He is twenty-one years old, before the war he was a promising player in local football and now he doesn’t want to give up. And Sibilla Bacoli, in Campania’s Excellency, has already moved to open a humanitarian corridor and host him and his family
Yousef barely receives messages on WhatsApp, the connection in the south of the Gaza Strip is very limited. He lives in a tent city together with the rest of his family, their house was destroyed by a bombing. He is 21 years old, before the war he was a promising young footballer: “I have always played. At 10 years old I was in the Al-Hilal Academy, then I was promoted to the first team. We also took part in a tournament in Ireland. With Shabab Jabalia I made my debut in the Palestinian Premier League. I had even entered the youth national team. Now I don’t even have a ball anymore.” The boy tells his story with deep sadness. In the country the championship has been stopped for three years. Before he enjoyed dribbling on the beach with friends, now many of his former teammates are dead. Yousef did not give up and made an appeal on social media: “There is nothing left in Gaza, all we have left is hope. Mine is to play. I know I have potential and a good attitude. If you need a footballer, choose me. It’s my only opportunity to escape the war.”
Bacoli’s response
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Yousef is very popular on social media. He has over 11 thousand followers, although his posts are still over a year old. The only souvenir he has left of football are some Bayern Munich shirts he received from volunteers in Gaza. The video in which he asks for help to play abroad has gone around the web: “I’m happy that people are talking about me – he admitted -. We live difficult days, my brothers and I look for water and food every morning to survive. We spend the afternoon collecting what we find among the rubble to light the fire during the night”. Yousef’s appeal was accepted by the city of Bacoli, in the province of Naples, and by Sibilla: a club newly promoted to Eccellenza Campania. “After a discussion with the mayor Josi Della Ragione – says Luigi Illiano, president of the team -, we decided to offer full hospitality to the boy. We want to register him and offer him the opportunity to wear our shirt. We have already started the first contacts with the Farnesina and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to open a humanitarian corridor. The situation is complicated, but we hope to be able to achieve this objective through football and welcome Yousef into our group”.
yousef’s hope
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In 2025 Bacoli Sibilla celebrated 100 years since its foundation, last season the team also won the Promotion championship. Now, thanks to the support of the Municipality, it is ready to host Yousef Jendeya: “We have already arranged accommodation for him and his entire family – confirms president Illiano -. Like the other players he will also receive a salary. Finally he will be able to dedicate himself solely to football”. When the boy learned of the possibility he was moved: “I can’t wait to get to Italy. I thank the city and Sibilla for what they are doing.” Yousef has not lost hope. He fights every day to survive and dreams of going back to doing what he loves most: “Before the war I lived a normal life. I trained, at the weekend I went to the pitch. All this has taken away our smiles, we can no longer play and have fun. It was our only way to be happy.”
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