February 4 – FIFA believe they are making progress in an effort to break the footballing impasse between Israel and Palestine and improve the long-term problem of access for officials, competitors and equipment to and from the latter.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter will once again travel to the region in April in a bid to improve relations between the two sides.
Last year FIFA set up a mediation Task Force and the latest meeting this week, chaired by Blatter, was attended by both the head of the Israeli FA, Avi Luzon (pictured right), and his Palestinian counterpart, Jibril Al Rajoub (pictured left), as well as representatives from the Asian Football Confederation and UEFA.
“I’m pleased by the progress made by both associations in the past months,” said Blatter who hopes the two sides will sign a cooperation agreement at or around the FIFA Congress in June.
“I remain confident that further important steps will be taken in the near future in order to reach a good solution for the development of football in Israel and Palestine.”
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