March 21 – Palestine wants FIFA to expedite its investigation into Israeli settlement clubs operating in the West Bank with a view to the organisation’s Council making a final decision.
Ahead of the 75th FIFA Congress in Paraguay in May, the Palestinian FA have written to Zurich taking up the issue of Israeli settlement clubs once more. The Palestinians want the item to be on the agenda in Asuncion.
The PFA invokes the territorial integrity of member associations in article 11.1 of the FIFA Statutes as well as the territorial approval by members associations in articles 64.2 and 65 of the FIFA Statutes. The Palestinians also argue that FIFA’s Human Rights Policy commits to internationally recognised human rights and expects compliance from member associations.
The PFA point to international law and the UNGA Resolution of September 18, 2024 that called on Israel to end its occupation and dismantle settlements.
FIFA has long been confronted with the issue of Israeli settlement clubs, but in 2017 FIFA president Gianni Infantino and his Council disregarded the findings of the report by the FIFA Monitoring Committee, led by Tokyo Sexwale, declaring the matter “closed” and that it “will not be the subject of any further discussion until the legal and/or de facto framework has changed.”
Last year, the PFA wrote to FIFA demanding Zurich consider ‘appropriate’ sanctions against the Israeli Football Association (IFA) and its clubs because of “unprecedented international human rights and humanitarian law violations” in the war on Gaza following the October 7 terrorist attacks.
This time the PFA argues that FIFA has no justification to further delay taking a decision and that the global governing body must uphold its statutes and human rights commitments.
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