Menu
International Football

FIFA President Sepp Blatter Pushing For Peace Match Between Israel And Palestine

FIFA President Sepp Blatter said Tuesday that he is on a "mission of peace" to resolve tensions between the Israeli and Palestinian football federations, according to Aron Heller of the AP. As part of his vision of using sports as a "bridge between people, Blatter proposed holding a peace match in Zurich between the Israeli and Palestinian national teams." Seated alongside Blatter, Israeli FA President Ofer Eini "immediately accepted the offer." But the main issue bringing the FIFA president to the region "appeared to remain unresolved." Blatter met with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday following a Palestinian bid to suspend Israel from FIFA. Blatter is scheduled to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Wednesday and has "repeatedly said he would not disclose details of his conversations with Netanyahu before that time" (AP, 5/19). The AFP reported Israel FA CEO Rotem Kamer said Tuesday that a Palestinian attempt to oust it from FIFA was "cynical" and "counter to the spirit of sport." Kamer said that the Palestinian demand had "nothing to do with sports." He said, "We see it as a clear mix of politics and football, something which should not find a place in the FIFA Congress" (AFP, 5/19). REUTERS' Luke Baker reported while Palestinian officials "emphasize that there is nothing political about their move," it raises parallels with FIFA's suspension of apartheid South Africa in the '60s and Slobodan Milosevic's Yugoslavia in the '90s, making it a "highly emotive issue with ramifications that go far beyond sports." The Palestinians have raised "three major complaints: that Palestinian players and officials are routinely restricted in their movement, making it difficult to play matches;" that five clubs play in the Israeli league that are located in settlements in the Palestinian territories; and that the IFA is "turning a blind eye to racism" (REUTERS, 5/19).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Global/Issues/2015/05/20/International-Football/Israel-Palestine.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Global/Issues/2015/05/20/International-Football/Israel-Palestine.aspx

CLOSE