The National’s Sport cover for the Tuesday, July 28 issue, featuring Ali Khaled’s “football in times of crisis” series piece on Palestinian football.
The last of five stories that have explored the dnyamics of football in conflict-stricken Middle Eastern countries, Ali explores how Palestinian football attempts to cope while the Gaza Strip still lays in ruins.
“Football, like everything else in Gaza, is touched by tragedy,” he writes.
“Google “Gaza football” and search results are as likely to show reports of an infamous slaughter of four children as they are to have any information on the Gaza Premier League.
“On July 16 of last year, cousins Mohammed Bakr, 11, Ahed Bakr and Zakaria Bakr, both 10, and nine-year-old Ismael Bakr were playing football on a Gaza beach when they were struck down by gunfire from an Israeli warship.
“They were among 2,251 killed in a 51-day onslaught by Israel. So was Ahed Zaqout, 49, one of Palestine’s greatest players, two weeks later, as he slept in his apartment. Tens of thousands were maimed or made homeless.
“One year on, Gaza is still in ruins. Little has been rebuilt. Water and electricity are scarce in many areas, and building supplies hard to obtain. The strip remains isolated from the outside world thanks to an eight-year blockade by Israel that cuts off Gaza from land, sea and air.
“The spectre of another war, too, is never far away for Gaza’s 1.8 million people.
“There is little cause for cheer for the youth of Gaza; unemployment is 40 per cent and young people make up two-thirds of that number. For them, the foreseeable future is grim. Yet hope has come from a familiar source.
“Against all odds, football, somehow, has continued to provide escapism for fans and an escape route for players.”
Ali’s full story delves into the dynamics of professional footballers in Palestine, the divide between Gaza clubs and their West Bank counterparts and the trials and triumphs of the national team.
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