Issam Khalidi
Whenever Palestine
succeeds at the international level, it is undoubtedly a thorn in the side of
Israel. Consequently, after Palestine was admitted as a member of the
International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), there have been a
number of opinions that have been raised that question and criticize the
legitimacy of Palestine's membership in FIFA. According to these opinions, Palestine
is not an independent country and therefore it is not in a position to apply
for membership in FIFA as well as other international sports organizations.
Despite these
claims, there are international laws and documents that refute these claims.
These laws prove that Palestine has full rights to join FIFA. It is worth
noting that since the early 1950s to the late 1980s, Palestine's application to
become a FIFA member has been rejected several times.[1] Palestinians were granted provisional
membership by FIFA in 1995, and in June 1998, Palestine became a fully
affiliated member of FIFA.
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.[2]
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.[3]
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.[4] 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.[5]
As a
non-governmental organization, FIFA is legally obliged to accept membership
applications for states that want to join, but the reality is a process that is
deliberately complex and tiresome, seemingly with the intention of dissuading
countries from applying in the first place.[6]
FIFA's membership
includes football associations from regions that are not independent countries.
For instance, the United Kingdom, Scotland, Wales, England, and Northern
Ireland, each with its football association, are FIFA members, despite the UK
being a single UN member. Similarly, US territories like Puerto Rico and Guam
have separate FIFA memberships. FIFA's inclusivity extends to partially
recognized or unrecognized states such as Kosovo, highlighting its autonomy in
sports governance.[7]
The
United Nations, an international organization focused on global diplomacy and
policy, has 195 member countries, including 193 member states and two observer
states: the Holy See and the State of Palestine. The UN's membership is
exclusive to sovereign states recognized internationally. This stringent
criterion underscores the UN's emphasis on political sovereignty and diplomatic
relations.[8]
FIFA has sometimes
been credited with yielding more influence over certain nations than the United
Nations.[9]
FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), the global governing
body for football (soccer), boasts 211 (218) member associations. Unlike the
UN, FIFA's membership criteria extend beyond political sovereignty. It encompasses
national football associations, which may represent territories or regions not
internationally recognized as independent countries.[10]
The Oslo Accords
The question in this context is to what extent
did the Oslo Accords (1993) contribute to accelerating Palestine's admission to FIFA?
If the Oslo Accords had not been signed, would Palestine's application have
been rejected or postponed further?
It is
well known that the Palestinian Authority gained political significance after
its establishment as an interim governing body in 1993. The result of this was
that FIFA as well as other international organizations viewed Palestine as a
sovereign state and as a nation. "The Palestinian Liberation Organization
[after the signing of the Oslo Accord in 1993 and the establishment of the
Palestinian Authority] has evolved from a revolutionary group seeking change
through armed struggle into a global political power whose survival depends
more on its legitimacy in the eyes of the international community than on the
popularity of its Palestinian supporters," writes author Hani Al-Masri.[11]
Due to
the fact that Palestine has now joined FIFA (as well as the International
Olympic Committee), it appears that the Oslo Accords have facilitated and
accelerated Palestine's accession to the FIFA. This view does not appear to be
supported by any convincing evidence, other than some seemingly credible
speculation based on some alleged views expressed by a select group of
politicians and intellectuals regarding the role of the Oslo Accords and the
effects they have on the Palestinian people. After the setbacks caused by these
agreements, there is a valid question that must be raised: Should we regard any
"positive" outcome of the Oslo Accords as a fait accompli as a result
of these agreements? This brings to mind what the late Palestinian intellectual
Edward Said wrote in an article for Al-Hayat newspaper in 1996.This article was
later included in his book The End of the Peace Process: Oslo and After:
I have
been criticized by respected friends like Dr. Haidar Abdel Shafi and others for
not being concerned enough with the problems of what needs to be done now in a
practical sense. Oslo, they say, is a reality, and we must learn how to live
and deal with it. To me this simply evade the main point, which is that
“reality” must be improved and changed, not accommodated to. [12]
It is true that
the Oslo Accords were a contributing factor to the accelerated admission of
Palestine to FIFA, but they were not the primary reason for that admission. A
number of other factors, such as historical, struggle-related, legal, and organizational factors have had a significant impact on this process.
[1] History of Palestine Sports: Palestine’s Bid to Join the International Football Association FIFA 1945–1998
[2] “FIFA Statutes,
September 2020 edition,” online at digitalhub.fifa.com/m/4b2bac74655c7c13/original/viz2gmyb5x0pd24qrhrx-pdf.pdf
(accessed 26 April 2025).
[3] 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.
[4] Francis Boyle, Palestine,
Palestinians, and International Law (Atlanta, GA: Clarity Press, 2003), 31.
[8]
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/united-nations-fifa-diverse-membership-criteria-global-luiz-rocha-sunif/
[9] “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).
[10]
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/united-nations-fifa-diverse-membership-criteria-global-luiz-rocha-sunif/
[11] Hani al-Masri, PLO Between Dying and Revival, Munazzamat Attahrir baina Alihtidar wa I’adat al-Hayah هاني المصري - منظمة التحرير بين الاحتضار و إعادة الحياة
[12] Edward Said, The End of The Peace Process, Oslo and After, (New York: Vintage Books, 2000) p. 67.
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