Photo: Athlone stadium – News24

Azra Hoosen | ah@radioislam.co.za
31st January 2024 | 14:00 CAT
3 min read

The City of Cape Town (CoCT), in collaboration with the South African Football Association (SAFA), will host the Palestinian national football team this month. Following the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling, the city has decided to waive the costs of renting the stadium and will also provide event support services worth R400,000, including traffic and waste management.

The City of Cape Town offered the Athlone Stadium as a venue, free of charge, for the Palestine national football team and local invitational teams to play their exhibition matches, which are scheduled to take place on February 11^th and 18^th, 2024. The matches, organised by Sport Stepping Stones (SSS), will be part of the Football for Humanity event.

The Western Cape Coordinator for the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), Professor Usuf Chikte, believes the support of the DA-led city of Cape Town is due to pressure and protest from the public.

“This is not merely the result of goodwill from the City of Cape Town, which had to be pressured into allowing the use of their facilities. The CoCT has been unsupportive of the Palestinian cause. They have obstructed and harassed all efforts to raise awareness about the struggles of the Palestinian people and their fight against the Israeli regime. A recent example is when they painted over the Palestine murals,” said Chikte.

Chikte highlighted that even though the big stadiums were available, the CoCT did not permit the use of them for these matches. Instead, they restricted the use of stadiums to Athlone.

“Athlone has a rich history, but I believe the organisers accepted the decision due to the limited time available,” he added.

The upcoming football match has received national endorsement.

“The Sport Stepping Stones (SSS) is the key role player who has worked with the Palestine Football Association for many years. They have been working tirelessly to organise a match between the Palestine Football Association team and representatives from South African teams,” said Chikte.

The DA-led City has been criticised for its stance on the ‘Israel-Palestine conflict’ in recent months.

“The tide of public opinion has changed, and the DA has been pressured into supporting these matches. It’s important to remember that the money used for these matches belongs to the city’s people, not the DA. The people have strongly protested against the DA’s antagonistic attitude towards the Palestinian cause, and the DA is going along with the matches out of fear of losing voters. We are all aware that Israel has been designated to be plausibly guilty of genocide to be investigated; the city has never come out clean on that. The ruling party has, in fact, expelled its members who have said and suggested it is genocide despite the international court order,” said Chikte.

Now, after South Africa’s historic victory in its genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice on Friday, the City expressed pride in welcoming the Palestine team.

In a statement on Sunday, the mayor of Cape Town, Geordin Hill-Lewis, claimed the city is “proud to support this event” and hopes that “Capetonians will come out to enjoy these matches and show support for peace and justice in Palestine.”

Additionally, Hill-Lewis emphasised the significance of these matches as an “important symbolic way of supporting the two-state solution and the full recognition of Palestinian statehood.”

Chikte said that developmental programs will be available to introduce young people to football and the benefits it can bring in terms of unity, mentorship, and aspirations. These programs will take place in Athlone, a place with a rich history of political struggle and resistance to Apartheid.

LISTEN to the full interview with Ml Junaid Kharsany and Prof Usuf Chikte, Western Cape Coordinator for the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, here.