The Palestine men’s national football team have reached the Arab Cup for their second appearance in the tournament. But, in a world where teams are measured by victories and trophies, the team stands distinctly from their competitors. The squad have been born under Zionist occupation. They’ve forged their way through rubble and closed borders. They’ve moved whilst carrying the name of a homeland that has often been absent from maps, but never from the hearts of many.

Arab Cup welcomes Palestine

Since the beginning of the last century, Palestinians have been building their first stadiums in Jerusalem, Jaffa and Gaza. The first football association of Palestine was launched in 1928, one of the oldest Arab and Asian associations. However, sport was not immune to politics. Zionist bodies took control of the association with the support of the British Mandate. Then, the name Palestine began to disappear from international competitions. The pitch became a battleground for existence rather than a playing field.

After the Nakba, the Palestinian Football Association was founded in its modern form in 1952. But, the road to international recognition was long and bitter, until the Palestinian national team became a full member of FIFA in 1998. From that day on, the Fedayeen began to walk a path unlike any other national team.

Complicated travel arrangements, closed borders, players banned from travelling, intermittent training camps, and matches sometimes played without spectators, and sometimes without the players themselves due to arrest, injury, or martyrdom.

Nevertheless, Al-Fida’i persevered, because for them, playing was not just a sport, but part of their daily resistance in their own way.

Asian Challenge Cup

The year 2014 marked a major turning point when the team won the Asian Challenge Cup and reached the Asian Cup finals for the first time in its history. This was not only a sporting achievement, but also a historic event that brought Palestine back to the continent’s biggest stage and proved that this team was capable of overcoming not only its opponents but also its limitations.

Among 47 Asian federations, the Fedayeen managed to secure a place in three consecutive editions of the Asian Cup. They did so in spite of being the only team that includes players from Gaza, the West Bank, Jerusalem, refugee camps, Chile, Sweden, Denmark and Latin America. The team is geographically dispersed, but emotionally united by the spirit of Palestine.

Today, the Palestinian national team is competing in the Arab Cup with a different spirit. It is not entering the tournament solely in search of a title, but in search of genuine joy that emerges from the rubble of the siege. They are entering to say that Palestine is still here, and that its voice is heard through a player running, a flag raised, or an anthem sung by thousands of voices.

Al-Fida’i is not just a team; it is the memory of an undefeated nation and a mirror of a people who know how to make play a form of life amid the ruins.

Every time the players take to the field, the world feels that Palestine, despite everything, is still running, breathing, and resisting.

Featured image via YouTube screenshot/CGTN Sports Scene

By Alaa Shamali

This post was originally published on Canary.