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The Palestinian Football Association (PFA) will present a motion at the FIFA Congress in Bangkok in May. The motion calls for “appropriate sanctions to be taken against Israeli teams with immediate effect”. The initiative is the result of a letter from the PFA to FIFA in March. The Congress is being held in Bangkok.
The motion calls for “appropriate sanctions, with immediate effect, against Israeli teams, including national and club teams, for violations of international law committed by the Israeli occupation in Palestine, particularly in Gaza”. It follows a letter sent by the PFA to FIFA in March.
Such a motion would require the first ever debate on the Gaza conflict at a major sports governing body conference. It will be one of the main items on the agenda at the annual meeting in Bangkok, but not the only one. FIFA will also consider hosting the 2027 Women’s World Cup and a plan to combat racism.
The Palestinian Football Association (PFA) accuses its Israeli counterpart, the IFA, of violating FIFA statutes by recognising clubs based in the occupied territories and of failing to take “decisive action against discrimination and racism in the areas under its jurisdiction.”
“Only in Israeli football can a club openly prevent Arabs from joining its ranks, and serious violence is treated only as a disciplinary offence,” the PFA statement said. It singled out Beitar Jerusalem, which it said had never signed an Arab player.
The proposal was supported by the Algerian, Iraqi, Jordanian, Syrian and Yemeni football federations. It was not supported by Qatar or Saudi Arabia. The creation of new FIFA committees, “including seven for women’s football”, and the selection of the host of the 2027 Women’s World Cup will also be on the agenda in Bangkok.
There is a joint European bid from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. They will be competing against the United States and Mexico, who hosted last year’s men’s tournament alongside Canada. The last World Cup was held in Australia and New Zealand. Spain won the tournament and will defend their title in 2027.
Para Panam Games Santiago 2023 Photos
When British skaters Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean won the Olympic gold medal in ice dance at Sarajevo 1984 with 12 perfect 6.0s from every judge, for their interpretation of Maurice Ravel’s Boléro, an important member of their team was singer-actor Michael Crawford. Crawford, who had played Frank Spencer in British sitcom Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em and the title role in the musical The Phantom of the Opera, had become a mentor to the pair in 1981 and went on to help them create their Olympic routine. Crawford said he “taught them how to act”. He was present with their trainer Betty Callaway at the ringside at Sarajevo as they created one of the most iconic moments in Olympic history.
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Pierre de Coubertin once said cricket has “practically no appeal for those who are not British”. While he expressed doubts about the Olympic viability of cricket, lacrosse and baseball, Philip Barker wonders how the man who helped revive the modern Games would have reacted to new sports at Los Angeles 2028.
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