Why is there a national team without a recognized Palestinian state?
The Football Association of Palestine was founded in 1928. At that time, the association primarily represented Jewish and British footballers who played in the British mandate territory after the First World War. After the founding of the State of Israel in 1948, the association was merged into the Israel Football Association. In 1962, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) was founded, a separate association for the Arab Palestinians – with leagues in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The world association FIFA and the Asian association AFC only recognized the PFA in 1998, after the autonomous authority had formally taken over government functions in the Palestinian territories.
The Palestinian national team initially only played abroad. In 2008, the first FIFA-compatible home stadium was inaugurated in Al-Ram, near the city of Ramallah in the West Bank, with artificial turf and 6,000 seats. However, due to the often tense situation in Palestinian areas, some home games were played abroad.
What consequences does the current Middle East conflict have for the Palestinian national team?
The Palestinian team suffered a similar fate to the Israeli national team: they lost match practice and also had to look for safe replacement locations for the upcoming international games. Football operations have been suspended in the Palestinian territories. The PFA canceled the national team’s start at the Merdeka tournament in Malaysia.
At the “Mini Asia Cup” in mid-October, in which hosts Malaysia, India and eventual winner Tajikistan also competed, the Palestinian footballers actually wanted to prepare for the upcoming tasks in the Asian qualification for the 2026 World Cup: away against Lebanon , at home against Australia. Because of Israel’s military conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip and also with Hezbollah in Lebanon, both games were moved abroad. The Palestinian team prepared for the two World Cup qualifiers in Jordan.
Where will the games against Lebanon and Australia be played?
The Palestinians’ match against Lebanon will kick off this Thursday (November 16, 3 p.m. CET) in the city of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. The “home game” against Australia on Tuesday next week (November 21st, 3 p.m. CET) will be played in Ardiya in Kuwait. Algeria initially announced that it would host the Australia game and, until further notice, all other Palestinian competitive and test matches. But FIFA and the AFC whistled the North Africans back. The Palestinian team’s matches must be played “in accordance with the applicable rules in their geographical area, that is, on the Asian continent,” it said in a letter to the Algerian association.
Who plays on the Palestinian team?
The team has been coached by Makram Daboub since 2021. The Tunisian nominated 26 players for the two games against Lebanon and Australia. Ten of them play for clubs in the Palestinian territories and ten abroad, including in Indonesia, Thailand, Chile, Belgium, Sweden and Switzerland. Three players are under contract with Israeli clubs, three are currently without a club.
How should the Palestinian team be assessed in terms of sport?
In the current world rankings, the team is in position 96 out of 207 teams, 25 places behind Israel (71). The successes so far have been manageable. In 2014, the Palestinian team won the AFC Challenge Cup and qualified for the Asian Cup for the first time. At the 2015 tournament in Australia, the team was eliminated bottom of the group after three defeats. In 2019 in the United Arab Emirates, the team managed at least two draws, but missed out on reaching the quarter-finals again as third in the table. The Palestinians have qualified again for the upcoming Asian Championship, which will be played in Qatar from January 12th to February 10th, 2024.
The Palestinian footballers have always failed in the race for a World Cup ticket. This time the chances are better because the number of teams from Asia has doubled for the 2026 tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico: from four to eight. The aim of the Palestinian team is to at least finish second in the group and thus reach the third round of the Asian World Cup qualification for the first time. The third opponent in Group I alongside Jordan and Australia is Bangladesh, the last group match day is June 11, 2024. “Taking part in a World Cup would be a dream, every player wants to achieve that,” said goalkeeper Rami Hamadi, who is one of the most experienced in the world with 40 international matches current squad is. “And we want to let our people dream.”