By Mark Baber
June 2 – Palestine’s national football team won their first ever international trophy on Friday – lifting the Asia Challenge Cup in the Maldives after defeating the Philippines 1-0. The win secures a place in next year’s AFC Asia Cup to be held in Australia and underlines the urgency of FIFA efforts to ensure an accommodation is reached between Israel and Palestine in order to allow Palestinian football to be played, let alone blossom.
Jibril Al-Rajoub, chairman of the Palestine Football Association, hailed Palestine’s victory saying: “Congratulations to our people, Palestine today is proud of such an historical achievement.”
For Palestinians, most of whom have spent their whole lives in exile or under occupation, the victory is especially sweet and also marks a moment of national reconciliation, as the rival Hamas and Fatah movements, in charge of Gaza and the West Bank move toward a government of national unity.
As the Palestinians increasingly take up a role in international organisations, the pressure on Israel to recognise Palestinian rights is growing and, in football, restrictions on the movement of Palestinian players and those coming to play in Palestinian tournaments, such as those witnessed as the recent Al-Nakba tournament was staged in the West Bank, become increasingly difficult to justify.
FIFA has engaged actively with the issue, supporting the rights of Palestinians to play football and to travel to train for the national team and setting up a FIFA task force to address the issue. On the other hand, FIFA President Sepp Blatter last week stated; “I separate politics and sport.” and has resisted the calls for sanctions to be applied against the Israeli Football Association, calling upon both sides to sign a Memorandum of Understanding to allow Palestinians the freedom of movement to develop their national game.
Speaking in Jerusalem, Blatter addressed calls for sanctions against Israel saying, “I don’t know on what items the FIFA Congress should take action against the IFA [Israel Football Association], if they are [acting] according to the statutes and regulations of FIFA. So far, we haven’t seen any breach of regulations… until then, who could take action against somebody who is a good member of FIFA? I can tell you that your federation is a good standing member.”
FIFA will be hoping an agreement between the two sides can be adopted as soon as possible, in order to stave off the growing likelihood of a showdown between supports of Palestine and Israel (including at the upcoming FIFA congress in Sao Paulo) over efforts to expel Israel from international football until the Israeli government gives assurances its interference will cease.
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