FIFA is reportedly considering a proposal for Israel and Palestine to play the opening match of its inaugural under-15 football festival in the United States later this year.
According to The Athletic, a sports news website owned by The New York Times, FIFA is proposing that the opening match of the new youth tournament should be between the Israeli and Palestinian under-15 teams. The plan remains uncertain and it is not yet clear whether either side will agree to take part.
The proposed fixture would mark a highly symbolic, and potentially contentious, move by FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who failed in April to secure a handshake between Palestinian Football Association (PFA) President Jibril Rajoub and Israel Football Association Vice President Basim Sheikh Suliman at FIFA’s annual congress in Vancouver.
The Athletic reported that Rajoub and Suliman had addressed delegates separately before Infantino invited them back on stage in an apparent attempt to bring them together. The effort failed, with Rajoub reportedly pleading: “We are suffering!”
The tense exchange ended without a handshake or joint photograph. Infantino then appeared to refer to the planned youth festival as a possible route towards a public gesture of unity.
