Issam Khalidi
While I was reviewing documents I got from
FIFA archive, one document attracted my attention. The correspondence was
between Khader Kamal, Secretary of the Arab Sports Club in Jerusalem
(established in 1927), and Dr. Shreiker, Secretary of the World Football
Association FIFA.
In its memorandum sent to FIFA in 1946, the Arab Palestine Sports Federation
made it clear that after revealing to FIFA that the Arabs are members in the Palestine
Football Association which was founded in 1928 and joined FIFA in 1929. Later,
the Jewish members of this PFA felt they were the majority in this association,
they consequently started to marginalize the Arabs by denying the association’s
regulations; by making the motto and the language of this association in Hebrew
and making themselves the majority in this association. As a result, the Palestinian Sports Federation was
founded by the Arabs, which had little chance of competing with PFA.
As a result, the Arab teams were not able to
compete with their sister teams in other Arab countries because they were not part
of the Palestinian Football Association. Due to
the ceasing of its function in late 1930s the Palestine Sports Federation, the
Arab teams applied to join the PFA. This step proved the weakness which
surrounded the Arab teams resulted from the political situation at that time.
The purpose of presenting this
correspondence is to demonstrate the closeness of FIFA and PFA relations, as
well as the disrespectful attitude FIFA had toward Arabs and its inferior view
of them.
In a
letter from Khader Kamal to Dr. Shreiker, Secretary of
the World Football Association dated in November
18, 1937, hoping that this letter will receive FIFA’s attention:
The Arab Sports Club have the honor to make
the following representation to you, concerning their desire to play against
teams from the neighboring countries:
Palestine is now represented in
the Football World Association, by a wholly Jewish team, although the Jews form
only less than one third of the total population of the country, the
overwhelming majority being Arabs. But owing to the exceptional and rather
abnormal conditions in this country, the formation of a joint team of Arabs and
Jews is well-nigh impossible. Particularly under the present circumstances. The
Jews gained this representation, merely because they applied for it in advance,
thus leaving the Arabs at a disadvantage, and preventing them from playing
against recognized teams in neighboring countries, especially Egypt and the
Lebanon. We hope, by this request, that the Arab Sports Club be recognized by
the World Football Association, as an independent entity, as a special case on
account of the peculiar political conditions in the majority in this country of
Arabs, it remains entirely illogical to have the representation in wholly
Jewish team.
Later, Dr. Shreiker promised Khader Kamal he will submit
his request to FIFA’s committee, and I will give him further news as soon as
possible. [1]
At the same time, he decided to keep Mr. J. Chalutz Secretary
of Palestine Football Association informed about Khader’s letter, and asked the
latter to give him a reply:
I have received from the Arab Sports Club
Secretary Mr. Khodder Alb.Kamal [Khader
Abdallah Kamal] a letter in which Mr. Kamal asks for a
permission to play against teams of neighbor countries specially Egypt and Libanon
[Lebanon]; he underlines that it is impossible for them to join the Palestine
Football Association under the present circumstances and by this reason he asks
the above permission. I will have to submit this matter to my committee, but I
beg you to let me have your opinion about this matter. The only things which should be possible is
that the Association of Egypt and Lebanon are informed by me that the Arab
Sports Clubs with your permission is entitled to play with the teams of Egypt
and Lebanon and that each be subject to a special permission of the F.I.F.A. [2]
This is the
message that stopped me and aroused my interest in its tone that indicates lack
of respect and contempt towards Mr. Khader Kamal, which the Secretary of the
International Federation used to express in his letter to Chalutz on May 4,
1938, and respect for the person of the Secretary of PFA, and FIFA’s keenness
on the interest of PFA:
I am very interested to see from your letter that
some of the Arab teams have applied for affiliation with your Association and
that you have been pleased to approve such affiliation.
I have
sent you a copy of my letter to Mr. Khodder Alb. Kamal [Khader Kamal] and you
will have been understood that I have given no recommendation at all to
these gentlemen.
I think the
only possible way is that clubs of Egypt and Lebanon wanting to play against
Arab clubs not affiliated to your Association should have asked you the
permission to play such matches.
If you agree
that these matches can played, and you coming to your country should not play
only against the Arab clubs but also against some clubs of your association. I
think in this way your authority as National Association controlling football
in Palestine is safe guarded because no match against a foreign club in
Palestine can be played without your permission.
It is supposed that you inform me of every such
permission given by you because of FIFA must know and authorize every encounter
against non-affiliated organization.
I have no doubt that my committee will agree to
give your Association the permission to authorize matches to be played in your
territory against non-affiliated organizations.
I am enclosing a copy of my to-days reply to this
gentleman [Khader Kamal].
This is a fact that has been around for eighty-four years. Of course, Mr. Khader Kamal (whose relatives in Jerusalem I attempted to contact to find some information about him but were unable to do so) was not aware of the content of this letter, which remained in the FIFA archives for decades without anyone knowing about it. The Palestinian activist knocked on FIFA's door in good faith, respecting its president, its committee, and its laws. Did the Arabs not gain the respect of FIFA because they were devoted to their homeland, or because they were defending just causes and feeling frustrated by Zionist dominance?
From European and international organizations, it is not surprising to see such positions that sanctified colonialism and helped pave the way for building the Jewish national home. Racist language and superior treatment of the "backward" East by the "civilized" West have always been present, treating the East as an inferior species not worthy of respect, but of contempt, and using that as an excuse to control its fate. In the West and its institutions, such as FIFA and others, these cultural and intellectual patterns towards the East in general and our Arab region in particular are still prevalent through the policy of hypocrisy, double standards, and the principle of “not mixing sports with politics.”
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