The Norwegian Football Federation will donate ticket profits from its Oct. 11 World Cup qualifying match against Israel in Oslo to a humanitarian organization delivering emergency aid in Gaza. The federation cited prolonged civilian suffering and disproportionate attacks in Gaza as the reason for directing proceeds to life-saving relief on the ground. UEFA and local police are coordinating security for the match, and extra measures are expected to reduce stadium capacity by up to 3,000 tickets. The Israeli federation urged Norway to also condemn the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks and warned against funds reaching terrorist groups. Israel has hosted home qualifiers abroad since October 2023.
Norway's soccer federation says it "cannot remain indifferent" to humanitarian suffering in Gaza and will donate any profits from an upcoming World Cup qualifying game against Israel to aid work there. Norway plays Israel in Oslo on Oct. 11. "Neither we nor other organizations can remain indifferent to the humanitarian suffering and disproportionate attacks that the civilian population in Gaza has been subjected to for a long time," Norwegian Football Federation president Lise Klaveness said in a statement Tuesday.
"We want to donate the proceeds to a humanitarian organization that saves lives in Gaza every day and provides active emergency aid on the ground," she said. It wasn't immediately clear how much the Norwegian federation expected to earn through ticket sales for the match, which begin next week. The Israeli soccer federation responded to the move on Wednesday by urging its Norwegian counterpart also to condemn the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks and hostage-taking by Hamas.
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