The Palestinian Football Association attacks FIFA: more than a thousand martyrs and destroyed stadiums, where is the justice?

The Palestinian Football Association has levelled unprecedented criticism at FIFA, holding world football's governing body responsible for the continued disregard of the suffering of Palestinian football. Repeated postponement of decisions no longer reflects neutrality, the PFA insisted, but has contributed to the persistence of violations and the undermining of trust in the game's system. The future of Palestinian football now faces an existential threat, the statement warned, demanding that FIFA's regulations be applied to all associations and clubs without exception or submission to political pressure.

According to the PFA, the growing debate among FIFA's member associations over transparency, governance and accountability comes at a pivotal stage in the history of world football.

Twice since 2015 the association had granted its trust to FIFA's current leadership, it explained, out of its belief that genuine reform rests on the consistent application of the federation's regulations, respect for the rights of all member associations, equality in dignity among them and governance grounded in principles rather than short-term interests.

Throughout these years, the statement added, the Palestinian association had acted in a constructive spirit, respected every FIFA procedure and awaited the fulfilment of promises. The reality proved entirely different for Palestinian football.

Unprecedented losses for Palestinian football

Palestinian football has suffered unprecedented destruction amid the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, the statement affirmed, and the football system has sustained catastrophic losses.

More than 1,013 players, coaches, referees, administrators and members of the Palestinian football family have been martyred, it explained. Pitches, training centres and sports infrastructure have been systematically destroyed, threatening the future of an entire generation of Palestinian players.

Domestic competitions have halted, the association noted, and the national teams cannot play their matches on their own soil, unlike the rest of FIFA's member associations.

Fifteen years of postponement

Despite the passage of more than fifteen years, the PFA stressed, the core issues put before FIFA remain stuck between reviews, reports and postponements, at a time when Palestinian football faces an existential threat.

Many today are questioning FIFA's commercial direction, the association added, and whether the most important football assets should be treated as financial instruments. It considers these questions legitimate, but not the essence of the matter for Palestine.

The real question, the PFA affirmed, is whether FIFA still possesses the courage to apply its regulations to everyone equally, without hesitation or submission to political pressure.

"Postponement is no longer neutrality"

Repeated postponements were not a form of neutrality, the statement affirmed, but contributed to the continuation of violations on the ground. Every decision that was postponed allowed conditions to worsen and weakened member associations' trust in the FIFA system.

Clubs from settlements established on occupied Palestinian territories embody this most clearly, it added, continuing to compete while their numbers rise and FIFA carries on deliberating. The Palestinian association considers this evidence of a failure to apply the regulations and to protect the territorial integrity of member associations.

Silence in the face of what it described as the genocide being committed in full view of the world amounts to complicity, the statement affirmed.

Recent initiatives to develop football in the Gaza Strip also drew criticism from the PFA. They were carried out through a political, non-footballing body and without the involvement of the Palestinian Football Association, it explained, an overstepping of FIFA's institutional principles that reinforced concerns about respect for the federation's working mechanisms.

Demands for reform of FIFA's leadership

Palestinian football can no longer bear more promises instead of actions, the statement stressed. With the debate over the future of FIFA's leadership under way, member associations are demanding greater transparency, accountability and democratic governance, demands Palestine says it has been making for more than fifteen years.

The issue is not the identity of whoever leads FIFA, the association affirmed, but the extent of the federation's readiness to lead according to the principles it advocates.

The threat facing Palestinian football has become existential, the statement concluded, and time no longer allows for further postponement. It demanded that the violating party be held accountable and that FIFA's regulations be applied without fear or favour.

Restoring the credibility of world football requires transparent, democratic leadership, it added, one that protects the rights of all member associations on an equal footing and defends the values on which the game was founded.

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