Advocacy groups use Times Square Billboard to ask a European ban on the Israel football team, players

A coalition of interest groups and fang groups called on European football federations to boycott Israel in a Times Square Billboard that went live on Tuesday, #Gameoverisrael Campaign months before the FIFA World Cup 2026.

The Billboard went up on Tuesday in New York, which will organize eight competitions in the World Cup next year, including the final. Canada and Mexico organize co-host of the four-year international competition with the United States.

The campaign is calling for football federations in Belgium, England, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Scotland and Spain to Boycott the Israeli national team and to ban Israeli players from domestic matches, referring to the constant attacks in Gaza.

«While the United States is preparing for organizing the FIFA World Cup in 2026, Americans are not allowed to allow our stadiums to become platforms for money laundering war crimes,» said the national executive director of the American anti-discrimination committee of the American Arabia in a statement.

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The ADC launched the #Gameoverisrael Initiative with various European partners.

«We stand with our European counterparts and demand that every football board body takes immediate and decisive action to ban Israel from international competition,» said Ayoub. «The world must tell Israel that the game is over and that there is no room in sport for war criminals.»

A committee of inquiry from the United Nations concluded on Tuesday that Israel committed genocide in Gaza. Israeli officials rejected the findings of the report, in which the Israeli ambassador in the United Nations called it ‘outrageous’ and ‘fake’.

The Billboard, which was located near the intersection of Broadway and West 43rd Street, contains the word ‘genocide’, of which ADC said it was only approved by the Billboard Company after it had seen the text of the UN committee’s report.

Israel is currently third in the table in its World Cup qualifying group I, behind Norway and Italy. The winners of the 12 qualifying groups of UEFA get direct access to the World Cup while second place goes in the play-offs.

Published on September 17, 2025