A Movement Takes the Field
On a chilly afternoon in March 2025, downtown Toronto was awash with flags and banners. The chants were rhythmic, echoing across Nathan Phillips Square: "No games on occupied land!" and "Kick Israel out of FIFA!" The demonstration, part of a coordinated wave of global protests, calls on football's governing body to suspend Israel from international play until, organizers said, it ends what they describe as "systemic violations of Palestinian rights."
From Montreal to Vancouver, thousands of Canadians have joined a swelling international movement that demands that FIFA take punitive action against Israel over its conduct in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories. Supporters of the campaign argue that actions taken by Israel constitute apartheid and war crimes, echoing the rationale used by FIFA when it suspended South Africa during the apartheid era and Russia after it invaded Ukraine.
The movement has sparked intense debate within Canada's political, sporting, and Jewish communities — a very complex interplay of questions regarding free speech, the role of sport in geopolitics, and the position of Canada within an increasingly polarized global arena.
From Stadiums to Streets — The Rise of the Campaign
The “Kick Israel Out of FIFA” campaign began online in late 2023, shortly after the outbreak of Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza. As civilian casualties mounted and images of bombed neighborhoods flooded social media, activists around the world began targeting major cultural and sporting institutions seen as complicit in what they called Israel's "sportswashing" — the use of global events to distract from human rights abuses.
In Canada, grassroots networks, who had organized solidarity marches for Palestine, refocused their energies in the sphere of sports diplomacy. Coalitions came together under banners such as “Athletes for Palestine,” “Sport Against Apartheid,” and “Canadians for Justice in Sport.”
By early 2024, organizers were holding rallies outside Canadian Soccer Association offices and events affiliated with FIFA. Protesters were demanding the CSA support calls within FIFA to sanction the Israel Football Association, citing violations of FIFA's own statutes prohibiting discrimination and political interference.
In an open letter sent out in February 2024, over 400 Canadian athletes, coaches and sports academics called on the CSA and federal government to “take a moral stand consistent with Canada’s human rights commitments.” The letter stated:
"We call on FIFA and its member associations, including Canada, to uphold the principle that sport cannot be used to whitewash oppression. The participation of Israeli teams while Palestinian clubs in Gaza are bombed and players killed is a stain on world football."
The CSA did not formally respond, though a spokesperson said it “recognizes the suffering of all civilians affected by the conflict” and that “FIFA’s disciplinary processes are beyond national association authority.”
FIFA’s Precedent — Politics, Power, and Punishment
Understanding the protesters' demands requires a brief revisit of FIFA's own history of political intervention.
In 1964, South Africa was expelled from FIFA due to its apartheid policies, only rejoining in 1992 after the regime's collapse. In 2022, Russia was suspended following its invasion of Ukraine — a decision FIFA said was made to "preserve the integrity and safety of global competitions."
Campaigners say this sets a precedent for Israel's actions in Gaza and the West Bank. Palestinian teams have long complained to FIFA about Israeli travel restrictions, military raids on stadiums, and the participation of Israeli clubs based in the West Bank settlements deemed illegal under international law.
"The hypocrisy is glaring," says Dr. Kareem Abbas, a sports sociologist at the University of Toronto. "When Russia invaded Ukraine, FIFA acted swiftly. When Israel bombs football fields in Gaza, they claim neutrality. Neutrality in the face of apartheid is complicity."
For its part, however, FIFA has resisted calls for it to sanction Israel, saying it must stay "above politics." In April 2024, FIFA President Gianni Infantino declared anew that "football should unite and not divide" as "FIFA is not a political body but a sporting organization guided by its statutes."
It's a position that has only inflamed activists who argue that the very structure of FIFA is deeply political — shaped by global power relations and financial interests.
Canadian Streets, Global Voices
On April 20, 2024, simultaneous protests were staged in eight Canadian cities: Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Calgary, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Edmonton, and Halifax, as part of an international "Football for Freedom" day of action.
An estimated 6,000 people joined the demonstration in Toronto, according to police. Protesters held Palestinian flags, wore keffiyehs and brandished placards reading “Suspend Apartheid Teams” and “FIFA: Where Human Rights Are Offside.” Speakers included local politicians, student leaders, and retired athletes.
In Montreal, protesters marched from McGill University to Place du Canada, chanting in both English and French. “We are here because Canada cannot sit on the sidelines,” said organizer Samira El-Haddad, a graduate student at Concordia University. “If FIFA can act against Russia, it can act against Israel.”
Social media magnified the movement’s reach. Hashtags like #KickIsraelOutOfFIFA and #FootballForPalestine trended in Canada through April and May. Videos of young soccer players in Gaza training amid rubble went viral, shared by prominent Canadian influencers and athletes.
Among them was national team goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan, who wrote on Instagram:
"Every child has the right to play safely. Sport should never exist alongside suffering."
Though Sheridan later clarified that her post was “about universal human rights, not politics,” it nonetheless sparked debate in Canadian media about the boundaries of athlete activism.
Government and Institutional Responses
The Canadian government has tread carefully. While Ottawa has repeatedly expressed support for “Israel’s right to self-defence” and concern for civilian lives in Gaza, it has avoided direct comment on calls to expel Israel from FIFA.
The matter was brought to Parliament by the NDP MP Matthew Green in June 2024, who asked if the government would endorse sanctions like those leveled against Russia in 2022. The Minister of Sport, Carla Qualtrough, replied that “Canada respects the independence of international sports bodies” and “political interference would set a troubling precedent.”
That answer disappointed activists but came as little surprise. “We’ve seen the same pattern across Western governments,” said Vancouver-based organizer Ahmad Mousa. “When it was Russia, everyone said sport couldn’t be separate from politics. But when it’s Israel, suddenly it’s all about neutrality.”
That was a view echoed by the CSA. In a statement, it acknowledged “the distressing humanitarian situation in Gaza,” adding that it “does not engage in political advocacy within FIFA.”
Privately, some Canadian soccer officials said they were wary of taking a hard stance on the issue for fear it might jeopardize funding or partnerships. “There’s no upside for us to get involved,” one CSA executive told The Athletic Canada anonymously. “FIFA doesn’t want a domino effect.”
Jewish and Israeli-Canadian Perspectives
The protests have also drawn strong reactions from Jewish organizations, who view the campaign as discriminatory and dangerous.
"The movement," according to a statement by B'nai Brith Canada in May 2024, is "a blatant attempt to isolate and delegitimize the world's only Jewish state through the manipulation of sport." CIJA has warned that slogans like "Kick Israel Out of FIFA" echo "historical boycotts that targeted Jews collectively rather than specific governments."
“These protests are not about football,” said CIJA spokesperson Shimon Fogel. “They are about singling out Israel and fuelling hostility toward Jewish communities worldwide. There is no justification for excluding a country from sport because of its right to self-defence.”
Protest organizers refute these accusations, emphasizing that their campaign is directed at institutions, not at identities. "Our message is against apartheid, not Judaism," said Montreal activist Ranya Khalil. "Just as sports boycotts helped end South African apartheid, we believe they can push Israel toward accountability."
Still, several demonstrations have turned tense. In Ottawa, police intervened after counter-protesters accused the marchers of antisemitism. No arrests were made, but the incident underscored the fraught emotional landscape around the issue.
Canadian Universities and Athlete Solidarity
University campuses have become central nodes of the movement. The student unions at the University of British Columbia, York University, McGill and the University of Toronto have passed resolutions urging the CSA and FIFA to suspend Israel's membership.
At McGill, the student resolution cited "the destruction of Palestinian sports infrastructure and the killing of over 150 athletes in Gaza since October 2023."
A number of the varsity athletes voiced their support in an informal movement under the name of “Canadian Athletes for Palestinian Justice.” It held educational panels and online campaigns that drew comparisons between the anti-apartheid sports boycotts of the 1980s and today’s calls against Israel.
Not all athletes think it's the right move, however. Former Canadian soccer captain Atiba Hutchinson, of Trinidadian descent, told CBC News: “Sports should be about bringing people together. I understand the anger, but I worry that boycotts might divide rather than unite.”
His comment reflects a broader philosophical debate: Can sport truly remain apolitical in an age where global injustices are livestreamed to millions?
Echoes from the Past — Lessons from Apartheid and Russia
For many Canadians old enough to remember the anti-apartheid movement, these protests stir powerful memories. In the 1980s, Canadian activists were crucial in forcing the Commonwealth to isolate South Africa. The “No Sports with Apartheid” campaign persuaded many athletes to refuse tours and competitions.
To Queen’s University historian Professor Margaret Barlow, parallels with what happened in the 1980s are clear: “In both cases, sport is the battleground of moral legitimacy,” she says. “The difference is that social media now globalizes every act of protest instantly. What took years in the 1980s can now happen in weeks.”
The Russian precedent also looms large. When FIFA banned Russia in 2022, many praised the organization's moral courage. "That decision changed expectations," says Barlow. "Now, people see inaction as a political act in itself."
Pro-Israel commentators argue, however, that such comparisons to Russia or apartheid South Africa are invalid. "Israel is fighting a terrorist organization that attacked its civilians," wrote journalist Jonathan Kay in The National Post. "Equating that with colonial racism or imperial conquest is intellectually dishonest."
The moral landscape remains deeply contested — and FIFA, caught between precedent and politics, has sought to wait out the storm.
Inside FIFA — A Growing Dilemma
By mid-2025, pressure was growing on FIFA. Over two million people around the world, including tens of thousands of Canadians, signed petitions calling for an investigation into alleged violations by Israel of FIFA’s commitments both on ethics and human rights.
The Football Association of Palestine officially submitted a motion to suspend the membership of Israel before FIFA's annual congress in Kuala Lumpur in May 2025. Canada's delegation abstained from taking a position during the preliminary consultations, sources said.
A leaked internal memo obtained by The Guardian suggested several FIFA member associations privately support "temporary sanctions" but fear backlash from powerful Western sponsors. "FIFA is a commercial empire," said one Canadian official familiar with the discussions. "Moral questions are filtered through financial calculations."
Infantino's administration proposed the creation of a "special committee" that would study the issue - a proposal widely seen as a stalling tactic. Protesters in Canada and elsewhere called the proposed special committee "bureaucratic stalling."
In Vancouver, activists projected the phrase "No Committee Can Bury Justice" onto the BC Place Stadium during a televised FIFA promotional event. An image of that incident went viral.
The Wider Cultural Shift
Beyond football, the protests have contributed to a more general reckoning within Canadian sport and culture: similar demands to cut ties with Israeli institutions have confronted music festivals, film organizations, and academic associations.
The BDS - or boycott, divestment, and sanctions - approach to cultural boycott has long been divisive amongst Canadian progressives. The FIFA-focused protests have drawn a more mainstream crowd, however, particularly among youth and immigrant communities.
In August 2025, polls by the Angus Reid Institute found that 48% of Canadians under 35 support suspending Israel from FIFA until it “complies with international law,” in comparison to 19% of those over 55.
"This generational shift is remarkable," says Dr. Sheryl McIntyre, political scientist at Simon Fraser University. "Younger Canadians see human rights through a globalized digital lens. They grew up with athlete activism — Colin Kaepernick, Black Lives Matter — so extending that to Palestine feels natural to them."
Yet, she adds, this shift also deepens polarization. “For many Jewish Canadians, these protests feel existential. For many Muslim and Arab Canadians, they feel like long-overdue justice. Bridging that gap is Canada’s next challenge.”
The Human Stories Behind the Slogans
At the centre of the movement are personal stories: players and fans for whom football is much more than a game.
One of them is Youssef Al-Hourani, a 22-year-old Palestinian-Canadian amateur footballer from Mississauga. A cousin of his, a goalkeeper for a Gaza club, was killed in an airstrike in January 2024. “He loved football more than anything,” Al-Hourani said at a rally. “When I play now, I think of him. FIFA says politics has no place in sport — but politics killed my cousin.”
Another is Sarah Williams, a Jewish-Canadian sports physiotherapist who joined the protests after she witnessed destruction in Gaza on a humanitarian mission. “Supporting Palestinian rights doesn’t make me anti-Israel,” she said. “It means I believe in universal dignity. FIFA’s silence is unacceptable.”
Their stories, told on social media and at communal gatherings, put a face to a debate that can often feel abstract. It's also representative of Canada's complex multicultural tableau, where empathy and tension coexist.
The Future of the Movement
As 2025 comes to an end, activists promise more pressure will be applied. Organized boycotts against FIFA sponsors are planned, as well as petitions to Parliament and symbolic "red card" protests at World Cup qualifying matches. Whether FIFA will ultimately move is not clear. Analysts say the organization's decision may depend more on global political changes than on vocal public protest. Yet the campaign can already be seen having its impact: it has reframed public discussion of sport and responsibility. “Even if FIFA never suspends Israel,” Dr. Abbas says, “the idea that sports bodies are accountable for human rights is here to stay. That’s a victory in itself.” Epilogue: A Nation Reflects The rallies are over, but in their quieter aftermath, the talking continues-locker rooms, lecture halls and living rooms across Canada. The protests have laid bare both the country's moral aspirations and its deep divisions. As one protest banner in Vancouver read: “Football won’t free Palestine — but silence won’t either.” The movement to kick Israel out of FIFA is as much about redefining sport's moral compass as it is about the Middle East. For Canada, it has become a mirror reflecting the complexities of solidarity, the limits of neutrality, and the enduring power of people who believe justice, like football, belongs to everyone.
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