BEIRUT: In a show of solidarity with Palestine and to demonstrate the power of sports in bridging divides, a charity match titled “Football for Humanity” will be held between Palestine and South Africa on Sunday.
Cape Town’s famous Athlone Stadium will host the game between the Palestine National Football Team and the South African Invitational XI at 17:00 local time, according to a media statement issued by the South African Football Association.
The charity match, organized to highlight the Palestinian cause, pledges a significant portion of its revenue, including income from ticket sales and online streaming via www.hilaal.tv, to humanitarian efforts.
Fans and spectators, both in the stands and online, will be treated to a thrilling game, where skill, unity, and commitment from both teams will be on full display.
Organized by SAFA and the sports development organization Stepping Stones, the first of two charity matches was held between the Palestinian national team and Western Cape XI at the iconic Athlone Stadium on Feb. 11.
Soccer fans and supporters of the Palestinian cause turned up in large numbers. The home team won 1-0.
The “Football for Humanity” international showpiece, held under the theme “Peace, Hope, and Solidarity,” aims to provide Palestinian players with the opportunity to enjoy their favorite sport in conditions of peace and sound infrastructure.
The event also symbolizes South Africa’s historic solidarity with the people of Palestine in their struggle against Israel’s illegal occupation and violence.
The Palestine National Football Team, fresh from their historic achievement in the Asia Cup in Qatar, where they qualified for the Round of 16 for the first time, arrived in Cape Town on Feb. 8, 2024.
The Feb. 11 match held great significance, as it was on that date in 1990 that former President Nelson Mandela was released from prison, marking the victory of the liberation struggle against apartheid.
The match also saw a high-powered government delegation led by South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor as well as Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis turning up at Athlone Stadium.
Ramaphosa recalled Mandela’s famous words: “We know all too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.”
In reply, Palestinian Football Association President Jibril Rajoub thanked the hosting government for initiating a lawsuit against Israel, saying it served as a message that Palestinians are not isolated.
According to the PFA, the players who are expected to participate in Sunday’s friendly are Rami Hamada, Naim Abuaker, Baraa Kharoub, Bassam Abdallah, Issa Al-Mahdi, Ameed Sawafta, Ali Rabei, Bashar Shobaki, Oday Ali Kharoub, Samer Zubaida, Anas Bani Owda, Shaher Taweel, Wajdi Mohammed, Sadeq Ibrahim Obaid, Abdedlhamid Abu Qbita, Muath Barhoush, Ahmad Ahmad, Adham Khwailed, Yazan Jamal Sharha, Mahdi Assi, Layth Ali Kharoub, Mohammed Hasan Sandouka and Musaab Battat.
South Africa host Palestine in charity match ‘Football for Humanity’
https://arab.news/5abm3
South Africa host Palestine in charity match ‘Football for Humanity’
- Charity match, held to highlight Palestinian cause, pledges significant portion of revenue to humanitarian efforts
- Fans are invited to join at Athlone Stadium or by tuning in online at http://www.hilaal.tv/
Champions League winner PSG’s $168m payment top UEFA prize money list for last season
- The figures were confirmed in UEFA’s financial report published Tuesday for the 2024-25 season
- Seven teams got at least $116.5m in prize money compared to five that got a nine-figure payment the previous season
GENEVA: Champions League winner Paris Saint-Germain topped the UEFA prize money table getting 144.4 million euros ($168 million) last season as the competition paid an extra 400 million euros ($466 million) among Europe’s elite clubs in the expanded new format.
The figures were confirmed in UEFA’s financial report published Tuesday for the 2024-25 season, ahead of its annual congress next month in Brussels.
Inter Milan, the beaten finalist, also were second on the money list earning 136.6 million euros ($159 million) from the UEFA prize fund that shared 2.47 billion euros ($2.9 billion) among the 36 teams which each first played eight games in a single-standings league.
Seven teams got at least 100 million euros ($116.5 million) in prize money compared to five that got a nine-figure payment the previous season, when the total fund had been 2.08 billion euros ($2.42 billion) in the last year of the 32-team, group-stage format.
Aston Villa were the only quarterfinalist last season to get less than 100 million euros, earning a UEFA payment of 83.7 million euros ($97.5 million). That was partly explained by Villa’s lower UEFA ranking returning to the competition after a 41-year gap.
Real Madrid’s quarterfinal loss to Arsenal meant they earned less than 102 million euros ($119 million) from UEFA in the Champions League, which was a drop of 37 million euros ($43 million) from winning the title in 2024.
Madrid got an extra 5 million euros for winning the UEFA Super Cup against Atalanta, which got 4 million euros from that season-opening game.
Inter earned at least twice as much from the Champions League as each of the other four Italian teams in the competition.
Manchester City were the lowest earner of the four English clubs. The reigning English champion got 76 million euros ($88.5 million) after being eliminated in the knockout playoffs round in February by Real Madrid.
The smallest payment to a Champions League team was Slovan Bratislava getting less than 22 million euros ($25.6 million). The champion of Slovakia lost all eight league-phase games.
Europa and Conference money
The steep drop in payments from the Champions League to the second-tier Europa League was shown in title-winner Tottenham getting 41 million euros ($47.8 million).
Beaten finalist Manchester United were paid 36 million euros ($41.9 million) by UEFA last season and will get nothing this time after failing to qualify for any European competition.
The third-tier Conference League paid Chelsea 21.8 million euros ($25.4 million) for winning the title. Chelsea are now in the Champions League.
Presidential salary freeze
UEFA’s financial report shows its president Aleksander Ceferin took no pay rise last season.
The Slovenian lawyer earned “fixed compensation of 3,250,000 Swiss francs gross” with no bonus, the UEFA document said. That was the same as the previous year and equates to $4 million.
UEFA general secretary Theodore Theodoridis got raises in both his salary and bonus for a total of 2.05 million Swiss francs ($2.56 million).
