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world fifa reps in vancouver talk unity, despite geopolitical tensions
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former switzerland player philippe senderos is in vancouver as a fifa legend, and played in the congress tournament at the university of b.c. in vancouver on april 29.
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some representatives from the more than 150 countries in vancouver this week for the fifa congress believe an international tournament like the world cup can bring people together at a time of increasing global political, financial and military tensions.
“it’s a very uncomfortable time for a lot of countries and a lot of communities,” said ryan nelsen, who played for new zealand in the 2010 cup in south africa. “the one unifying thing that gets everybody together is football, and no bigger than the football world cup. so hopefully it does the job.”
his fellow countryman and teammate on the 2010 new zealand team, tim brown, agreed: “i really do think sport has a unique ability to bring people together, and i think we need that more than ever.”
former new zealand player ryan nelsen speaks to reporters on wednesday.
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fifa president gianni infantino delivered a speech focused on unity at thursday’s congress meeting at the vancouver trade and convention centre. but that message was strained when, on the stage with infantino, a delegate from palestine refused to shake hands with a representative from israel, saying israel’s attacks on palestine amount to the genocide of his people.
also this week, the iran football federation president was denied entry to canada, with officials citing his history with the islamic revolutionary guard corps, which canada considers a terrorist organization. as a result, the congress only had delegates from 210 members in vancouver, despite the association’s legislative body having 211.
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a war between the u.s., israel and iran, which is under an unsteady ceasefire, has raised questions about iran’s participation in the cup. on thursday, infantino said the middle east nation would be allowed to play because “football unites the world,” and u.s. president donald trump told reporters that the iranian team would be allowed into his country to play its first match in california on june 15.
iran has no matches scheduled in vancouver for the initial group stage of the tournament.
vancouver is one of several north american cities hosting the cup in june and july, with seven matches at b.c. place, including two new zealand games.
brown, speaking wednesday before the israel-palestine tensions arose at the congress, was optimistic that the world’s most-watched sporting event would bring “some good news” at a fractured time: “i think everyone’s really excited for the world cup. it captures hearts and minds.”
nelsen and brown were in vancouver as fifa legends, defined as former footballers who have achieved significance in the game: after pro careers, nelsen went on to coach the toronto fc mls team and brown co-founded the sneaker company allbirds.
waleed darwish of the egyptian football federation is in vancouver for the fifa congress.
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one of the congress delegates is waleed darwish of the egyptian football association, who spent wednesday on the hop-on, hop-off bus exploring vancouver.
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darwish will return to vancouver for egypt’s june 21 cup match against new zealand but isn’t sure yet how many fans will travel from egypt to vancouver for the game.
fifa recently provided his country with designated tickets for the egyptian games, which were put on sale in the last week, darwish said. there is interest from individual fans and private firms, and tourism companies are preparing packages for egyptians who want to go to the games.
one obstacle, though, may be getting visas to travel to the three north american host cities by june. in the u.s., he said, getting a visa has been difficult “especially in the last one or two years.”
a friendly congress football tournament was held wednesday at the university of b.c., featuring many of the legend players, including philippe senderos, who played professionally for the u.k.’s arsenal fc. and represented switzerland in three cups between 2006 and 2014.
senderos, who arrived in vancouver on monday, said it reminded him of his home country.
“the city is great, very welcoming, very clean, safe. it looks like things are heating up and people are getting very excited about this world cup.”
he didn’t know how many swiss fans will travel to vancouver for his country’s june 24 match against canada. he anticipated “huge support” from people who follow the team, but added travelling right now, including airfare and hotels, is expensive.
former new zealand player tim brown is in vancouver as a fifa legend.
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brown, who is bringing his wife and two children ages six and eight to vancouver in june to watch the new zealand games against belgium and egypt, added that it’s unfortunate that travelling to the cup simply isn’t accessible to all fans.
“maybe that’s a broader question that we have to look at … down the line. and i’m sure there’s lots of people who would like to come and can’t afford to go and that’s a difficult side of it,” he said.
in the u.s., there are reports of lower demand for cup tickets. vancouver officials have predicted as many as 350,000 fans will visit this city during the tournament.
b.c. place was built for canadian football and is repurposed for soccer games. when asked if that will be less than ideal for some of the planet’s best soccer players, nelsen said fifa has “strict measures” to ensure all facilities meet their requirements.
“no worries at all,” said nelsen, who, as the former coach of toronto fc, is familiar with the facility. “canadians know how to put on a good sporting event.”
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