Image courtesy Abraham Klein Israel has reached the World Cup finals just once — Mexico 1970 — where, after losing to Uruguay and tying with Sweden and Italy, it failed to progress beyond the group stage. That year in Mexico, though, there was an outstanding Israeli success — referee Abraham Klein. An unlikely figure to…
My father and I will watch every game that the United States plays in the World Cup that starts this weekend. We live on opposite sides of the world – he is in Florida and I am in Australia—but today’s video technology will allow us to cheer the team on together. My father’s love for…
Not every Jew in Rio cares about the World Cup. And some of them, the cariocas ( as the locals are known), are closest to the action. The Maracanã and adjacent Tijuca neighborhoods in Rio’s North zone are home to one of the largest concentrations of Jewish life in the city. There are more than…
FIFA president Sepp Blatter and delegates at the FIFA Congress called on the Israeli government on Wednesday to fully commit to FIFA’s plans to ease restrictions on movement for Palestinian footballers. “I call on the Israeli government to facilitate this movement and I go so far as to say its co-operation is crucial,” Blatter told…
Israel, looking to avoid censure at the FIFA Congress in Brazil on Wednesday, has defended its arrest of a Palestine national team player, telling the world soccer body he was a courier for Islamist militants. Sameh Fares Mohammad had intended to “harm the state of Israel and its citizens”, Israeli Sports Minister Limor Livnat wrote…
You will not hear “Hatikva” at the World Cup that opens on June 12 in Brazil. The last and only time Israel participated in the tournament was 1970. Yet even countries not famous for their soccer prowess, such as Bosnia-Herzegovina and Honduras, get to play on this enormous stage. Israel, which has a proud professional…
The vote for the hosting of the 2022 World Cup must be re-run if corruption allegations surrounding Qatar’s winning campaign are proved to be accurate, Lord Goldsmith, a member of FIFA’s Independent Governance Committee, said on Monday. A British newspaper on Sunday claimed it had evidence that around $5 million was paid to officials in…
Miguel Layun struck twice for Mexico who began their World Cup preparations with a 3-0 win over Israel at the Azteca stadium on Wednesday but also suffered a scare with goalkeeper Jesus Corona taken to hospital with a head injury. Corona collided with team-mate Francisco Rodriguez in the 69th minute and lay flat out before…
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