From left, Norway midfielder Andreas Schjelderup, Israel midfielder Eliel Peretz, Israel forward Dor David Turgeman and Norway defender Torbjorn Lysaker Heggem vie for the ball during the 2026 World Cup Group I qualifier match in Debrecen, Hungary, on March 25, 2025. Photo by Attila Kisbenedek/AFP via Getty Images.
Norway’s soccer federation announced on Tuesday it will donate all profits from its upcoming World Cup qualifying match against Israel to Gaza aid efforts.
“Neither we nor other organizations can remain indifferent to the humanitarian suffering and disproportionate attacks that the civilian population in Gaza has been subjected to for a long time,” Norwegian Football Federation President Lise Klaveness said, according to the Associated Press.
“We want to donate the proceeds to a humanitarian organization that saves lives in Gaza every day and provides active emergency aid on the ground.”
The Oct. 11 match will be played in Oslo, with ticket sales expected to be reduced by up to 3,000 seats due to enhanced security measures, the federation said. Ullevaal Stadium normally hosts 26,000 fans for national-team games.
(Norway defeated Israel, 4-2, in a qualifying match in Debrecen, Hungary, (an Israeli “home game”) on March 25.
Israel’s soccer federation criticized the move, urging Norway to condemn the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks. It further called on Norway to “make sure that the money is not transferred to terrorist organizations or to whale hunting,” referring to Norway’s continued whale hunting despite the International Whaling Commission’s commercial ban in 1986.
Meanwhile, the Italian Coaches’ Association wrote a formal letter to the president of the Italian Football Federation, Gabriele Gravina, urging the temporary suspension of Israel from international play due to the war in Gaza, Italy’s National Associated Press Agency (ANSA) reported on Tuesday.
“Italian football must take a stand in favor of the Palestinian people,” wrote the Italian Coaches’ Association President Renzo Ulivieri.
The letter urged Gravina to submit a request that Israel be barred from play to the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).
Italy is scheduled to play Israel in World Cup qualifiers in Debrecen on Sept. 8, then in Udine, Italy on Oct. 14.
In Udine on Aug. 13, UEFA broke its own rules prohibiting political, ideological and religious messages in stadiums when it invited two Palestinian children to take part in the medal ceremony of the 2025 UEFA Super Cup soccer match.
Article 44 of the UEFA Safety and Security Regulations states: “The promotion or announcement, by any means, of political messages or of any other political actions inside or in the immediate vicinity of the stadium is strictly prohibited before, during and after the match.”
Before kickoff, a large banner was displayed reading: “STOP KILLING CHILDREN—STOP KILLING CIVILIANS.”
The children’s participation was organized by the UEFA Foundation for Children, a charitable organization UEFA established in 2015.
As the game kicked off, UEFA posted to X: “From the UEFA Super Cup in Udine, the message is loud and clear. A banner. A call.”
On Aug. 12, the foundation announced it had expanded its efforts to help children in Gaza, having partnered with charities providing aid.
The organizations are Médecins du Monde, Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) and Handicap International.
Handicap International signed an Amnesty International petition in January 2024 calling for a worldwide ban on military supplies to Israel.
According to Jerusalem-based watchdog group NGO Monitor, Médecins du Monde published numerous reports over the years condemning Israel, and Médecins Sans Frontières “consistently abuses its status as a humanitarian organization to launch venomous anti-Israel political campaigns.”
Source: JNS
