ABSTRACT
The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is an unusual institution, a Swiss association counting more national members than the United Nations and more powerful than certain states. It rules over global football in a controversial way and exercises, despite its formal private nature, a peculiar form of transnational authority over the beautiful game. In fine, the transnational legality of Israeli football activity in the settlements remains an open question and the Palestinian Football Association remains free to attempt to raise the issue again in the near future, be it with the FIFA Congress or through an internal complaint with the judicial bodies of FIFA. FIFA membership has long been perceived as a symbolic achievement for Palestinians, a source of nationalist pride and consciousness, which has served as a transnational platform to showcase their identity and legitimise their quest for an independent and sovereign state.
