The Palestine u-19 football tour of Britain, scheduled to take place from Aug 21st to September 10th has been cancelled, after the British Consul in Jerusalem refused the entire team and its support staff visas to the UK. The Consul have produced a written reason for the refusal, but as yet has not made this publicly available.

The tour was designed with a political motive, to act as an alternative focus to the England vs Israel international at Wembley on September 8th. But it was also an opportunity to raise the profile of Palestinian football, and the enormous disadvantages faced by Palestinian players under Israeli occupation. Football is incredibly popular in Palestine but national domestic competition has been made all but impossible by Israeli restrictions on movement, and sporting development is limited by the lack of facilities (some of which the Israeli armed forces have destroyed).

A spokesman for CAPE, who put the tour together, commented, "For CAPE, the organisers, it is most definitely not the end of the road. We will consider how best to protest this set-back, but, immediately, we would like everyone to write to the Foreign Office, King Charles Street, London SW1A 2AH on a postcard or in a letter just 'We want Palestine Football'. You can write it on the back of a sealed envelope with the address on the front".

The focus must now be on the vigil at Wembley on September 8th, see www.palestinecampaign.org, and the call to Kick Israeli Apartheid out of Football.