Palestine national side prepare for the Asian Cup amid a backdrop of death and destruction

The Palestinian national team have arrived in Qatar ahead of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. The team have been preparing for the tournament in camps in Algeria and Saudi Arabia ahead of their third participation at the continental tournament.

Preparation for Makram Daboub’s squad has been far from easy as Israeli bombs rain down on Gaza on a daily basis as the death toll edges towards the 24,000 mark according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. The war is an ever-present for the Lions of Canaan as the FA hope that the team’s presence in the Gulf adds global focus to the situation with the team desperate to honour their country in Qatar.

Domestic championships in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have been suspended since the start of the war in October, so preparing for the Asian Cup under these circumstances has been an odyssey for the Palestinian players. They have not been able, nor have they wanted to disconnect from what their people are suffering on a daily basis at the hands of Israel. “We have physical, technical and tactical problems due to the suspension of the local championship without forgetting the mental aspect,” acknowledged Tunisian born coach Daboub.

It will be a special tournament for Palestinian footballers who will have to overcome psychological obstacles to perform at the highest level apart as it’s impossible to disconnect from what happens in Gaza on a daily basis with their compatriots and family members threatened by the war. “During the training camp in Algeria we tried to disconnect from social networks, isolate ourselves mentally, but after training, sometimes someone would find out that they had lost a friend or family member”, explained Mohammed Rashid who has won 36 international caps with the national side speaking to Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport.

“I want to tell our people that our hearts will be with them on the field. We will strive to give even a simple joy to our people in Gaza,” admitted goalkeeper Rami Hamadeh. The national side arrived in Qatar on 3 January with many members of the expedition proudly wearing the keffiyeh, the typical Palestinian scarf around their necks as a sign of identity and solidarity with their nation.

Rashid recounted what the squad are going through to Gazzetta and admitted. “It’s real life and people are losing their lives every second. Most of the time our head is somewhere else. We are afraid to go back to the changing room to check our phone because we may receive messages that we don’t want to read”.

It is expected that there will be some gesture towards the Palestinian cause during the tournament, although the request that a minute of silence be observed in each match involving the Palestinian team may not be upheld by the AFC. Only a handful of the Asian Cup squad play their domestic football overseas such as like Yasser Hamed, Camilo Saldaña or Oday who play in India, Chile or Belgium respectively.

Football takes a backseat

The information coming from Gaza on a daily basis is terrifying. The prestigious Yarmouk Stadium has been used as a prison and international news channels have shown images of Hamas followers captured by the Israeli Army on the pitch. The Palestinian FA HQ has been devastated by bombs and earlier this week, the FA announced the killing of the coach of their Olympic team, Hani al-Masdar, on Sunday at the hands of an Israeli airstrike. He had previously played as a midfielder for Al-Maghazi and Gaza Sports before retiring in 2018.

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“88 athletes in team and individual sports, including 67 football players have been killed. Additionally, 24 officials from managerial and technical staff lost their lives due to Israel’s strikes on Gaza,” it went on to state.

Palestine make their AFC Asian Cup debut in Qatar against Iran (14 January), the face the UAE four days later before winding up their group stage campaign against Hong Kong on 23 January with the top two sides automatically advancing with four of the third best placed sides also progressing to the Round of 16.