When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, FIFA moved fast. Within days, the Russian Football Association was suspended from all competitions, including World Cup qualifiers.

Palestine’s footballers have not received the same consideration. Gaza’s sports infrastructure lies in ruins, hundreds of players are dead, and the Palestinian national team has been forced to play “home” matches thousands of miles away. FIFA’s response has been to let the qualifiers proceed as normal, with Israel’s membership intact.

The human cost behind the pitch

The Palestinian Football Association has reported staggering losses since the escalation that began in October 2023. According to the association, 231 registered players and 65 children involved in football have been killed.

Beyond the human toll, the physical infrastructure that makes competitive football possible has been destroyed. Palestine’s 2026 World Cup qualification campaign wrapped up on June 10, 2025, with the team having played its home fixtures in Kuwait, Jordan, and Qatar.

FIFA’s “geopolitical issue” defense

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has characterized the conflict as a “geopolitical issue,” essentially arguing that the governing body of world football should not be making political judgments about member nations’ conduct. The Israel Football Association continues to participate in qualifiers without restriction.

The problem with that framing is that FIFA already made a political judgment. It made one in 2022 when it booted Russia. It made one during apartheid when South Africa was excluded from FIFA between 1961 and 1992.

The Turkish Football Federation and Spanish football officials have publicly called for sanctions against Israel mirroring those imposed on Russia. The Italian Football Coaches Association joined the chorus. Legal experts have argued that FIFA’s own statutes around human rights and non-discrimination provide grounds for action.

The $75 million reconstruction promise

In February 2026, FIFA announced a partnership to fund the reconstruction of sports facilities in Gaza. The commitment: at least $75 million earmarked for rebuilding pitches, constructing a stadium, and restoring the basic sporting infrastructure that was destroyed.

The announcement arrived after Palestine’s World Cup qualifying campaign had already concluded, meaning the players who competed under impossible conditions will not benefit from improved facilities retroactively. Critics were quick to label the initiative “sportswashing.” The argument goes like this: FIFA refused to take meaningful action when it could have influenced the competitive landscape, then announced a rebuilding fund after the damage was done, both to Gaza and to Palestine’s qualifying hopes.

What this means beyond the pitch

FIFA’s own human rights policy, adopted in 2017, commits the organization to respecting internationally recognized human rights. Multiple legal scholars have argued that the destruction of an entire nation’s football infrastructure, combined with the deaths of hundreds of registered players, meets any reasonable threshold for intervention under those policies. FIFA has not publicly engaged with those legal arguments in detail.

Turkey and Spain pushed publicly for consequences. They got a reconstruction fund announcement months after qualifiers ended.