Despite the war in Israel, the Palestinian national team is competing in the Asian Cup. The team wants to reach the round of 16 – and “express national identity”.
The Asia Cup in Qatar will be looking for the best national team on the Asian continent from January 12th. Some nations such as South Korea (with Min-jae Kim from FC Bayern) or Japan (with Ritsu Doan from SC Freiburg) are entering the competition with well-known players.
But in addition to the big football nations, there are also the smaller participants – countries that are in the lower reaches of the FIFA world rankings. Bahrain, for example (86th place), Thailand (113th) – or Palestine, listed in 99th place.
Palestine: FIFA member since 1998
There is great political disagreement over the question of whether Palestine should be recognized as a sovereign state. However, things are different in football: the “Palestinian Football Association” was founded in 1962 and was accepted into FIFA in 1998. This is how it happens that the Palestinian national team is now in its third year Participates in the Asian Continental Championships for the first time. In Group C, the opening opponent is Iran on January 14th, followed by the United Arab Emirates (January 18th) and Hong Kong (January 23rd).
The history of the Palestinian national team has always been special. For example, the selection was only able to play its first game in front of home fans in 2008; previously, home games had always been played abroad for security reasons.
However, due to the armed conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas, the situation has now changed drastically: there is war at home, the players had to prepare for the tournament in Algeria, and some of their family members are still in Gaza. Under these circumstances, football quickly takes a back seat.
Coach Daboub: “Everyone follows the news”
The Tunisian Makram Daboub is the team’s coach. Speaking to the AFP news agency, he said of his players: “They are anxious all the time and think about their families.” Everyone follows the news, said the coach. Due to the “lack of competition” his team is having physical, technical and tactical problems – “not to mention the mental side”.
Participate in a soccer tournament despite the war? Susan Shalabi, the vice-president of the Palestinian Football Association, reiterates this decision: “Through football we can express our national identity.” So it’s about more than just surviving the group stage.
Dabbagh is the star
Half of the Palestinian squad consists of players who are active in clubs in the Palestinian territories. Gaming operations there have been suspended since the Palestinian Hamas attack on Israeli soil on October 7, 2023 and the subsequent retaliatory strikes by Israel. The remaining players are spread across the globe, from the Swedish second division to Thailand.
The star of the Palestinians is Oday Dabbagh. The 25-year-old strikes for the Belgian first division club RSC Charleroi (17 games, four goals). He will also be important at the Asian Cup. Incidentally, Israel is not competing there, although geographically it is part of the Middle East: the national team around goalkeeper Daniel Peretz from FC Bayern wants to qualify for the European Championship in Germany at the end of March via the playoffs.
2024-01-05 20:10:26
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