Football teams around the world are taking part in qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup. But for the Palestinian team, they’re doing so against the backdrop of war. 


Kuwait City

The U.S brokered ceasefire deal in Gaza is holding, after Hamas agreed to release all remaining Israeli hostages.

Middle East Conflict

Palestine team set to face Australia in World Cup qualifier

They train as hard as any national football team before a World Cup qualifier, maybe even harder, spurred on by the desire to make Palestinians proud at a time of war. Even though the players are far from home, home is all they think about. Nowadays, whether we're going to training or to the hotel, players spend 24 hours on their phones to follow what's happening. When it comes to sensitive cases, such as the loss of children, civilians and their families, it motivates them to react and achieve victory to make the Palestinian people happy. As they say, despite the pain, there is hope. That hope is for a place at the 2026 World Cup Finals for the very first time, but the tournament is still far in the future. The present brings its own challenges. Tuesday's match was originally meant to be held at one of Palestine's home stadiums but had to be moved to Kuwait because of the conflict. And there's no guarantee their Tunisian coach will be able to return to Palestine after the match, as Israel restricts movement in and out of the occupied Palestinian territories for both Palestinians and foreigners. The situation is very hard. We don't know if I will have a permit to go back to Palestine or not, given the situation. As for the players, training camps are long, so the local players will be away from their families during these times, which is emotionally challenging for them. The Australian team have shown their support. Midfielder Jackson Irvine called the situation in Gaza unfathomable to comprehend. Now he and his fellow players plan to donate a portion of their match fees from Tuesday's game towards humanitarian efforts in Gaza. But so far, football's governing body FIFA has been silent on the plight of Palestinians, unlike its support for Ukraine at the start of the war there, in which it suspended Russian teams from international competitions. FIFA is the gatekeeper, it's the global custodian of football. There are players and teams and their families who are suffering as a consequence of what's happening and FIFA has said nothing. Maybe if Palestine was a bigger country, more influential to FIFA, then absolutely FIFA would have made some kind of statement on what is happening. Despite this match being held on neutral territory in Kuwait, many Palestinian expatriates are expected to turn out to support their team. Focusing on football at a time like this may seem trivial to some, but for Palestinians around the world, it offers a moment of unity and pride. Joanna Gazirowska, Al Jazeera, Kuwait City.

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Middle East Conflict