More than a year after cancellation, Argentina’s national soccer team to play in Israel

Threats from the BDS movement had forced the cancellation of a 2018 match against Israel. Now the South Americans will play Uruguay in Tel Aviv.

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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (JTA) — Argentina’s national soccer team will play next month in Israel, more than a year after the cancellation of a match due to pressure from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.

The Argentine team will play Uruguay in a friendly held in Tel Aviv on Nov. 19.

Argentina’s national team is led by the global star Lionel Messi, who currently plays for the Spanish team Barcelona.

The Argentine broadcaster Torneos y Competencias, or TyC, which hold the rights to broadcast the national team matches, announced the scheduled match on Thursday. The team will first play a friendly against Brazil in Saudi Arabia on Nov. 15 before heading to Israel.

Argentina had been scheduled to play Israel’s national team in June 2018 in Jerusalem just before the World Cup in Russia, but the match was canceled after personal threats to Messi and his family, as well as to the entire team.

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