Switzerland’s government joined forces with FIFA on Thursday, pledging 120,000 Swiss francs ($149,000) to help build community football fields in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
FIFA, headquartered in Zurich, said the funding from Switzerland’s Foreign Affairs Ministry will “enable the construction of the facilities and support a broader, long-term commitment to restoring access to football across the region.”
The organization did not explain how or why access to local fields had been lost.
The fields, known as “FIFA Arena” sites, are designed to be “safe, durable spaces for communities that lack access to sport,” the football body said. The first two mini-pitches will be paired with a training program for children, aimed at creating safe spaces for play that foster inclusion and personal development.
Eight additional pitches are planned for installation in Israel and the Palestinian territories as part of the global FIFA Arena project. FIFA said 30 mini-fields in 15 countries have opened since March.
“FIFA expresses its deep gratitude to the Swiss government for this important contribution and looks forward to continuing this shared effort to restore, rebuild and bring hope — one pitch at a time,” President Gianni Infantino said.
Infantino attended a global summit last month in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, on the future of Gaza, where he committed FIFA to “help rebuild all football facilities in Gaza and Palestine” and to bring football back “to every corner of the country.”
FIFA is also reviewing two formal complaints filed by the Palestinian football federation against Israeli football.
In October last year, FIFA asked its disciplinary panel to study allegations of discrimination by the Israeli football federation. Its governance committee also was asked to assess whether teams from Israeli settlements in the West Bank competing in national leagues violate FIFA statutes.
No timetable has been set for the panels to report back. FIFA’s next congress of its 211 member associations is scheduled for April 30 in Vancouver, Canada.
