Soccer
Why is Israel playing in UEFA competitions if not a European country?
In the same Nations League group as Belgium, Italy and France, but Israel was actually a founding member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
The UEFA Nations League returns this week with competitive fixtures for all of Europe’s national teams. One game from Group A2 pits Israel against France, with security on high alert.
Israel made it to the top tier group after winning promotion in the 2022/23 edition of the competition. The inclusion of Israel in this UEFA competition has raised some eyebrows but the Israel Football Association (IFA) has actually been a part of European soccer’s governing body since 1992.
The history of Israel in international soccer in a complex one, and has close links to real-world events and political currents. Here’s a look back at how Israel ended up in UEFA...
Has Israel always been a part of UEFA?
The history of Israel as a nation is a complex and controversial one. That has been reflected in the world of soccer, where the IFA has been a member of two of the six different continental governing bodies.
When the state of Israel was founded in 1948 the Israel Football Association was created soon after, although it did not join a governing body until six years later. In 1954 Israel was one of the founding members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Since that time the AFC has grown and now covers 47 member nations across Asia, but Israel is not one of them.
Israel spent 30 years as a part of the AFC and represented Asia at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, but faced significant opposition from other member nations.
Why doesn’t Israel play in Asia?
Israel’s departure from AFC competition came shortly after that high point of the World Cup appearance. In the early 1970s many Arab and Muslim nations, including Kuwait and North Korea, refused to play against the Israeli national team.
This stance saw Israel excluded from AFC competition. In 1974 a Kuwaiti motion to expel Israel from the AFC was adopted by members. This meant that, after three decades as an AFC member, the Israeli national team was not part of any continental governing body.
There were attempts from Israel to qualify for another World Cup by taking part in qualification alongside both European and Oceanian teams but they were unsuccessful. After years in the wilderness, Israel saw saw a major breakthrough in 1991 when it’s club sides began competing in UEFA’s club tournaments.
The Israeli national team returned to UEFA’s World Cup qualification pathway as an associate member in 1992 and was admitted as a full member in 1994.
Strangely, Israel is not the only nation to have undergone a change of membership. In the past, New Zealand and Kazakstan have both left the AFC to become members of other governing bodies. In 2006 Australia opted to leave the Oceania confederation to join the AFC, deciding that its team would benefit from the greater competition from Asian sides.
Of course, the Australian example differs from the experience of Israel in one crucial sense, that the IFA was unilaterally removed by other member nations. Israel’s national team has been at a low ebb in recent years, currently sitting 81st in the FIFA rankings, between Oman and Angola. But if they acquit themselves well in the Nations League, Israel could soon find itself surging up the ranking and securing qualification for major international tournaments in the near future.