Battleangel

I noticed that Gothia Cup opened today and that Palestine for the first time ever had a team listed. Apparently they tried to get a visa for the last six years but have always been turned down. I happened to catch a radio interview with one of the players as well as the coach and it’s fair to say that sports in Palestine under occupation could have been more fun. Like not getting killed or maimed for starters.

How long will it be before someone accuses Sweden of being anti-Israeli and starts mouthing off about bias? Before anyone does, I should point out that Migrationsverket has for years denied the requests of Palestinian teams. They did however think that last year’s Palestinian-Israeli “Peace Team” (an illusion under a grand name) was a swell idea at the same time as they refused an all-Palestinian team once again.

So what we have here is a sense of justice and normality, finally, and even if this is hardly world events, I still think this is a significant political gesture.