Israel Football Association backs proposed match with Palestinians

Palestinian Football Association head Jibril Rajoub, who is also a senior Fatah official, said that he had not received a U.S. visa to attend the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

By Joshua Marks, JNS

The Israel Football Association said on Tuesday it would welcome a proposed symbolic match against a Palestinian team, following reports that FIFA is considering the fixture as the opening game of a new under-15 tournament in the United States in September.

“The initiative is known to us and is welcomed,” the association said in a statement to JNS, adding that chairman Shino Zoaretz has consistently supported using soccer to promote “reconciliation, normalization and peace.”

The association said it would agree to a meeting “at any place and at any time,” expressing hope for a willing partner on the Palestinian side.

The response follows reporting that FIFA is weighing the match as part of a planned youth competition open to all 211 member associations, including Russia, which remains barred from senior-level play.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has sought to use the sport to promote unity, though a similar effort at the 76th FIFA Congress in April faltered when Palestinian Football Association head Jibril Rajoub refused to stand alongside or shake the hand of Israel Football Association Vice President Basim Sheikh Suliman during a tense moment at the event in Vancouver, Canada.

Both officials were invited to the stage by Infantino, who attempted to bring them together.

Rajoub declined to move closer to Suliman despite Infantino placing a hand on his arm and gesturing for him to do so, Reuters reported at the time.

Suliman is an Israeli Arab official who represents Israeli soccer in international forums such as FIFA and UEFA, where he has taken part in discussions involving Israeli and Palestinian soccer relations.

Rajoub, who is also a senior Fatah official, said on June 12 that he had not received a U.S. visa to attend the 2026 FIFA World Cup currently underway in host countries Canada, Mexico and the United States.

The P.A. team failed to qualify for the World Cup, but FIFA typically invites football association heads from around the world to the tournament, Rajoub told the Associated Press.