CHENNAI: On Saturday evening, as the U17 Palestinian men’s football team held on to a 1-1 draw against India U17 at the EKA Arena in Ahmedabad, in the AFC U17 Asian Cup 2026 Qualifiers tournament, they walked off the field with their heads held high. The result may not be what they wanted, but for them reaching Ahmedabad and taking the field itself was a struggle.
Amidst the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine over the last two years or so, sport had taken a backseat. For this team, the preparation had been far from ideal. They did not win any matches at the the West Asian Football Federation’s (WAFF) U17 Championship last month.
Out of 23 total players selected, 18 were from West Bank, but only 11 from the region turned up. Several players had their lives uprooted and displaced because of the conflict, losing their documents in the process. Mohammed Joma Suleiman, the team manager, claimed that bringing in the players with Palestinian roots from other countries to their homeland proved to be a big hindrance.
“Because of the current situation, we could not bring players to train together, and our preparation was not that good,” Suleiman told this daily. “There is a player from Gaza, we cannot bring anyone from Gaza also because of the war and the genocide is happening there (Israel have repeatedly denied any and all accusations of genocide),” he added.
For the team, football is a way of resistance and bringing joy to the kids back home. “They know what it means to carry the Palestinian flag on their crests. Since the start, they know this is a mission and this way, they can share the happiness to Palestinian kids,” said Suleiman.