GAZA Football World Cup - Football comes to Gaza
If Gaza cannot make it to the World Cup, the people of Gaza will make sure the World cup comes to them, even if it is in the form of their own local version of the championship; the Gaza World Cup. Earlier this month, 16 clubs came together in Gaza to partake in their own version of the tournament in a bid to show the world that life does exist beyond the blockades. It was a time for people to cherish and to enjoy the game of football in a bid to come together through sports.
The aim of the organisers was to show the world, the steadfastness of the people of Gaza who have suffered immensely at the behest of the three-year-old Israeli blockade. They have exhibited the resolve of the people of Gaza who have risen once again, fifteen months after the end of the three week military operation by the Israelis. And that is not all. The trophy that will be given to the winning team has been carefully constructed out of iron - and its not just any iron – the trophy is made up of pieces that were pulled out from the debris of houses and buildings that were destroyed during this three week offensive.
The main aim of the FIFA World Cup is to unite the world through sports, but due to its unique political status, the Gaza strip has become increasingly isolated. Football fans in the strip have had to root for teams other than their own due to their non participation. The Gazan’s were not disheartened about the fact their entry into the World Cup was denied. They picked up the pieces and gathered two hundred of their best players as well as foreign amateurs residing in Gaza for various humanitarian purposes, to create their own version of the tournament, not just for the love of the game but also as a means of staging a protest.
The idea for having this parallel World Cup can be attributed to Patrick McCan from America and Palestinian Ashraf Mohammad Hamad. Patrick started an NGO in the strip called Jumpstart which built schools and trained the youth.
In the spirit of the South African World cup, each team has adopted the name of one country that is actually participating in the FIFA World Cup, with the addition of Egypt, Palestine and Jordan. The opening ceremony was celebrated with much fervour at the Palestine Stadium in Gaza, where Palestinian heritage dancers performed and the flags of all the participating teams were flown all around the stadium. And when the referee blew the final whistle of the opening match, the “home” team lost to team “Italy” by one goal to nil. And after two weeks of epic battles between all the participating teams, it was team “France” that ultimately lifted the prestigious trophy, beating “Jordan” in the final.
To include the entire community in this venture, all the fifteen matches were held for free and both men and women from the Gaza strip were welcome to come and watch the teams take on each other.
One of the football players hopes that the world watches the resilience of the people of Gaza and realizes that these people are unable to fulfil their dreams as they are prisoners in their own homes. As we can see that this year, the World Cup is taking place in South Africa, a nation that suffered at the hands of apartheid for almost five decades. The story of survival can set an example of hope for the strife-torn people of Gaza that they too, one day, will be allowed to follow their dreams and participate in the FIFA World Cup in the future.
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