From Palestine to Sheffield, football can be a passion, a hobby, a profession, an escape
At the 6th April rally outside Sheffield Town Hall, Sarah Jana Choonara gave a fascinating speech about Palestine and Football. Here it is along with four simple action points for us all.
‘I’m a football fan and a grassroots footballer. Football can mean the same things in Palestinian life as it does in any other part of the world. A passion, a hobby, a profession, an escape. Football is a normal part of life. But as we know, Palestinians have had any sense of normality forcibly removed, even from the most simple of things.
I’m going to talk about football in relation to Palestine because it’s something I think about a lot, but also because football can be a useful and relatable way of illustrating occupation, brutality and violations of freedom. And I’ll suggest several actions you might want to take.
FIFA recognised the Palestine Football Association and granted full membership in 1998. But because of travel restrictions and Israel's refusal to issue exit visas, players, or in some cases the entire team, have at times been unable to represent Palestine in competition. In November 2006 all players based inside the West Bank and Gaza Strip were denied exit visas. The Palestinian national team necessarily has a heavy reliance on the diaspora.
Incredibly, amidst the darkness of what is happening in Palestine, and having to play all their “home” games on neutral grounds, the national men’s team qualified for the 2024 Asian Cup for the first time in their history and they continue their World Cup qualifying campaign. But former Palestine national team striker Mohammed Barakat was, last month, killed in an Israeli airstrike. Barakat is one of an estimated 91 footballers killed by Israel’s genocidal campaign. This latest death follows the murder of Olympic team coach Hani Al-Masdar and former national team defender Mouyin Al-Maghribi in January. Another five footballers are currently being held in Israeli prisons without charge. Any sense of normality stripped away.
First Action – you can follow Palestine Football here:
https://footballpalestine.com/
There are currently six Israeli football clubs, playing under the auspices of the Israel Football Association, which are located in illegally occupied territories in the West Bank. There are another two football clubs with an official address in the illegal settlements and one football club based in West Jerusalem which plays some “home” matches in an illegally occupied area. And of course, any other IFA clubs playing games at these clubs’ “home” grounds will be playing in illegally occupied areas.
These things have been brought to the attention of FIFA time and again over many years. But in spite of FIFA having been part of an extremely important sports boycott of apartheid South Africa, in spite of FIFA and UEFA having suspended the Russian national team and Russian clubs sides from all competitions in 2022 until further notice, and in spite of FIFA, in line with its own statutes, excluding from competition clubs representing what they deem to be disputed territories (such as in Nagorno-Karabakh, Northern Cyprus and South Ossetia), FIFA has referred to the sanctioning the IFA as a “closed matter” – or said nothing.
On 11th March the Palestine Football Association submitted a motion, supported by six other member associations, to FIFA to address the complicity of the Israel Football Association in the catalogue of violations by the Israeli state.
The PFA letter also says: “All the football infrastructure in Gaza has been either destroyed or seriously damaged, including the historical stadium of Al-Yarmuk which was turned by the Israeli occupation into a concentration camp. Smaller facilities and dirt pitches have been transformed into makeshift refugee camps, field hospitals, and mass graves.”
We saw a successful BDS campaign against the sports company Puma resulting in it withdrawing its support from the IFA.
Second Action –You can contact FIFA to call for them to expel the IFA here:
https://inside.fifa.com/about-fifa/organisation/contact-fifa/contact-form
With regard to other footballers speaking out, we have seen Leicester City and former England Under-21 International Hamza Choudhury castigated by the English FA for using the phrase “From the River to the Sea” on social media and the FA chillingly stated they will “seek police guidance” if a player uses it again.
Here are some other players who have posted Palestine solidarity messages on social media: Noussair Mazraoui, a Moroccan International and a fullback for Bayern Munich in Germany and French International player Karim Benzema were threatened with deportation from Germany and loss of French nationality respectively. Dutch International Anwar El Ghazi, once of Aston Villa and Everton, was suspended and then sacked by his Bundesliga Club Mainz 05. El Ghazi stated in November that he intends to take legal action against the club and continues to use his social-media platforms to speak out. Egyptian International Sam Morsy, currently at Ipswich Town, is another player who continues to post updates from Gaza and solidarity messages.
Another great profile to follow is the Bohemians Football Club in Dublin, who do a lot of overt solidarity actions and will host the Palestinian women’s national team at their Dalymount Park ground on 15th May to mark the 76th anniversary of Nakba.
Third Action – you can follow Anwar El Ghazi / Sam Morsy / Bohemians on Twitter here:
In terms of grassroots football, Al Jazeera has published some excellent and truly devastating articles about how people are desperately trying to create some normality and simple pleasures. The Al-Salah Football Club in Gaza is now a place of refuge for over 1,000 people. But they continue to run Ramadan football tournaments where the sound of Israeli drones can be momentarily drowned out by cheering crowds. In place of trophies this Ramadan, they offered food aid Packages as prizes. One young player interviewed by Al Jazeera, 12-year-old Karam Al-Kwajiri said, “I find solace on the football pitch. I know I will be killed, so I want to enjoy the last moments of my childhood.”
I know that none of us can rest when we hear testimony like that.
Here in Sheffield, as grassroots footballers we try and think of ways we can use football to show our solidarity. At FURD (Football Unites, Racism Divides), we have hosted talks, tournaments, films and banner-making. With players from Steel Athletic FC, we are planning to do a 24-hour rota of footballers doing the Small Park Big Run. There are other clubs such as Republica in Leeds who are similarly active.
Fourth Action – join the Sheffield Footballers and Fans for Palestine WhatsApp chat for football-related news, activities and ideas.
Solidarity!’
Sarah, originally from London, has lived in Sheffield most of her life. She’s a political activist, trade unionist, football fan and grassroots player. She’s also a keen amateur football writer. You can read more of her writing here and follow her on Twitter @scsolidarity.
This speech has been published with the kind permission of Sarah Jana Choonara. © Sarah Jana Choonara, 2024
The text has been lightly edited for publication.
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