FIFA
FIFA
From Airstrikes to Stadiums: How FIFA and the Board of Peace are Failing Palestinians
From Airstrikes to Stadiums: How FIFA and the Board of Peace are Failing Palestinians
Two years ago, Israel first struck Gaza, beginning its genocide of Palestine. Amidst continuous Israeli airstrikes, the beauty of the Gaza Strip is being reduced to rubble and ashes. Millions of Palestinians are no longer with us, and more are dying each day.
While Palestinians mourn the loss of their livelihoods, global leaders continue to dismiss what is now becoming a burial ground.
In early February, FIFA and the Board of Peace signed a landmark partnership to source investment from international institutions. Four international leaders signed the agreement to establish a program framework: the FIFA President Gianni Infantino, the Gaza Executive Board of Peace member Yakir Gabay, the Chief Commissioner of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza Ali Shaath and the High Representative for Gaza H.E Nickolay Mladenov.
The program framework is separated into four phases: Phase 1: Activate community development within a 3 to 6-month period, Phase 2: Build professional infrastructure within 12 months, Phase 3: Launch the FIFA academy within an 18 to 36-month period and Phase 4: Build a national stadium that hosts sports and cultural events within an 18 to 36-month period.
FIFA is the main contributor, promoting the comprehensive recovery framework through an AI-generated video that discusses how there is one language capable of uniting hearts: football. The institution is investing $75 million in the comprehensive recovery framework for Gaza that includes 50 mini-pitches, full-size pitches, a youth academy and a stadium with 20,000 seats. They believe that infrastructure development will revitalize the economy and contribute to a more peaceful world through the “power of football.”
In Gaza, citizens are struggling to access food, water, air, electricity and a stable infrastructure. Palestinians do not need a football stadium when they cannot obtain basic human necessities.
The priorities of global leaders are misplaced. The focus on stadiums and pitches should be redirected toward building homes, markets, schools, health facilities, roads and sewage systems. We must instill hope in Palestinians by providing them with a home once again. The citizens are not thinking about football because they are preoccupied with surviving the day.
Leaders say they are recovering the land, but how could football possibly be the solution?
The bodies of innocent people are woven into the ground of the Gaza Strip. Their lives were taken, and now they deserve to rest after witnessing the destruction of their homeland. Instead, they are being trampled by the construction of football stadiums.
The FIFA program is not for the people of Gaza. FIFA’s goal is to involve as many people worldwide as possible in their game to achieve their goal of installing 1,000 mini pitches globally by 2030. Millions of dollars that could rebuild Gaza are wasted because our leaders do not see Palestinians as people. They are treated as pawns to elevate the world of football.
A single sport is not a universal language of the people. The real language we should be speaking challenges the idea that Palestinians can be dismissed.
We must continue to have “all eyes on Gaza” and fight for an end to the genocide. According to FIFA and the Board of Peace, the partnership reflects their commitment to peacebuilding. In actuality, they are furthering corruption by building football infrastructure on the bodies of innocent lives that were stolen.
Two years ago, Israel first struck Gaza, beginning its genocide of Palestine. Amidst continuous Israeli airstrikes, the beauty of the Gaza Strip is being reduced to rubble and ashes. Millions of Palestinians are no longer with us, and more are dying each day.
While Palestinians mourn the loss of their livelihoods, global leaders continue to dismiss what is now becoming a burial ground.
In early February, FIFA and the Board of Peace signed a landmark partnership to source investment from international institutions. Four international leaders signed the agreement to establish a program framework: the FIFA President Gianni Infantino, the Gaza Executive Board of Peace member Yakir Gabay, the Chief Commissioner of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza Ali Shaath and the High Representative for Gaza H.E Nickolay Mladenov.
The program framework is separated into four phases: Phase 1: Activate community development within a 3 to 6-month period, Phase 2: Build professional infrastructure within 12 months, Phase 3: Launch the FIFA academy within an 18 to 36-month period and Phase 4: Build a national stadium that hosts sports and cultural events within an 18 to 36-month period.
FIFA is the main contributor, promoting the comprehensive recovery framework through an AI-generated video that discusses how there is one language capable of uniting hearts: football. The institution is investing $75 million in the comprehensive recovery framework for Gaza that includes 50 mini-pitches, full-size pitches, a youth academy and a stadium with 20,000 seats. They believe that infrastructure development will revitalize the economy and contribute to a more peaceful world through the “power of football.”
In Gaza, citizens are struggling to access food, water, air, electricity and a stable infrastructure. Palestinians do not need a football stadium when they cannot obtain basic human necessities.
The priorities of global leaders are misplaced. The focus on stadiums and pitches should be redirected toward building homes, markets, schools, health facilities, roads and sewage systems. We must instill hope in Palestinians by providing them with a home once again. The citizens are not thinking about football because they are preoccupied with surviving the day.
Leaders say they are recovering the land, but how could football possibly be the solution?
The bodies of innocent people are woven into the ground of the Gaza Strip. Their lives were taken, and now they deserve to rest after witnessing the destruction of their homeland. Instead, they are being trampled by the construction of football stadiums.
The FIFA program is not for the people of Gaza. FIFA’s goal is to involve as many people worldwide as possible in their game to achieve their goal of installing 1,000 mini pitches globally by 2030. Millions of dollars that could rebuild Gaza are wasted because our leaders do not see Palestinians as people. They are treated as pawns to elevate the world of football.
A single sport is not a universal language of the people. The real language we should be speaking challenges the idea that Palestinians can be dismissed.
We must continue to have “all eyes on Gaza” and fight for an end to the genocide. According to FIFA and the Board of Peace, the partnership reflects their commitment to peacebuilding. In actuality, they are furthering corruption by building football infrastructure on the bodies of innocent lives that were stolen.