Israel Football Association
Eretz Israel) 14 May 1948 (Israel) | |
---|---|
Headquarters | Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv District, Israel |
FIFA affiliation | 17 May 1929[1] |
UEFA affiliation | 1991 | /1994
Chairman | Moshe Zuares |
Website | www |
The Israel Football Association (IFA; Hebrew: ההתאחדות לכדורגל בישראל, HaHit'aḥdut leKaduregel beIsrael, lit. 'The Association of Football in Israel') is the governing body of football in Israel. It organizes a variety of association football leagues where the highest level is the Israeli Premier League; as well as national cups such as the Israel State Cup, the Toto Cup, and the Israel Super Cup; also, the Israel national football team. The IFA was founded in 1928 as the Palestine (Eretz Israel) Football Association and is based in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. The Association is controversial due to its inclusion of clubs playing in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.[2][3]
History
The Palestine Football Association (PFA) or Eretz Israel Football Association, was founded in a meeting held on 14 August 1928,[4][5] and applied for membership of FIFA. It was admitted provisionally on 17 December 1928, affiliated on 17 May 1929 and recognised by FIFA's government on 6 July 1929. The PFA changed its name to the Israel Football Association (IFA) following the founding of the state of Israel in 1948.[1]
The IFA was a member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) from 1954 until 1974, when it was expelled due to political pressure from Arab and Muslim members that refused to play against Israel. From then until 1992, the IFA was not affiliated with any confederation. During this period, the Israeli national teams played only in FIFA competitions and occasionally in OFC (Oceania), UEFA (Europe), and CONMEBOL (South America) qualifying tournaments.[citation needed]
In 1992, the IFA was admitted to UEFA as an associate member, becoming a full member two years later. Since 1992, Israeli clubs have played in the various UEFA club competitions, while the national teams have played in UEFA championships.
Controversy
As of 2017, the IFA included six member clubs playing in Israeli settlements in the West Bank. These are Maccabi Ariel indoor football club and Ariel municipal football club in
German sportswear company
StandWithUs, a Israel advocacy group in the US, criticized calls for a boycott stating that "Sports are supposed to unite and bring people together, BDS drives them apart."[18]
Awards and recognition
In 1979, Yosef Yekutieli, the founder of the IFA, was awarded the Israel Prize "for dedicating his life to promoting and laying the international foundation of Israeli sports."[19]
See also
References
- ^ a b "Member Association - Israel". FIFA. Archived from the original on November 20, 2007. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
- ^ a b Bashi, Sari (10 January 2017). "Fifa must take strong stance against Israeli settlement clubs". ibtimes. International Business Times. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
- ^ a b Bashi, Sari (10 January 2017). "FIFA Must Take Strong Stance Against Israeli Settlement Clubs". HRW. Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
- ^ An Establishment Meeting for a E.I. Sportive Association Do'ar HaYom, 5 August 1928, Historical Jewish Press (in Hebrew)
- ^ In the World of Sport Davar, 31 August 1928, Historical Jewish Press (in Hebrew)
- ^ a b "Israel/Palestine: FIFA Sponsoring Games on Seized Land: Israeli Settlement Football Clubs Contribute to Human Rights Violations". HRW. Human Rights Watch. 25 September 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
- ^ Fasayil Village Profile p. 17, ARIJ
- ^ Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (21 March 2018). "More than 130 Palestinian Sports Clubs Urge Adidas to End Sponsorship of Israel Football Association Over Settlement Teams". BDS Movement. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
- ^ "Tell Adidas: No Fair Play on Stolen Land". BDS Movement. 12 March 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
- ^ a b "Petition handed to Adidas: No fair play on stolen land!". BDS Nederland. 29 June 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
- ^ Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (31 July 2018). "Team Justice Scores. Adidas No Longer Sponsoring Israel Football Association". BDS Movement. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
- ^ "Global Campaign: Boycott Puma". BDS Movement. 26 March 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
- ^ Khattab, Aya. "Puma keeps helping Israel sports-wash its human rights abuses". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
- ^ Sarsak, Mahmoud (10 September 2020). "Tell Puma that if it opposes racism, then it must oppose the Israeli occupation". Mondoweiss. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
- ^ Bloomfield, Aubrey (13 June 2019). "Why Palestinians are calling for a boycott of Puma". Mondoweiss. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
- ^ "'Boycott Puma' BDS posters removed from London trains". Middle East Monitor. 25 October 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
- ^ "Malaysia's University Boycotts Puma for Supporting Israeli Violations". Shehaben. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
- ^ Beck, Eldad; Israel Hayom Staff. "BDS urges boycott of German sportswear giant Puma over ties with Israel". Israel Hayom. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
- ^ Sport, Politics and Society in Israel: The First Fifty-five Years
External links
- Official website (in Hebrew and English)
- Israel at FIFA site
- Israel at UEFA site