International soccer stars kick around in Israel

Israel and England prepare to square off in their match at Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem last month.

By EMANUEL MFOUKOU
Israel and England prepare to square off in their match (photo credit: Emanuel Mfoukou)
Israel and England prepare to square off in their match
(photo credit: Emanuel Mfoukou)
As June arrived, city streets across Israel were plastered with posters promoting the UEFA Under-21 Championship soccer tournament, held this year for the first time in Israel.
Soccer – mostly known as football in Israel – is “king” among Israeli sports fans, and public excitement mounted in anticipation of the nation hosting its most important international sporting event in decades – perhaps the biggest since the Paralympic Games in 1968. Besides being big soccer fans, Israelis also were buoyed by a sense of besting the relentless global campaign to isolate the Jewish state.
As the host nation, Israel was automatically allowed to field one of the eight teams participating in the European youth soccer competition. The other teams, which all had to survive qualifying rounds for the competition, were England, Germany, Holland, Italy, Norway, Russia and Spain.
The two-week tournament featured matches spread out over four cities – Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Netanya and Petah Tikva. Spruced up by recent renovations to now seat 22,000, the capital’s Teddy Stadium became the first arena in Israel to play host to the final of a major UEFA tournament.
UEFA, the Union of European Football Associations, oversees all soccer tournaments and championships across Europe.
The games kicked off on June 5 under a hot Israeli sun, with the opening game held between Israel and Norway, drawing close to 11,000 spectators. While most of the crowd was waving the local blueand- white colors, a large contingent of visitors showed up to hoist the Norwegian flag.
The games were launched by the former footballer and famed Israeli artist Eyal Golan, of Yemenite and Moroccan Jewish descent, who performed the official UEFA Under- 21 song, “Always My Number One,” electrifying the home crowd ahead of a competitive match that ended in a dramatic 2-2 draw.
Israel fielded one of the most diverse teams in the tournament, consisting of a range of players who mirrored Israel’s multicultural society, including Arabs from the Druse sector and Jews from Ethiopian, European and North African backgrounds.
Prior to the tournament, Nir Bitton, the captain of the Israeli team, told UEFA.com that he was expecting his nation to shine, both on and off the field. He added that people coming to see the championship could expect, “good football, a warm and welcoming country with beautiful beaches and much more. No one will be disappointed by what they will see and experience.”
All four of the host stadiums were in flawless condition, with the most up-to-date arena being the new Netanya Municipal Stadium, completed in 2012.
The Netanya stadium was also the site of a special workshop midtournament that was co-sponsored by the IFA, the English Football Association and the New Israel Fund. The session sought to combat racism and show that soccer is a game for everyone. The Israeli and British teams participated in the workshop together with girls and boys from various backgrounds – Jews, Arabs, Beduin and Druse alike.
“Jews and Arabs, Beduin, newcomers from Ethiopia and other parts should be equally treated, have equal opportunity to play football and to come out in Israeli society,” said Izik Shanan, NIF’s director of communications and public education. “This day is a showcase of what football should look like and how our society should look like.”
If you’re wondering why Israel – located in the Middle East – took part in a European tournament, the answer to that question goes back to 1928 and the forerunner of the Israeli Football Association, the Eretz Football Association. It was one of the first Israeli sports organizations to unify the many Jewish athletes who were fleeing rising anti-Semitism in Europe for Mandatory Palestine, which provided a natural link to European sports culture.
Yet after Israel was established, the newly formed IFA joined the Asian Football Confederation in 1954 and won the Asian cup in 1964. The Israeli national team captured third place when the cup was held four years later in Iran, which was still an ally of the Jewish state at that time. But in 1974, Israel was expelled from the Asian grouping due to pressure from Arab and Muslim nations. For nearly two decades, Israel was unable to participate as a full member in any regional football alliance, until they received UEFA full membership in 1994.
The first time Israel participated in the UEFA Under-21 Championship was 2007, when the tournament was held in the Netherlands. But when Israel was given the opportunity to host the games this year, the months leading up to the event were marred by calls for boycotts from various groups, with South Africa’s Desmond Tutu being one of the voices leading the charge.
The objections to Israel’s host role were based largely on the conflict with the Palestinians, but proponents argued that there are numerous conflicts all across the Middle East, and that Israel has worked hard to resume peace negotiations. Many soccer enthusiasts also contended the sport is a great tool for promoting peace and reconciliation, and building bridges between adversaries.
The groups calling for a boycott also denounced racism within Israeli society, and in particular the abusive treatment of Arab players by some supporters of the Beitar Jerusalem club. This is a problem which Israeli officials have acknowledged and condemned, and the Jerusalem team has been fined and forced to play several home games without their fans present. Still, racism is just as prevalent among soccer fans in many European countries and UEFA is investing much effort to stamp it out, but there are rarely calls to boycott an entire nation from hosting such a large sporting event – until Israel.
Despite the boycott campaign, UEFA president Michel Platini decided the tournament would go on as scheduled.
“We cannot hold the Israel FA responsible for the political situation in the region or for legal procedures in place in its country,” he said. “You know better than anyone that it is not by punishing people and isolating them that we achieve our aims. It is through dialogue that solutions are found.”
As the tournament progressed, The Jerusalem Post Christian Edition caught up with players from the Norwegian team as they were enjoying a moment of rest along the white sandy beaches of Herzliya Pituah, an upscale resort town north of Tel Aviv. The players seemed to be genuinely enjoying Israel, and all agreed that the hosts had received them extremely well, and that the stadiums and hotels were of the highest standards.
Joshua King, one of Norway’s most promising footballers, who currently plays for the Blackburn Rovers FC in the English Premier League, missed out on the first game while on duty with Norway’s national team in a 2014 World Cup qualifying fixture against Albania. But he later arrived in Israel eager for his first game at the Petah Tikva soccer stadium.
“I am in Israel for the first time and I am very surprised,” said King. “This is a very beautiful country and I am really enjoying it. The hotel where we are staying is absolutely awesome, and the people are looking after us very well. The food is good and so on. I would easily come back to Israel for a visit. It is very beautiful, the views and the ocean,” he added.
“We are here to play football and at the moment we are focusing on the games 100%, but it would be nice if we could get some spare time for visiting Jerusalem.”
His Norwegian teammate Omar Elabdellaoui, who currently plays for the German side Eintracht Braunschweig, agreed that he would like to come back to Israel one day on holiday.
“So far what I have seen in Israel is positive. The place is very beautiful and people have been very nice to us,” he assured. “The fields have been perfect and so has our hotel. Everything is positive! I don’t think we will have time to visit Jerusalem, but I hope we will get time to go there as it has a lot of history and there are a lot of beautiful things to see over there,” he echoed.
Both players expressed hopes they could go far in the tournament and end up with a medal. “I believe we can reach the final, but we have to take it game by game,” King said.
The Scandinavian side did survive the group stage, along with defending champions Spain, Italy and the Netherlands. This left Israel out, but the host team was pleased with their fifth place finish in the group standings, ahead of England, Germany and Russia, and they ended on a high note with a 1-0 thumping of the English squad.
In the semi-finals, favorite Spain bested Norway while Italy slipped by Holland. And in the end, Spain emerged the winner of the UEFA Under-21 Championship 2013, trouncing Italy in the final game.
The tournament also proved to be a victory for soccer as a peace builder. The Israeli team in particular showed that youths on both sides of the divide, whether Jews or Arabs, can come together for friendly competition and to represent their nation on the world stage.