Arabs’ demands may also have played a role in
this as well.
Al-Habbab received a
letter from FIFA stating that as a result of the request of both the Egyptian
Football Association and the Lebanese Football Association, the International
Federation, during their last meeting held in Luxembourg, studied the issue of
registering the PSF internationally and decided to form a special committee to
study this issue in all its aspects and to submit its recommendations to the
Executive Committee for the Committee to register the Palestinian Federation
internationally.[18] Of course, the Zionist-oriented Palestine Football
Association was against the Arab Palestine Sports Federation’s membership and
claimed during the congress that the Arab PSA did not meet FIFA’s rules,
conditions, and internal regulations, and its activities were very few,
limited, and small scale compared to the PFA.[19]
In October 1946, the Palestine Sports Federation forwarded to
FIFA a memorandum and various files detailing that the
reasons behind the conflict in the sports arena had a political background: the
increase in Jewish immigration and colonization in Palestine. It cited the
mistaken policies of the British Mandate as the source of the problem and the
escalation of the conflict between Palestinians and Jews.[20] The
memorandum recalled that in the early1930s there were good relations between
the Arab teams and the Palestine Football Association. However, despite the fact that the Jewish
population was a minority, Zionists worked to hold the lion’s share of the
representation in the central committee. [21]
FIFA instructed Mr. R.W. Seldrayers and Mr. A. Drewry (from
Belgium and England; both later became FIFA presidents after then current Jules
Rimet, from France, president from 1921 to 1954) to write a report on the
situation, which was later approved by the Executive Committee of the FIFA at
the meeting in Glasgow on 9 May 1947.[22]
This report stated that:
PSF is made up of Arab only, excluding any Jewish element and, on the
other hand, the PFA no longer has any Arab members and only counts Jewish
affiliates; according to its status, it is open to all inhabitants of the
Palestinian territory. […] In vain the Palestine Sports Federation reported
various incidents which, according to it, proved that the Palestine Football
Association had infringed on the rights of certain Arab clubs. But these are
not sufficient reasons to justify the question. Indeed, when the facts of which
it complains occurred, the injured Clubs should have contacted FIFA, which
could have examined the cases and possibly intervened. In reality, the current
situation is that the Arabs no longer want to be under the jurisdiction of the
Palestine Football Association and this, not for sporting reasons, but purely
for political reasons.
The statutes and the
regulations of the FIFA are formal: On a given territory there can only be one
body directing all the football matches that take place on that territory. One
cannot allow two federations to exist on this territory as long as on this
territory there are not two distinct political entities. […] This is the solution
that Mr. Rimet advised the Palestinian federations to adopt during
the Congress of Luxembourg. If the two federations refuse to have direct
contact with each other, if their delegates refuse to meet; this Inter-federal
Committee could be made up of neutral people who don’t belong to any of the
races in conflict. The only inconvenient [point] and it is a practical one by
excellence, is that neither of the two federations would be able to align a
team under the name of the national Palestinian team. Only the Inter-federal
Committee could do it, but in practice, this possibility will not occur since the
Arabs refuse to play against or next to Israelis. Any other solution is
impossible, not only because the statutes and regulations of the FIFA prohibit
it but also because that would represent an extremely dangerous precedent.[23]
At the conference held in Glasgow
on 10 May 1947, it was decided to discuss the enrollment of Palestine in FIFA. The
final decision made was that Arabs and Jews had to work together since it was
both difficult and inefficient to recognize two committees from the same
country at the same time. Consequently, the application was rejected by FIFA
because the FIFA regulations did not permit the registration of two
institutions from the same state or country.
Afterwards, the
Zionist-dominated PFA sent FIFA a letter expressing its dissatisfaction with
Seldrayers and Drewry’s report:
[…]At the same time we beg to call your
attention to the fact that we have instructed our delegates to oppose the
conclusions arrived at by Messrs. R.W. Seldrayers and A. Drewry, which were
confirmed by your Executive at the meeting in Glasgow on the 9 May 1947.In
fact, we cannot understand how you could accept such proposals, which are
contrary to the statute of the F.I.F.A. and cannot be reconciled with the
decisions taken in the question of Palestine Football at the last Congress in
Luxemburg. We can only presume; that the facts and arguments,
laid before you, were quite insufficient in order to obtain an impartial
picture of the situation, the more that – strange enough – we as the most
interested party had no opportunity to make our contribution.[24]
This letter indicates that
FIFA was not as fully supportive of the PFA throughout the process as they
would have liked. In its analysis of the Palestinian situation, FIFA tried to
be as fair and objective as possible. There is no doubt that FIFA recognized
the effectiveness of the Palestine Sports Federation in terms of organizational
efficiency, recognition of the large number of (Arab) clubs that were
affiliated with the PSF, as well as recognition of the wide variety of sports
activities the PSF organized.[25]
Post Nakba 1951–1965
After the 1948 Nakba (catastrophe), which resulted in the
ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and the displacement of 750,000 Palestinians
into the diaspora, all sectors and activities of Palestinian life and society
were affected, including sports. In spite of these difficulties,
Palestinian sport was able to survive and recover in some fashion. Due to their
previous experience and the severity of the dispersion, Palestinians developed
and maintained strong resilience over their lives. Throughout the shatat (diaspora), Palestinians played football in the narrow alleys of
refugee camps. Social athletic clubs were also formed in refugee camps in
Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank. At the same time,
UNRWA set up service centers that used sports as part of their activities. The
growth of the Palestinian sports movement can be attributed to these social
athletic clubs that were founded before and after 1948. [26]
Following the 1948 Nakba, the Palestine Sports Federation,
founded in 1931 and reestablished in 1944, became the Palestine Football
Association. FIFA’s archives show Abdel Rahman al-Habbab applied to FIFA again in
March 1951. FIFA did not disclose any details about this application but it is
assumed that its rejection was because the West Bank was under Jordanian rule
and not an independent entity. There are no other documents related to this
application in FIFA’s archive.[27]
At that time, Palestinian
athletes and former athletic administrators joined the Jordan Football
Association (JFA). In 1956, al-Habbab became president of the JFA. Clubs in the
West Bank such as Nadi al-Muwazzafin (Employees Club) in Jerusalem and Shabab
al-Khalil (Hebron Youth) took part in JFA tournaments.
In the 1950s and 1960s,
football in Gaza as well as other sports grew rapidly. A solid organizational
infrastructure was developed and its effects still exist to this day. The
Egyptian administration established the “Regional Committee for Youth Care,”
which was headed by the governor-general, and included twenty-five members,
most of whom were sports leaders. The Supreme Committee of Youth in Cairo
supported this regional committee financially and technically. Proudly, the
Palestinians in Gaza were able to represent Palestine in the regional and
international arena.[28]
Even
while living under harsh conditions in the diaspora including in refugee camps
lacking basic necessities of life (and adequate sport facilities), Palestinians
continued their sport activities. These included participation in the Pan-Arab
games (first held in Alexandria, Egypt in 1953) which expressed the emerging pan-Arab
consciousness of the 1950s and early 1960s and aimed to strengthen Arab
solidarity and common interests. Palestine, though not an independent state,
participated in the first games and in subsequent tournaments, held every four
years. The organizers sought patronage from the International Olympic Committee
but their request was denied on the claim that the regional games were deemed
ethnic and as such did not qualify. Still,
Palestine’s participation in these well-publicized international events
helped add to the legitimacy of the Palestinian case for joining international
sports federations and the Olympic
movement.[29]
In 1962, the athletic
leadership decided to form a football association, al-Ittihad al-Riyadi
al-Falastini li Kurat al-Qadam (Palestine Sports Federation – Football), of
fifteen affiliated clubs. Three other federations in Palestine had been recognized
in their respective sports, namely Boxing, Weightlifting, and Basketball.[30]
In August 1963, the PFA applied again to join FIFA after which FIFA required up-to-date
statistical information about football in Gaza.[31]
The PFA was subsequently informed that its request for affiliation
to FIFA would have to be submitted to the Executive Committee at their meeting
of 6 October 1964 in Tokyo. Accordingly, it delegated three
representatives to attend the Tokyo meeting. In seeming disregard of the high
expenses travel to Tokyo might incur, PFA representatives were astonished to
find that their request for affiliation to FIFA was not scheduled on the meeting’s agenda.[32]
FIFA’s negligence was evident, but no documents show why such an event occurred.
The PFA reacted in writing:
It will be highly appreciated
if you would kindly advise us of the reasons for which its request
[application] was omitted from the Agenda although all its documents,
statistics, information, etc. were supplied to you a long time ago and we
believe that there are no excuses to prevent presenting our request in the
meeting in Tokyo.[33]
FIFA
considered that the status of Gaza was the main obstacle in the registration of
the PFA. FIFA informed the UN in Geneva that the Palestine Sports Football
Federation, with Headquarters in Gaza, has requested affiliation with FIFA, and
inquired of the UN the legal status of Gaza.[34]Later PFA
received a letter from FIFA dated 24 December, 1964:
One
difficulty has arisen, that is to know the exact status of your country.
As soon as the UNO [UN] answers our question we hope to be able to submit your
application to the competent committee but this will not be before the end of
February 1965. If you are able to let us know your exact political
status, would you please be so kind as to write to us again. [35]
The UN
responded that in relation to the status of Gaza it was considered governed by
the Egyptian-Israeli General Armistice Agreement, signed in Rhodes on 24
February 1949. Under this General Armistice Agreement Gaza was a
“territory under the control” of Egypt (then the United Arab Republic for a
short period of time). The Agreement specifically provided that it was not
intended to prejudice the rights, claims or interests of a non-military
character in the area of Palestine. While Israel had taken the position that
the General Armistice Agreement with Egypt was no longer in force, the United
Arab Republic and the United Nations did not accept this view. In any
event, Gaza remains “territory under the control” of the United Arab Republic
and for which the UAR is internationally responsible. If you should wish detailed
information concerning the exercise of governmental authority within the Gaza
area, this could be obtained most authoritatively from the Government of United
Arab Republic.[36]
We firmly
object exepting [sic] a District called Gaza as a member of FIFA. There
is no country called Palestine, therefore Gaza cannot be in Palestine. The
exeptance [sic] of a part of a country as an independent member is contrary to
the FIFA regulations.[37]
Later, Elias Manneh, Secretary of the
Palestine Football Association, gave a brief historical explanation about the
status of Gaza, and refuted the claims that Gaza was a “territory under
control” of Egypt.14 FIFA responded that it was not ignorant
of the historical facts the PFA mentioned but did not wish to enter into
arguments of a political nature.[38]As part of its support for
PSF, Saudi Arabia asked FIFA to include PSF on its next conference agenda.[39]
Reconstituting 1965–1993
Due to the harsh conditions
the Palestinian people were facing at that time, the majority of their struggle
focused on the need to carry weapons. At the same time, the Palestinian
leadership did not consider the fact that the Palestinian struggle should be
multifaceted, including sports as an integral part of Palestinian culture, and
part of the Palestinian struggle. Nor was the leadership fully aware of the
intellectual, national, moral, educational, and health aspects of sports and
their potential role in achieving the national goals of their country. But it
was cognizant of the importance of sports in achieving them.
The Palestine Liberation Organization
(PLO) in May 1964was recognized as the “sole legitimate representative of
the Palestinian people.” Although it founded a number of organizations
which fulfilled the demands of the Palestinian people, its resolutions
mentioned nothing about sports or
physical education, except for a National Council session in 1968 establishing
a “popular organization” (al-tanzim al-sha’bi) to organize social and
cultural affairs.
Political conditions in the
countries where Palestinian refugees lived, and the relations between those regimes
and the PLO, had an impact on sports and football. In 1968, a decision
was made by the PLO to form the Palestine Supreme Council for Youth Care (SCYC).
In 1969, a few branch committees were established in Lebanon, Jordan, Syria,
Iraq, Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. In that
year, the SCYC also participated in the first Arab conference of ministers of
sports and youth, held in Cairo. The conference offered Palestinian teams
considerable support to develop their activities in all Arab countries and for
Palestinian youth to be given opportunities to join all athletic events as
representatives of Palestine.
After 1970, SCYC
headquarters was moved from Amman to Lebanon and a new supreme council was
formed from Palestinian athletic leaders in Lebanon. The council supported
new clubs founded in Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq and athletic and scouts’
activities began to be developed. Since the 1920s, the sports movement and the Scouts
movement moved side by side as tools for Palestinian identity and consciousness-raising
of new generations. These two movements had a profound impact on youth development
in a way that few other activities have.
The first
conference of SCYC was held in Beirut in Suq al-Gharb in 1974 (later the name was
changed to Palestine Supreme Council for Youth and Sports– SCYS). New
executive committee members were elected at this conference, the first and only
to be held, due to the changing political conditions and transfer of its headquarters
from Beirut to Tunisia in 1982. This mirrored other popular institutions,
which also suffered weakness and failures for similar reasons. The Supreme
Council participated in youth conferences in Arab countries organized by the
Arab League, and as a result of its engagement, the Supreme Council gained
membership in a number of international athletic organizations.
Palestine Football Association
As mentioned above, after the
transfer of the Supreme Council headquarters from Jordan to Lebanon, the
executive committee began to re-establish sport associations. The Palestine
Football Association (PFA) was re-established in 1971.It developed new rules
stipulating players must be admitted exclusively in Palestinian
clubs. This resulted in alienating a few qualified players from the
Palestinian national team who were playing for first league Lebanese
clubs. Most of the formations of the national team were from Palestinian club
members of PFA. Also, the selection of the national team was subjected to
favoritism: the administrators selected players who were members of the clubs
that they ran.[40]
In 1974, the PFA joined
the Arab Football Association shortly after its founding earlier in the year. In
1978, the PFA submitted a new application to FIFA, attaching all the necessary requirements
for consideration, including the PFA statutes. Again, the PFA did not succeed
in gaining membership. In 1979, the PFA made another attempt, but its
application was hobbled by different obstacles this time, such as the refusal
of the affiliation of the Palestine Olympic Committee with the IOC. The PFA continued
its communication with the Arab Football Association (AFA) which offered
support for PFA’s application with FIFA.
In order for any national
football federation to become a member of FIFA, there must be five federations
of different sports affiliated with their respective international federations
in order to qualify to become a member country of FIFA. Palestinians in Gaza
founded several sports associations and applied for membership with their
respective international federations. This process continued into the 1970s and
1980s with many federations being founded and joining their international
federations.
FIFA has no strict requirement
that an association’s headquarters or tournaments must be physically located
within its own territory. As a way to satisfy FIFA’s requirements and gain
legal consent, Iraq agreed in 1989 to have the PFA headquarters on its territory,
specifically in Baghdad. It also offered the PFA a field for tournaments. So,
in this city, the PFA started holding tournaments on its own field. The PFA also
asked the AFA for support to obtain FIFA affiliation. Unfortunately, the
bid to join FIFA failed again, but the PFA did not give up.
Steps toward Membership, 1993–1998
Following the ratification of
the Oslo agreements and after the Palestine Olympic Committee was admitted to
the IOC as an observer, the PFA applied again on 20 November 1993. The
following is the letter the PFA sent to the FIFA President João Havelange:
For a long time, the
Palestinian Football Federation has hoped to be affiliated to the Fédération
Internationale de Football Association. Football
has always been played in Palestine, and our teams are known to be well trained
and organized in the area. Prior to this date, our application for the affiliation
into FIFA was not accepted, due to our status in the International Olympic
Committee. On September 27th, 1993, we have become officially
affiliated into the International Olympic Committee. The Palestinian Football
Federation wishes to be affiliated into FIFA, and become an active member, as
soon as possible.
In May 1995, the PFA was
granted the status of provisional member in FIFA. Considering the
prevailing situation regarding Palestine, the Executive Committee nevertheless
made the following two restrictions: First: The Palestinian Football Federation
may only play friendly matches. Second: The Palestinian Football
Federation may only play these matches in the territory of another national
association affiliated to FIFA (provided that the national association
concerned gives their authorization).[41]In
June 1998, PFA was affiliated to FIFA as a full member at its 51st Ordinary
Congress, held in Paris on 8 June 8 1998.[42] The
main reason for FIFA not accepting Palestine as a member of its association was
the fact that FIFA regarded Palestine as not being an independent state. The
West Bank of Palestine was annexed by Jordan in 1948, and Gaza, on the other
hand, became under Egyptian administration. The PLO, the West Bank, and the
Gaza Strip were subsequently seen by FIFA as not being independent entities.
There are many that
argue that Palestine does not have the right to be affiliated with FIFA since
it is not an independent state. There is general agreement in the international
community that an independent state must possess certain characteristics in
order to be internationally recognized. These include a determinable territory;
a fixed population; a functioning government and the capacity to enter into
relations with other states.[43]
However, the FIFA statutes state that any association which is responsible for organizing and supervising football in all of its forms in its country may become a member association. Consequently, it is recommended that all member associations involve all relevant stakeholders in football in their own structure.[44] FIFA has sometimes been credited with yielding more influence over certain nations than the United Nations.[45] It is generally agreed that an independent state must possess certain characteristics in order to have its existence recognized by the states of the world community: (1) a determinable territory; (2) a fixed population; (3) a functioning government; and (4) the capacity to enter into relations with other states.[46]
Legal scholar Francis A. Boyle has studied Palestinian claims for statehood and concluded that these criteria are met, despite the special circumstances of Palestinian history, and that the United Nations Charter article 80 and League Covenant article 22 (section 4) substantiate this. [47] Palestine is a state that consists of a people, a territory, a flag, a national anthem, and institutions that make it a state. The consensus is overwhelming: 147 UN member countries – three quarters of the world’s 195 countries – plus the Vatican and Western Sahara, consider Palestine to be a state.[48]
Conclusion
The Palestinian
Authority gained political importance after being established as the interim
governing body in 1993. As a result, FIFA and other international organizations
began to view Palestine as a state and as a sovereign nation. In light of this, it would appear that Palestinian
admission to FIFA (as well as the International Olympic Committee) has been
facilitated and accelerated as a result of the Oslo Accords.
Palestine’s accession to FIFA in 1998 marked the beginning of
a greater and more visible manifestation of Palestinian expression in sports on
an international stage. Palestine’s membership in international organizations
(like FIFA, the Olympic Committee, and others) paved the way for its acceptance
as a non-member observer state at the UN in November 2012. The importance of Palestinian membership in this
international body cannot be overstated as a bellwether for Palestine within
international sports. As a result of this membership, Palestine qualified for
the Asian Cup in 2000 and the FIFA World Cup in 2002. It was in 2010 that
Palestine entered the first round of qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. A
year later, it was ranked 73rd by FIFA in February 2018, which is its highest
FIFA ranking to date. In December 2010, the Palestinian beach soccer team,
stationed in Gaza, participated in the Second Asian Beach Games in Amman as
part of the Palestine delegation. In June 2012, the Palestinian team won third
place in the Third Asian Beach Games, held in China.
More recently, in
2023, the Palestinian national football team reached the second round of the
Asian Cup for the first time in its history, despite the criminal war of
extermination to which Palestinians have been subjected. Also, as part of the
Asian Football Confederation’s qualification for the 2024 World Cup, the
Palestinian team tied with South Korea 1–1 and Kuwait 2–2 in November 2024.
Unfortunately, FIFA has refused to ban Israeli teams despite
Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza. Previously, FIFA failed to sanction six
Israeli league teams based in West Bank settlements. This is despite the
international community consensus that all Israeli settlements in the West Bank
are illegal. Israel is a member of UEFA (Union of
European Football Association) whose statutes state that “a Member Association,
or its affiliated leagues and clubs, may neither play nor organize matches
outside its own territory without the permission of the relevant Member Associations.”[49] As a result of the genocidal war on Gaza, the Palestinian
Football Association is calling on FIFA and the International Olympic Committee
to take a strong stand against this gravest of violations and holds the Israeli
occupation accountable for its actions in Gaza.[50] A draft resolution sent by the Palestinian Football
Association to the FIFA Congress in Bangkok on 17 May 2024, called for “Israel
to be held accountable for its violations of Palestinian sports since October
7, 2023.”[51]
Issam Khalidi, an independent
scholar based in San Francisco, is author of History of Sports in Palestine 1900–1948 (in Arabic), One
Hundred Years of Football in Palestine (2013,in Arabic and English), as well
as various articles on sports included at www.hpalestinesports.net.
Endnotes
[1] The first attempt was when
the (Arab) Palestinian Sports Federation (founded in 1931 and reestablished in
1944) applied to join FIFA in 1946. It competed with the Jewish-dominated
Palestine Football Association (founded in 1928), which represented Palestine
in the International Football Federation (FIFA). The attempt failed because
according to FIFA’s statute, no country has the right to be presented by two
federations. A second attempt was made in 1951, a third in 1962, a fourth in
1978, and a fifth in 1989. In May 1995, the Palestinian Football Association
was given provisional FIFA membership (two years after the Oslo accords).
[2] Issam Khalidi, “Why is
Palestine’s FIFA Membership Important?” 10 February 2024,
History of Palestine Sports,
online at www.hpalestinesports.net/2024/02/the-importance-of-palestines-membership.html
(accessed 26 April 2025).
[3] FIFA rankings, Sofascore,
online at www.sofascore.com/football/rankings/fifa (accessed 25 April 2025).
[4] “Elitzur,” Encyclopedia,
online at
www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/elitzur
(accessed 26 April 2025).
[5] Haim Kaufman. “Jewish Sports
in the Diaspora, Yishuv, and Israel: Between Nationalism and Politics,” Israel
Studies 10, no, 2 (Summer 2005): 147–67.
[6] A member of the Nusseibeh
family, prominent in politics and culture, whose roots in the holy city date
back to the seventh century and who serve as custodians of the keys to the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre, his standing in the Palestinian community helped
confer a measure of legitimacy on the committee.
[7] Tamer Sorek, “Palestinian
Nationalism has Left the Field: A Shortened History of Arab Soccer in Israel,” International
Journal of Middle East Studies 35 (2003): 417–37.
[8] Joseph Yekutieli (President
of the Maccabi Sport Federation) and Percy C. Speed, “Football in Palestine:
World’s Football,” Bulletin of the Federation Internationale De Football
Association, 28 January1931.
[9]Issam Khalidi, “Body and
Ideology: Early Athletics in Palestine (1900–1948),” Jerusalem Quarterly
27 (Summer 2006):47.
[10] Rashid Khalidi, The Story
of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood (Boston:Beacon Press, 2007), p.
9.
[11] Issam Khalidi, “Sports and
Aspirations: Football in Palestine 1900–1948,” Jerusalem Quarterly 58
(Spring 2014): 74–89.
[12] Khalidi, “Sports and
Aspirations.”
[13] Khalidi, “Sports and
Aspirations.”
[14] Khalidi, “Sports and
Aspirations.”
[15] In a sports column of Filastin, 15 March 1945,
Husayn Husni writes a
message to readers about the athletic conditions in Palestine and the
domination by PFA of the sports arena. He asserted, this association
cannot be regarded as the representative of Arab Palestinians, as it does not
represent anyone other than itself and its community, and not the entire Arab
Palestinian community as a whole. translation quoted from Sorek, “Palestinian Nationalism has
Left the Field.” Husayn Husni, an Egyptian teacher of physical education
came to Palestine in the early 1930s, and taught in various schools, among them
Rawdat al-Ma’aref in Jerusalem. He was a member of the track and field
committee, which was affiliated with the Palestine Sport Federation. His
regular sports column for Filastin reflected his nationalistic views,
while also encouraging citizens in physical activities.
[16] Issam Khalidi, “Body and
Ideology,” 44–58.
[17]Al-Difa’, 11 July 1946.
[18]Filastin, 20 August 1946.
[19]Al-Difa’, 22 August 1946.
[20] The original memorandum could not be found in the FIFA
archives. The author was able to obtain a copy of the memorandum from the Arab Studies Association in
Jerusalem, prior to its closure by Israeli occupation authorities in 2000.
Written in English by sports activists Livon
Kishishian, Ahmad Zuhair al-Afifi, and Fahd Abd al-Fattah, and paraphrased
here, the 10-page memorandum was based on strong arguments.
[21] It is clear that the
relations had deteriorated since the first days of the establishment of the
PFA.
[22] Rodolphe William Seeldrayers,
from Belgium, became the fourth president of FIFA, serving from 1954 to 1955,
and Arthur Drewry, from England, became its fifth president, serving from 1955
to 1961. In the decision made by the Congress of Luxembourg, Mr. Seeldrayers
and Mr. A. Drewry were designated by the Executive Committee to draft a report
on the Palestine question. This report was submitted to the Executive Committee
during its meeting in Glasgow, 9–10 May 1947, and approved by the committee.
The text was published in French.
[23] Report to the Committee dated
9 May 1947.
[24] FIFA Archive, Zurich, 5 May
1948.
[25] Issam Khalidi, One Hundred
Years of Football in Palestine (Amman: Dar al-Sharuk, 2013), 71.
[26] Issam Khalidi, “The
Destruction of Sports Infrastructure in Gaza,” 11 September 1924, online at www.hpalestinesports.net/2024/09/the-destruction-of-sports.html
(accessed 26 April 2025). From the early 1950s, the UN Relief and
Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) also established service centers in
Jabaliya, Rafah, Khan Yunis, al-Shati’, al-Nusayrat, al-Burayj, and al-Maghazi,
which became clubs with their own teams, participating in local and Arab
championships and playing a leading role in the development of sports in the
Strip.
[27] Khalidi, One Hundred Years
of Football in Palestine, 103–4.
[28] Khalidi, One
Hundred Year of Football in Palestine, 100– 101.
[29] Luis
Henrique Rolim Silva and Hans-Dieter Gerber, “Our Games. The Pan-Arab Games (1953–1965),”
International
Journal of the History of Sport29, no. 15 (2012): 2099–114.
[30] FIFA
Archive, Zurich, A letter from PSF to FIFA, 23 August, 1963.
[31] FIFA Archive, Zurich, 23
November, 1964.
[32] FIFA Archive, Zurich, 30
November 1964.
[33] FIFA Archive, Zurich, 30
November 1964.
[34] FIFA Archive, Zurich, 2
December 1964.
[35] FIFA Archive, Zurich, 24
December 1964.
[36] FIFA Archive, Zurich, 9
February 1965.
[37] FIFA Archive, Zurich,
telegram dated 28 May, 1965.
[38] FIFA Archive, Zurich, 10
February 1966.
[39] FIFA Archive, letter to FIFA,
3 May 1966.
[40] After the move of the PLO to
Tunis, the headquarters of PFA moved to Syria and then to the Tunis.
[41] FIFA’s Archive, Zurich,
“Letter from FIFA to Palestine Football Federation,” 1 June 1995.
[42] “Minutes of the 51st Ordinary
Congress, held at the Equinox Hall, Paris, France, 7 June 1998, at 16.00 hours,
8 June 1998 at 09.30 hours. The Deputy General Secretary said that it had been
decided at meeting no. 11 of the Executive Committee in Zurich on 27 May 1998
to propose to the Congress that full FIFA membership be granted to the
following national associations, in compliance with the statutory provisions
regarding the admission of national associations applying for membership
(articles 3 to 5 of the Statutes and 1 to 3 of the Regulations governing the
Application of the Statutes).”
[43] M. Akehurst, A Modern
Instruction to International Law (London: Routledge, 1987), cited in
Francis A. Boyle, Palestine, Palestinians, and International Law (Atlanta,
GA: Clarity Press, 2003), 31.
[44] “FIFA Statutes, September
2020 edition,” online at digitalhub.fifa.com/m/4b2bac74655c7c13/original/viz2gmyb5x0pd24qrhrx-pdf.pdf
(accessed 26 April 2025).
[45] “FIFA,” New World
Encyclopedia, online at
www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/FIFA#:~:text=The%20continental%20Confederations%20are%20provided%20for%20in%20FIFA%C2%B4s,competitions%20%28with%20a%20few%20geographic%20exceptions%20listed%20below%29%3A
(accessed 26 April 2025).
[46] See M. Akehurst, a Modern Introduction to International Law 53 (4th e. 1982). Quoted from Francis Boyle, Palestine, Palestinians, and International Law (Atlanta, GA: Clarity Press, 2003), 31.
[47] Francis Boyle, Palestine, Palestinians, and International Law (Atlanta, GA: Clarity Press, 2003), 31.
[48] State of Palestine - Simple
English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[49] Parliamentary Question, 5 October 2017 Parliamentary question | Legality of UEFA football clubs in Israeli settlements | E-006285/2017 | European Parliament
[50] Middle East Eye, 25 July 2024 Paris 2024: Olympics begins under shadow of Israeli obliteration of Palestinian sport | Middle East Eye
[51] Inside World Football, 25 March 2024 Palestine FA sends FIFA agenda item calling for Israel to be sanctioned at May Congress - Inside World Football
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