Dear Friends,
I am delighted to inform you that my article, about IFLAC's proposal has been published by a major newspaper in Israel - "Ynet".
And one of the readers wrote : "Only mad leaders would not accept this wonderful proposal by IFLAC of FOOTBALL INSTEAD OF WAR!
Here is the link and translation :
Football Instead of War | By Dr. Ada Aharoni
Here is a bold alternative: nations and peoples in conflict should send their young people to compete on football fields instead of sending them to battlefields. Let goals replace graves. Do you also have something to say?
Approximately 48 wars are still raging around the world. Thousands of people are being killed, wounded, and displaced from their homes, while young people who have never met are sent to kill one another. The time has come to find a more humane way to resolve conflicts.
Wars do not truly resolve disputes. They deepen hatred, create new wounds, and ultimately end through negotiations and agreements. Why, then, must thousands die before a solution is reached?
We at IFLAC — the International Forum for the Literature and Culture of Peace — propose a bold alternative: nations and peoples in conflict should send their young people to compete on football fields instead of sending them to battlefields.
Football is a universal language. People compete intensely, but according to rules, with skill, discipline, and respect. At the end of the match, both teams remain alive. We propose that the current World Cup become a historic World Cup for Global Peace. When two peoples enter a conflict that may develop into war, they should compete on the green grass of a football field instead of on a bloody battlefield.
The winner would not gain the right to conquer or humiliate. The winner would assume the responsibility of proposing a fair and practical solution to the conflict. The two sides would then meet, with the assistance of professional mediators, and transform the proposal into a mutually accepted peace agreement.
The true victory would not be the victory of one side, but the prevention of war and the saving of lives. Football alone cannot solve every conflict — but neither can bombs. Peace requires courage, imagination, fairness, and negotiation.
Humanity has already abolished slavery and outlawed dueling. Now comes the greatest test of all: to abolish war as an accepted means of resolving conflicts.
The FIFA World Cup 2026 offers a historic opportunity to send the world a simple and clear message: football fields, not battlefields. Choose the ball, not the bomb.
Let goals replace graves. Some may say that this idea is idealistic. But what is truly unrealistic — asking young people to compete with a ball, or continuing to send them to kill one another?
War is not a law of nature. It is a human institution, and what humanity has created, humanity can also change. The time has come to choose life, fair play, and Global Peace instead of war.
The author is a sociologist, peace researcher, writer, and poet, and the Founder and President of IFLAC — the International Forum for the Literature and Culture of Peace.
https://www.ynet.co.il/sport/article/skorlpizfg