israeli video gamers arrived in riyadh At the weekend to compete in the World Championship of the FIFA electronic game.
The three-man team, ranked second in the world, flew to Saudi Arabia via the United Arab Emirates and entered the country with their coach and manager on their Israeli passports, a very rare occurrence. They will be allowed to display the Israeli flag at the opening ceremony on 16 July, accompanied by the playing of Hatikvah. fifa world cuprules of.
Early pictures of gamers in Riyadh show them wearing blue and white shirts with Israel written on them.
Following our report yesterday, first photos of Israeli FIFA team players with blue and white shirts in Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia. normalization or not, sure is something you don’t see every day https://t.co/KeDuMxLfWT pic.twitter.com/cP9xIDNKtU
— Roy Kais • Roy Kais • Roy Kais (@kaisos1987) 8 July 2023
Although the team will not publicly show that they are Israeli, they will not hide their identity in the tournament, team manager Zvika Koosman told KAN.
Kossmann said FIFA, not the Israeli government, negotiated with the Saudi government to ensure that Israelis would be allowed entry.
The Saudi government wrote a letter saying that all participants would be allowed in, without mentioning the Israelis.
Israeli e-athletes will be protected by local government and private security, not by Israelis.
Political context for Israelis competing in Saudi Arabia
Israel’s participation in the e-sporting event comes after the US pushed for it normalization with Saudi Arabia,
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last month that the effort to establish diplomatic relations between the two countries is “incredibly challenging, difficult, not something that can happen overnight…but it is also a real possibility.” “
In January, the US Embassy in Israel hosted the first Abraham Accords eSports Peace Games, with competitors from Israel, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco playing video games.