Palestinian football to return after three-year halt with ‘Thousand Martyrs Cup’

Jibril Rajoub, president of the Palestinian Football Association, has announced the resumption of football activities in Palestine after a three-year suspension, with the new “Thousand Martyrs Cup” due to begin on 4 September.

Rajoub unveiled the competition at a news conference on Monday at the Joseph Blatter Academy in Al-Bireh, in the West Bank. The tournament will involve 226 clubs, according to the Palestinian Football Association, with teams from the northern governorates, different areas of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

The association said the participating clubs would include 146 from the northern governorates, 48 from the northern West Bank, 60 from the central West Bank, 38 from the southern West Bank, 44 from the Gaza Strip and 36 from Lebanon.

The opening programme will feature three matches played simultaneously.

In the northern governorates, Jabal Al-Mukaber will face Shabab Al-Khalil at Faisal Al-Husseini Stadium. In the southern governorates, Shabab Rafah will play Khadamat Rafah, while Lebanon’s fixture will see Al-Ansar meet Al-Nahda at Ain al-Hilweh camp.

Rajoub said the tournament’s first round would be played in a group format across the governorates and association branches. The Palestinian Football Association will provide a uniform payment to every club that meets the minimum requirements, with the money intended to help cover equipment and transport costs needed for the return of sporting activity.

“The announcement of the resumption of sporting activity comes as part of a review of the past, so that we can build the future,” Rajoub said.

He added: “Over the past three years, the Israeli occupation had political, geographical and purification objectives, as well as seeking to erase the Palestinian sports movement from memory, which he said was among the occupation’s priorities.”

Rajoub also called on Palestinian athletes to work together to rebuild sport in the country and provide hope and moments of happiness for Palestinians at home and in the diaspora.

Three versions of the “Thousand Martyrs Cup” are being produced for the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. Each trophy will carry the names of Palestinian sports martyrs, whose number the association puts at 1,014.

Speaking about the financial challenges facing Palestinian sport, Rajoub said the Palestinian government had been the only source of funding for sporting activities during the past period. He noted that the association had also received several projects from FIFA and overseas organisations, including the Norwegian Football Federation, which helped establish the Phoenix centres in the Gaza Strip.

“FIFA provided projects related to the technical sports centre, the rehabilitation of Faisal Al-Husseini Stadium and the funding of girls’ centres, and everyone must understand the scale of the financial distress facing the Palestinian sports movement,” Rajoub said.

He added: “All governments placed their resources at our disposal, but the situation today is more difficult. The association has so far been unable to obtain the bank loan it had been seeking to support the resumption of sporting activity.”

Rajoub said the national team’s financial reward for taking part in the most recent Arab Cup would arrive from FIFA in the coming days.

The Palestinian Football Association also announced that Palestine would take part in the forthcoming Asian Games in Japan with a delegation of 108 athletes. Of those, 67 men and women will compete in 19 sports, comprising 11 individual sports, seven combat sports and one team sport.

The situation in Gaza remains dependent on whether access to the territory can be secured. Rajoub said FIFA had confirmed that options remained open for the restoration of sporting activity there if it became possible to reach the area.

He renewed his appeal to FIFA, continental and national football associations, and the wider international sporting community to support Palestinian sport, protect the rights of players, clubs and children to practise sport freely and with dignity, and ensure that the foundations of the Palestinian sports movement were not undermined.

“We are not asking for privileges, but demanding legitimate rights guaranteed by international sporting laws and conventions, giving players the opportunity to exercise their natural right to compete,” Rajoub said.