Why does israel compete in european football

An official video history of the competition released by the AFC in January omitted any mention of the tournament.

After qualifying for its first and only World Cup in , Israel began a year period in the relative international wilderness when it was excluded from AFC tournaments from It came at a time of increased hostility in the region towards Israel, which had been at war with all its neighbouring countries in both , when Israel launched a pre-emptive war and captured the Jordan-controlled West Bank and the old city of Jerusalem, the Syrian Golan Heights and the Egyptian Sinai peninsula, and in the Yom Kippur War that saw it successfully defend its occupation of those territories.

A motion initiated by Kuwait during the Asian Games, where the oil-rich state and North Korea both refused to play against Israel, saw the country expelled from the AFC. The national side played in the European qualifiers for the World Cup, before joining Oceania's qualification stage for the next two tournaments. Israeli clubs began taking part in European club competitions in and its football association became full UEFA members in - having famously beaten France in a World Cup qualifier.

Its membership continues to represent an anomaly in international football, and was cited by some as a justification for Australia's switch from the Oceania Football Confederation to the AFC in About UEFA. Home National Associations Israel Israel. Israel make their mark. Additional data presentation President secretary. Article summary Football spread from the suburbs of Tel Aviv and Jaffa at the beginning of the last century.

Article top media content. Watch as Israel took all three points at home to ten-man Moldova in Group F. Watch how the hosts hit five past Israel in Copenhagen to maintain a perfect Group F record. See how Israel maintained their winning run in Group F after an entertaining clash in Haifa. Abada Midfielder. Abu Abaid Defender. Abu Fani Midfielder. Abu Hanna Defender. Arad Defender. Atzili Midfielder. Avraham Midfielder. Bitton Midfielder. Blorian Defender.

Cohen Midfielder. Peretz Midfielder. Prior to this, Israel competed at the Asian Games from to , however, when the Asian Games Federation became the Olympic Council of Asia in , Israel were excluded for political reasons. This was said to be due to a security risk due to conflict with other Arab nations represented at the Olympic Council of Asia. Israel are now a full member of the European Athletic Association and have competed in the European Championships since they sent three athletes to the event in Split.

Ahead of the Championships, Israel had won two golds, a silver and a bronze at the European Championships, but Lonah Chemtai Salpeter has now added another gold to that tally.