The Palestinian national football team will play two exhibition matches at Athlone Stadium in February.
- The Palestinian national football team will play two exhibition matches at Athlone Stadium in February.
- The City of Cape Town will support SAFA by not charging stadium rental fees and providing other services.
- Jordan Hill-Lewis called on Capetonians to attend the game to show their support for peace and justice in Palestine.
Cape Town Mayor Jordyn Hill-Lewis has called on Cape Town residents to show their support for peace and justice in Palestine by attending an exhibition soccer match between the Palestinian national team and a local invited team next month.
The matches scheduled by the South African Football Association (SAFA) for February 11 and 18 will be held at Athlone Stadium.
Hill-Lewis said in a statement on Sunday that the City of Cape Town looked forward to welcoming the Palestinian national football team.
Hill-Lewis said:
This is an important and symbolic way to support a two-state solution and full recognition of a Palestinian state.
The city will waive stadium rental fees and provide R400,000 for event support services such as transport and waste management.
“Sport has played an important role in our democratic journey and I am proud that the City of Cape Town is partnering with SAFA to host the Palestinian national football team,” Hill-Lewis said. Ta.
Meanwhile, Mayoral Security Committee member JP Smith said the sponsorship was in line with the city's past sponsorship of similar sporting events.
The announcement came days after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found that South Africa's charges regarding Israeli military operations in Gaza may amount to genocide.
South Africa has asked the ICJ for an order to immediately halt Israeli military operations in Gaza that have reportedly claimed the lives of 25,000 Palestinians.
First Take | ICJ judgment does not end Israel-Gaza war, but confirms SA's principled position
South Africa claimed it had evidence of genocidal intent by Israel.
Israel's latest military operation in Gaza was the result of Hamas' surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the killing of 1,200 people and the abduction of 240 people.
Although the ICJ did not issue a cease-fire order, apparently accepting Israel's argument that such an order would deny the province its right to self-defense, it issued a separate order to protect Palestinians at South Africa's request. I also released it.
The ICJ, also known as the World Court, ruled that Israel must cease to kill Palestinians, cease to inflict serious physical or psychological harm on them, and to comply with living conditions calculated to result in their physical destruction, in whole or in part. The court ruled that the government should stop intentionally giving to Palestinians, and that it should also stop intentionally giving them to Palestinians. It has imposed measures aimed at stopping Palestinian births, News24 reported.