Under pressure from FIFA and UEFA, Palestinian soccer pitch saved from planned Israeli demolition

By Zeena Saifi, Abeer Salman, Christina Macfarlane, CNN

(CNN) — A Palestinian soccer pitch in the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem has been spared from a planned Israeli demolition order following international pressure, according to sources who spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity.

The president of global soccer governing body FIFA, Gianni Infantino, and his counterpart at Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), Aleksandr Čeferin, as well as Swiss officials have stepped in to save the pitch in the Aida Refugee Camp through lobbying Israeli officials, according to a source close to UEFA.

According to a UEFA statement sent to CNN, Čeferin had been in touch with the president of the Israel Football Association (IFA), Moshe Zuares, to preserve the soccer pitch and thanked him “for his efforts to help protect the site from demolition.”

“We hope the pitch can continue to serve the local community as a safe space for children and youth,” the European soccer governing body’s statement said.

An IFA official told CNN its president was asked by UEFA to speak to the necessary authorities and asked them to hold the decision to demolish the pitch.

It has been halted for now but “a solution to the legal dispute will need to be addressed,” the IFA source added.

On December 31, the Israeli military issued a demolition order for the Aida Camp playground on allegations it was built illegally, according to a social media post from the Aida Youth Center.

CCTV footage posted by the center shows soldiers approaching the camp’s fence and sticking the order onto the gate. At the time, the center said the decision would “deprive hundreds of children … of their right to play and learn,” adding that it is part of Israel’s “ongoing targeting of sports, civic facilities and Palestinian hope.”

Aida is home to just over 7,000 Palestinian refugees, according to 2023 figures from the UN. The camp stands adjacent to Israel’s massive concrete wall built in the West Bank.

Due to its proximity to the separation barrier, the camp had been isolated from the surrounding recreational area, prompting the building of the playground and soccer pitch for children to enjoy, the UN said.

In response to the news, the center said in a statement that it welcomed FIFA and UEFA’s intervention, but that “the situation remains uncertain and that the threat to the pitch remains alive” as it has yet to receive official confirmation from Israeli officials that the order has been suspended.

“This is a huge step forward. But let’s be clear: our fight is NOT over,” the statement continued. “We fear that Israel will wait for international pressure to die down and then reactivate the demolition order.”

The center said that, until it receives official confirmation, its campaign to save the pitch will continue, as its children “deserve to play football with the peace of mind that the army will not come destroy their field at any moment.”

The source close to UEFA – a former adviser to the Middle East Peace Envoy working with Swiss officials – told CNN that soccer “in this time is political,” therefore UEFA and FIFA’s choices are political.

“Their choice to actively save the Aida camp’s football pitch shows that football has the power to wade into politics, tackle injustice and side with humanity,” the source said.

A social media campaign to save the camp’s soccer pitch was launched shortly after Israel’s demolition order was issued, including several petitions signed online. YouTube star and children’s educator Rachel Accurso, known to millions as “Ms. Rachel,” held a live video call with the camp’s children on Monday, promising to do what she can to support them.

Projected on a television screen in front of the separation barrier, Ms. Rachel told the children that she will do everything she can to save the field, saying “every child has the right to play soccer.”

In response to the news, she told CNN she “cried tears of joy for the children,” saying the announcement is a “big win for children’s rights everywhere.”

“I can’t fathom why anyone would destroy something that means so much to children in such a difficult situation already. Children have human rights, and one of them is to play – another one is to be heard,” she added.

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