Palestinian football, whose national team is preparing to compete in the 2023 Asian Cup finals, is paying a heavy price for the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, as players and their relatives were killed, stadiums were bombed, and matches were suspended.
Less than two weeks before the 2023 AFC Asian Cup finals, which run from January 12 to February 10 in Qatar, members of the Palestinian national team do not appear to be in the mood for football.
The Palestinian team is playing in the third group, alongside Iran, the three-time Asian champion, the Emirates, and Hong Kong, in a task that will not be easy for the companions of Tunisian coach Makram Daboub, the coach of the Palestinian team, as the Palestine team has not won any match so far in the Asian Cup during its two participations. The previous two.
Daboub, coach of the “Guardian” team, confirms that the players “follow the news before and after training, on the bus, and in the hotel. They are in a constant state of anxiety, and they think about their families.”
The Palestinian team, which is participating in the Asian Cup for the third time, is expected to hold a final training session today, Tuesday, in Doha, before the start of the matches.
The official Palestinian News Agency, Wafa, wrote yesterday, Monday, “The Palestinian fans are counting on (the national team) a lot to achieve satisfactory results in the Asian Cup, despite the difficult circumstances that our people are experiencing as a result of the Israeli aggression that caused the cessation of football competitions.”
For his part, Daboub continues, “We have physical, technical, and tactical problems due to the suspension of the football tournament and the lack of competition, in addition to the psychological dimension of all of this.”
“Confirming Palestinian identity”
Football competitions have been suspended in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip since the outbreak of war on the besieged Strip.
After 88 days of occupation aggression, more than 22,000 people were martyred, most of them women and children, and about 58,000 were injured, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health, which is the highest toll for any Israeli operation to date.
Among the ranks of the Palestinian national team, “many players are suffering, and I can name among them: Mahmoud Wadi and Muhammad Saleh,” according to Daboub.
The coach explained, “They work in Egypt, but their families in Gaza and their homes were destroyed, and their relatives were killed or displaced… and the two players are living in difficult circumstances.”
He continues, “Our goal is to qualify for the advanced stages of the Asian Cup, and to show an image of honor for Palestinian football.”
He added, “Raising the Palestinian flag in international forums or continental competitions is an affirmation of Palestinian identity, and that in the land of Palestine there are people who deserve freedom and a better life.”
“One of the oldest stadiums in Palestine”
For his part, the head of the Palestinian Football Association, Lieutenant General Jibril Rajoub, says, “In light of the comprehensive war waged by the Israeli occupation against all Palestinians (…) the youth, sports and scouting movements were not isolated from what our people are going through.”
He added, “More than 1,000 members of the youth, sports and scout movement have been killed so far, including martyrs, wounded and missing, and tens of thousands of displaced people.”
Rajoub accuses the Israeli army of “targeting sports facilities and the headquarters of Palestinian sports federations and clubs.”
He continued, referring to pictures showing naked Palestinians, including children, at the Yarmouk Football Stadium in Gaza, “The occupation showed us horrific images during its invasion of the Yarmouk Stadium in the Gaza Strip, and turned it into a center for detention, torture, and interrogation of our people, in clear and clear violation of the Olympic Charter, and all Continental and international laws and conventions.
Rajoub says, “This stadium, which is considered one of the oldest stadiums in Palestine and was established in 1938 and was prepared to meet international requirements for being approved as a Palestinian home stadium, is not isolated from what the Palestinian sports movement is going through, and what the Palestinian territories in general are witnessing as a result of this blatant aggression against our people.”
The Palestinian Football Association announced that it had sent “urgent letters to the International Olympic Committee and all international, continental and regional federations,” including the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), “demanding the opening of an urgent international investigation into the occupation’s crimes against sports and athletes in Palestine.”