"The PFA board doesn't want Palestine's seat to be empty." That line from PFA Vice-President Susan Shalabi says everything about the stakes heading into the 76th FIFA Congress in Vancouver on April 30.
Palestinian football officials are caught in a visa limbo that could prevent them from attending one of football governance's most consequential annual events. Reports initially suggested their applications had been outright rejected. The reality is more complicated — and arguably more frustrating. Canada's Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has not yet issued final decisions on several applications, including that of PFA President Jibril Rajoub, whose case has been "flagged" according to internal FIFA emails viewed by CBC.
What's actually happening with the visas
The PFA has attended the FIFA Congress every year since 2009. Palestine has been a full FIFA member since 1998. This, according to Shalabi, is the first time they've faced obstacles like this.
One of the more clear-cut cases involves Gonzalo Boye, a Spanish lawyer brought in as a delegate after PFA General Secretary Firas Abu Hilal's original application ran into difficulty. Boye served eight years in a Spanish prison for involvement in a 1988 kidnapping carried out by the Basque separatist group ETA. FIFA's travel department flatly told the PFA his application "will not proceed and is expected to be rejected" — and noted it was "related to his personal history and not connected to the FIFA event." That one is hard to argue.
Rajoub's situation is less resolved. FIFA says it's still waiting on IRCC for a final call. Shalabi herself — currently in Ramallah — holds a European passport and has already secured travel authorisation. She'll be there. Whether her president will is another matter.
The Palestinian situation isn't isolated either. Over 10 countries have still not received visas, according to Shalabi. Canada does have a temporary policy to facilitate travel for FIFA Congress and World Cup attendees, but immigration lawyer Ravi Jain was blunt: some applicants face "a high likelihood of denial" regardless.
Why this matters beyond the politics
The FIFA Congress isn't ceremonial. As sports law expert Kat Vilarev put it, it is "the only annual event at which FIFA member associations can feed into global football governance." If the PFA can't attend, they lose their voice at the table — and they have specific, live grievances to raise.
The PFA is currently appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after FIFA's Disciplinary Committee levied sanctions against the Israel Football Association in March over settlement clubs operating in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The PFA called that ruling insufficient, citing "systemic discriminatory conduct" and "institutional failures to act." Their presence in Vancouver isn't symbolic — it's operational.
- PFA President Jibril Rajoub's visa application has been flagged; no final decision yet
- Delegate Gonzalo Boye's application expected to be rejected due to his criminal history in Spain
- Over 10 countries are still awaiting visa decisions ahead of the April 30 Congress
- Lebanon confirmed all its delegates have been approved and will travel as scheduled
- The PFA is appealing FIFA's Israel Football Association sanctions to CAS
Neither FIFA nor Canada Soccer responded to requests for comment. IRCC confirmed only that applications are assessed "on a case-by-case basis" and that all applicants "receive thorough correspondence" on decisions. Not exactly clarity under pressure.
"This is not good for FIFA or the World Cup," Shalabi said. With Canada co-hosting the 2026 men's World Cup, the optics of allied nations' football officials being blocked from entering the country — whatever the procedural reasons — are a problem the tournament organisers do not need right now.
