Toronto activists demand Israel’s expulsion from FIFA at World Cup opener

Activists unfurled a banner reading “Kick Israel out of FIFA” near a busy Toronto thoroughfare on Friday morning before Canada’s opening match at the World Cup. The banner was draped over a billboard welcoming FIFA to the city, and covered the organization’s logo. Demonstrators wore shirts reading “Jews say no to genocide.”

The activists also hung up posters calling for the release of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya and Natalie Abu Dayyeh. Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya is the director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza who was abducted by the Israeli Defense Forces in December 2024. UN experts have called for his release after reports of “severe torture” while in Israeli custody. Natalie Abu Dayyeh is a member of the Palestinian women’s national football team who was arrested by Israeli forces following a raid on her student accommodations in the occupied West Bank on June 2. A second member of the women’s national football team, Rand Halawani, is also currently detained by Israel.

Faisal Ibrahim, a spokesperson for the activists, told new outlet The Maple: “While people are paying attention to the games, I think it’s important for them to also be aware of the institutional complicity of organizations that are holding these games. While they claim not to be political in nature, they actually serve a role to normalize erasure and occupation through sports washing Israel’s image.”

The activists accused FIFA of facilitating and broadcasting matches played by Israeli league clubs on illegally occupied Palestinian land. “This constitutes de facto recognition of illegal annexation and a collapse of the rulebook FIFA claims to uphold.”

Amnesty International has said that FIFA’s refusal to take action against the Israeli Football Association (IFA) over the participation of clubs based in illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) flouts international law. According to Amnesty International, there are at least six football clubs based in the OPT currently playing games in Israeli leagues. Article 64.2 of FIFA’s statutes states that “member associations and their clubs may not play on the territory of another member association without the latter’s approval.” The Palestine Football Association is a member association of FIFA.

In advance of Canada’s home opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina, thousands of BiH fans marched through the streets of Toronto chanting “Free Palestine.”