The ‘Peace Games’: The International Football Superstar Match
The Peace Games, which took place for the first time in August 2013, were the initiative of leading production company Comtecgroup, headed by Dani Benaim, in collaboration with the Israeli Ministry of Education. Comtecgroup specializes in the production of the largest sports and cultural events in Israel. The management of the prestigious Barcelona Football Club decided to accept the invitation by the late President Shimon Peres and come to Israel as part of the club’s tradition of promoting peace and tolerance in the world. As the years have passed, the Peace Games have become a strategic initiative to promote universal values and cross-sector cooperation while bolstering the image and reputation of the State of Israel.
Over the years, Frish managed the media strategy and branding of the project. She formulated meaningful content pillars for the coverage of the events, helping to spread their influence in Israel and around the world. The strategic plan led to the creation of substantive and meaningful content beyond the boundaries of sport and helped to develop the discourse on education for peace and tolerance. This, in turn, promotes Israeli-Palestinian cooperation and strengthens Israel’s international status as a hub for sports.
The friendly games featured the stars of the world’s leading football club, Barcelona, including legendary players Messi, Neymar, Xavi, Iniesta, Pique, and Puyol. It took place in 2013 at the Dora International Stadium near Hebron (in the Palestinian Authority-administered territories) and at the Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv-Yafo. The guests at the games were Jewish, Muslim, and Christian children from Israel and the West Bank who conveyed a clear message to the world of peace and tolerance. Photos from the visit to Israel were displayed for many weeks on the official website of the Catalonian club and the international media campaign gained extensive exposure on the foremost sports channels around the world, social media, and leading websites.
In 2019, Dani Benaim’s Comtecgroup, together with philanthropist Sylvan Adams, engineered the visit of the Argentina and Uruguay national football teams to Israel for a historic friendly match to promote peace, held at the Bloomfield Stadium. The game was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for Muslim, Christian, and Jewish children who play football together and dream of achieving peace through sport. The game was broadcast live to 70 countries in the world and was watched by millions of viewers on various online platforms. The exceptional and large-scale event received tremendous coverage. The Peace Games thus made a significant contribution to the positive branding of the State of Israel and bolstering its image as a center of sport.
In the summer of 2022, the biggest football stars in the world – Messi, Neymar, and Sergio Ramos – arrived in Israel to play in the French Super Cup. The players provided moments of happiness for tens of thousands of viewers in Israel and tens of millions of fans around the world who had the opportunity to experience the visit, and the game, as a result of the extensive media set-up and cooperation with the French football league. As part of the game, which aimed to promote tolerance and patience through sport, the players of the teams and the superstars paid a moving visit to children from the “Save a Child’s Heart” humanitarian organization. They also traveled around Israel, visited the beaches of Tel Aviv, and uploaded posts and videos documenting their visit and their experiences in Israel. This content received wide-ranging, significant exposure and reached millions of people around the world.
