Peres hosting ‘Mini World Cup for Peace’ for Israelis and Palestinians

Former president Shimon Peres is hosting a “Mini World Cup for Peace” on Monday in Herzliya, including soccer players from Israel’s Premier League, foreign diplomats, local mayors, and 300 Israeli and Palestinian children.

A team of professional soccer players will play against a team of foreign diplomats and local politicians in a tournament that will “convey a message of tolerance and and end to racism” in soccer, says a statement from the Peres Center for Peace.

The exhibition match will be held in memory of Johan Cruyff, the legendary Dutch soccer player whose son Jordi is sports director at Maccabi Tel Aviv. Johan Cryuff, says the Peres Center, “was a major supporter over the years of education for coexistence and tolerance through football in Israel.”