Israel to play 'home' EURO 2024 qualifiers in Hungary

How have the October 7 terrorist attacks and the Israel-Hamas conflict impacted football?

The conflict has led to the suspension of domestic football in Israel until later this month if all goes to plan from now on. International matches involving Israel's national teams and clubs were postponed following the Islamist militant group Hamas' October 7 terrorist attacks on Israel, but these have since resumed. Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization by the European Union, the United States, Germany and other countries.

Last Sunday, the men's national team lost 1-0 to Kosovo in a EURO 2024 qualifier played in Pristina. Last Thursday, Maccabi Haifa lost 2-1 to Spanish club Villarreal in Larnaca, Cyprus, in the Europa League. These Israeli home matches were moved abroad for security reasons.

Where will the Israeli national teams play their home games?

The women's national team is set to play both of their Nations League matches against Kazakhstan in Astana on November 23 and November 26. Officially, the November 23 match is a home fixture for Israel. Then they have two matches against Armenia (an away game on November 29 in Armavir and a "home game" on December 2 in Yerevan). Israel's last group-stage "home game" against Estonia is scheduled for December 5 in the small Hungarian town of Felcsut. This is also where the men's national team will play two home games, on Wednesday against Switzerland and on Saturday, November 18, against Romania.

Why are the national teams playing in Hungary, governed by right-wing populist Viktor Orban?

European football's governing body UEFA has not commented on why Hungary was chosen, but the Hungarian Football Federation said in a statement that "it was not a question … to come to the aid of the UEFA and the Israeli federation."

Since 2020, Hungary has provided a neutral venue for 32 other club and national team matches. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is known to be a big football fan and is a longtime friend of Israel's right-wing conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Orban often refers to his good relations with Netanyahu when responding to accusations of antisemitic tendencies among members of his government. A statement by the Hungarian prime minister's political advisor, Balasz Orban (no relation), on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, showed that Viktor Orban's government welcomed the upcoming matches.

Felcsut is a community of 1,800 inhabitants located some 45 kilometers (28 miles) west of Budapest — and it happens to be where the Hungarian prime minister spent much of his childhood. The 4,000-seat Pancho Arena, located next door to Viktor Orban's weekend home, was opened in 2014. The opposition has criticized the prime minister over the construction of the stadium, accusing him of wasting taxpayers' money on the project, which cost €12.4 million ($13.3 million).

What security measures will be in place?

The Israeli secret service was involved in the planning for Israel's match in Kosovo, a predominantly Muslim country — and there was a strong security presence in the stadium. Whistles and booing were heard during the playing of the Israeli national anthem in Pristina, something that isn't expected to happen in Felcsut.

Pro-Palestinian rallies are usually banned in Hungary. At the end of October, the country was one of only four EU countries to vote against a United Nations resolution that called for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, without specifically referring to the October 7 Hamas attack.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has described recent pro-Palestinian demonstrations in other EU countries as alarming, saying this would be unthinkable in Hungary. He has also stressed the Hungarian government's position that Israel has the right to self-defense.

How does playing home games on the road affect Israel's chances of qualifying for EURO 2024?

Israel, who is third in Group I, four points behind second-placed Switzerland, do not stand much of a chance for direct qualification, as only the top two advance. More of a problem than the absence of home advantage may be a lack of match fitness due to the suspension of play in the domestic league.

Should Israel miss out on direct qualification, they will have a second chance. By finishing top of Group B2 in the Nations League, Israel qualified for the playoffs next March. There, 12 nations will compete for three remaining places at EURO 2024.

Israel can take heart from the experience of Ukraine, who have not been able to play any of their home games at home since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022. Going into their "home game" against defending European champions Italy in Leverkusen next Monday, Ukraine are in second place in Group C.

This article was originally written in German.