Palestinian club football to restart in September after Gaza war suspension

The Palestinian Football Association has announced that it will resume activity in September after a nearly three-year pause due to Israel’s genocidal war on Palestinians in Gaza.

“We announce the resumption of sports activities and the football association’s league beginning September 4,” association President Jibril Rajoub said at a Ramallah news conference on Monday.

Palestinian sports leagues, including professional football, came to a halt after the war began on October 7, 2023.

The association has named the first tournament back the “Thousand Martyrs’ Cup”, to honour the 1,014 Palestinian athletes killed by Israel during the war, according to the association’s data.

More than 200 clubs will compete in the tournament, including 146 from the Israeli-occupied West Bank, 44 from Gaza, and 36 from Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon.

The tournament will kick off simultaneously in the three locations.

Rajoub said the war “created difficult conditions for all Palestinians that led to the suspension of our competitions and activities”.

“But we have not lost our Palestinian national will, nor have we lost our belief that sport will remain a symbol of hope and life,” he said.

Rajoub noted that the association and Palestinian clubs faced tough financial circumstances.

During the news conference, he called on FIFA and other federations to stand by Palestinian sports and to protect the rights of players, clubs and children to enjoy sports in “freedom and dignity”.

The association previously issued a statement regarding FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s now-withdrawn plan to open tournaments to private investors, saying “many today are questioning FIFA’s commercial direction”.

“But for Palestine, the issue is more fundamental … Our question is whether FIFA still has the courage to apply its regulations to everyone equally … without succumbing to political pressures,” Rajoub said.

The association has called on FIFA to impose sanctions on Israeli clubs that operate in occupied West Bank settlements and to suspend Israel’s FIFA membership over the country’s conduct in Gaza.

Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are illegal under international law.

“We are not asking for privileges; we are demanding legitimate rights guaranteed by international sporting laws and charters,” Rajoub said.