SAN FRANCISCO
Lee Heidhues 1.20.2024
The Israelis have killed nearly 25,000 Palestinian children, women and men since its military began its retaliatory onslaught in Gaza last October. In retaliation for the brutal Hamas attack in Israel which killed 1200 people on October 7.
This week the Palestine national football team played its first match at the Asian Cup games in Qatar. The players received a joyous welcome and overwhelming support.
Excerpted from Deutsche Welle 1.17.2024
Palestine have never won an Asian Cup match, but the usual laser focus of professional athletes is impossible for players like Mohammed Saleh. The defender told news agency AFP that he had not heard from his family for days.
“They are living in a tent on open land… May God help them,” he said after the match, explaining that his home in Gaza City had been destroyed and his family constantly had to relocate during over 100 days of fighting in the Palestinian territory.
Shortly before the tournament kicked off, the defender was told that his uncle, his aunt and their children had been killed in the conflict. “We play football for them… for Gaza… for our cause,” he added.
Palestine men’s national football team coach Makram Daboub admitted it had been difficult to control his players’ emotions for their opening game at the Asian Cup, a match that coincided with the 100th day of the Israel-Hamas war.
Captain Musab Al-Battat took to the stage for the players’ oath and Palestinian music at the beginning and end of the opening ceremony, while shouts of “free Palestine” were heard during the Iran match.
“In the previous game the focus at the start was not what we intended,” Daboub said on Wednesday ahead of the country’s second group-stage game vs. the United Arab Emirates.
“No coach would want the scenario we had against Iran, but the game against UAE is different because we have the same chances and it is important for us to get the three points.”
In purely sporting terms, Tamer Seyam’s strike in the 4-1 loss was a mere consolation, but Palestine’s first goal of the Asian Cup was greeted with a huge roar from the stands.
Palestine started their Asian Cup with their domestic league suspended amid the war in Gaza and the support for them was clear from the off in Qatar.
In addition, fans of a number of nationalities in Qatar came dressed in Palestine shirts or draped in its flag and keffiyehs.
https://www.dw.com/en/asian-cup-emotion-high-for-palestine-football-team/a-67997968
Top photo: Palestine team on the pitch in Qatar
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