12th August 2025
August 13 – Last weekend UEFA’s tribute to the late Suleiman Al-Obeid, the former Palestinian national team player killed in Gaza at the hands of Israel military forces, triggered questions from Liverpool and Egypt forward Mohamed Salah to the European body and wider calls for Israel’s suspension from international football.
UEFA did not respond to Salah’s social media comment but, if actions speak louder than words, they have unveiled details of a series of partner initiatives through the UEFA Foundation for Children to help children affected by war in in Gaza, the Ukraine and other parts of the world.
The partnerships have been set up with Medecins du Monde, Medecins sans Frontières and Handicap International, who are each working in different ways to help children caught up in the Gaza conflict described – as UEFA highlights in a press release – by UN Secretary General António Guterres as a “a humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions.”
It is the closest yet to any formal condemnation of Israel by the European governing body of which Israel is a member. But it is a clear indication of where UEFA’s sympathies lie without being drawn into political debate.
UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin said: “Whatever the adults waging wars think they are doing, the children are innocent. But, in all conflicts, they are dying every single day and we must do what we can to help those who are trying to make life more tolerable and normal for them.
“Through the UEFA Foundation for Children, we strive to support those who are working to ease the burdens the children carry – helping them find moments of peace and hope, even in the hardest of circumstances.”
Médecins du Monde has been present in the region since 1995, where the organisation works to improve access to healthcare and provides humanitarian aid in the West Bank and Gaza. In the West Bank, Médecins du Monde provides psychosocial support to victims of violence with their mobile clinics as well as distributing food kits for children.
Medecins sans frontières / Doctors without Borders, treat wounded people and supply overwhelmed hospitals. They also ensure water and food distribution.
Handicap International has a total of 133 national staff members and more than 500 community workers operating in the Gaza Strip, Jerusalem, Ramallah and Egypt. Their core work is the distribution of first aid kits; emergency aid and rehabilitation for the seriously injured and disabled; Psychosocial support; and education on the risk of unexploded bombs.
UEFA said the new partnerships follow action, announced in March 2022, “with charities and FAs in and around Ukraine to finance initiatives from UEFA member associations and charities focusing on children’s rights and their well-being.”
The foundation has previously carried out support initiatives in conflict zones including Afghanistan, Lebanon, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
“It’s our duty – as adults, as parents, as neighbours, as human beings – to stand beside children when they need us. Sometimes, even the smallest gesture can remind them they are not alone, that they are not forgotten and that they are valued. We can’t change the world on our own – but children can and will, if we provide them with safety, love and hope they need to grow,” said Ceferin.
While UEFA might not be taking a political stand against Israel’s military actions in Gaza and the West Bank, they are not ignoring it, or the calls from European member associations, media and football supporters across the continent for leadership on the issue.
FIFA has refused to take a position on Israel’s war in Gaza and has repeatedly worked – duplicitously and contrary to its own statutes – to prevent any FIFA membership vote on Israeli suspension. UEFA looks to be gently taking steps to keep itself on the right side of history and global football opinion, unlike the world governing body has increasingly taken its political lead from US president Donald Trump.
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