Organizers of an international soccer tournament for homeless individuals that will take place this year in Norway are being asked to reverse their decision to ban an Israeli team from participating in the competition because of security concerns related to the Israel-Hamas war.

The Homeless World Cup is an annual, international soccer tournament in which teams of men and women who are homeless compete on behalf of their country during the week-long street soccer competition. The 2025 Homeless World Cup will take place from Aug. 23-30 in Oslo, Norway, at the Rådhusplassen (City Hall Square). On average, 64 teams compete each year, according to the tournament’s website.

The project leader for this year’s competition is Knut Haugsvær from The Salvation Army Norway, which represents the Scandinavian country in The Homeless World Cup Foundation (HWCF). Home Base, a nonprofit organization based in Tel Aviv that supports homeless individuals in Israel and helps them transition back into society, annually represents Israel at the Homeless World Cup.

On Jan. 16, HWCF informed Home Base that its selection committee rejected Israel’s application to compete in the tournament this year because of security concerns surrounding the Jewish state’s war against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip. Israel participated the last time the tournament was held in Norway in 2017.

“Homeless World Cup has current policies in place that guide decisions related to event participation from countries that are in active conflict zones,” HWCF said in a message sent to the Israeli team, which the latter shared on Facebook. “This has affected our positions this year with regard to our members in Russia, Ukraine, and Israel. Given political sensitivities, surrounding participation of said countries in global sporting events, and the pressure it would put on the host country, it is with regret that we are unable to approve an application from Israel.”

The Israeli team commented on the decision in a Facebook post. “It’s disappointing to see how an organization that is supposed to promote equality and fraternity shuts us out of the tournament. The boycott of Israel continues,” the team said. Jony Golan, who has been the coach of Home Base for four years, echoed similar sentiments while also calling on the HWCF to backtrack its denial of Israel’s application.

“This is a huge disappointment for me, especially coming from an organization that claims to uphold the values of equality, inclusion, and bringing people together,” he wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday. “Boycotts in sports and culture are not a way to bring people closer — they only widen the gaps between us. Football is meant to unite people, especially when it comes to the most vulnerable populations in the world. I don’t know if this decision was made out of fear or ignorance, but one thing is certain: it is a wrong decision. It will have no impact on the situation on the ground but will harm the population which is always the easiest to ignore.”

“There is still time to reverse this decision, still time to give hope to people and restore faith to those who have long since lost trust in any system,” he added. “I still want to believe that there are sane people in this world who know how to see and acknowledge people beyond their flag.”

The Salvation Army Norway on Friday denied accusations that Israel is boycotted or banned from the competition. It attempted to explain in a statement posted on its website that the decision was partially based on limitations on how many teams can compete in the tournament. The charity said although 96 teams applied to participate, 28 of them were rejected. However, capacity problems were not mentioned in the rejection letter sent to Home Base.

“Part of the HWCF’s assessment when allocating places is that, for security reasons, they do not give places to teams from conflict areas. This affects Israel’s opportunities to participate in the championship this year,” Salvation Army Norway added in its statement. “Unfortunately, some have perceived this as Israel being boycotted and banned. This is not correct. Both the HWCF and the Salvation Army are committed to including everyone. We were happy to have Israel participate during the last World Cup in Oslo in 2017, and hope to be able to invite them on the next occasion.”

Ola Grytten, board member of The Salvation Army Norway, told the Norwegian pro-Israel group Med Israel for Fred (MIFF) there is a high security risk surrounding Israel’s participation in the tournament and that the safety of the Israeli team cannot be guaranteed in the competition.

MIFF, which is Europe’s largest non-religious pro-Israel membership organization, said, “we are disappointed that the entire situation in Norway makes it unsafe for homeless Israelis to come.” MIFF also noted that in October 2023, Ukraine participated in the Homeless World Cup despite its war against Russia.

“It says a lot about the conflict — who is willing to threaten homeless Israelis who come to Oslo to play football? And it says a lot about Oslo — is the situation in the Norwegian capital such that neither the Salvation Army nor the Norwegian authorities can ensure the safety of eight homeless football players?” the MIFF added.

Ori Shoham, the manager of the Home Base Israeli team, expressed frustration to the MIFF on Friday regarding the decision and criticized Norway for being unable to ensure the safety of eight homeless soccer players when Israel just last year participated safely in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris with a large delegation.

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