The Honourable Adam van Koeverden Secretary of State for Sports

MP for Burlington North – Milton West

26th August 2025

Re:2026

FIFA Men’s World cup in Canada and the USA.

I wrote to you on 12^th August 2025 about the Davis cup match up with the genocidal state of Israel and heard nothing back and see no intention from you to act in any way.  You will not be anti-semantic but you will be realistic in wanting to play only against honourable opponents.

Your lack of any action indicates to me that you will do nothing if Israel manages to get into the select few countries which will wind up playing in Canada or the USA for the FIFA world cup next year.   You can at least make sure that they do not play in Canada against our national team and instead play in the USA where their genocide of Gaza is welcomed and condoned with military and logistic support.   OOOPs I forgot for a moment that we (the Canadian government, not the people) are also supplying them with ammunition and maybe even military personnel.  

However, that is the government’s choice not that of the Canadian people, and I am sure that Canadians would not like to see any team from Israel playing in Canada or against Canadian athletes.   

We are, unlike our government, not bound by the Zionist lobbies and IF you represent anyone in Canada at all you will take steps to enforce our sovereignty.  Sports teams from  genocidal countries should not be any more welcome that the leaders of such countries.

So far, I am waiting for you to uphold Canadian values rather than fear the consequences of standing up for Canadians.

Imagine if you were a Russian Athlete and knew that your country had come the aid of fellow Russian speakers whose lands had been invaded for 10 years by Nazis backed by the USA, and that as your soldiers won land back they were rebuilding what had been destroyed, roads, hospitals, schools, homes etc., and yet you are denied the ability to take part in competitions because you are facing down the USA and Canada .  Worst yet another country which is conducting genocide and has almost completely destroyed the Palestinian strip of Gaza, wages war with Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Yemen and yet is welcomed with open arms because the USA and Canada must approve of genocide as they help arm it.

I know if I were in that position I would refuse to take part in any competition in which either the USA or Canada were participants and my honour and self-respect would be intact.

Please make me approve of your actions for once.

Jeremy Arney