By María José Rey
Santiago (EFE).- Convinced that they can achieve their World Cup dream by 2030, after almost qualifying for the next World Cup, the Palestine national soccer team has chosen Chile as a base to develop the team further, persevere with their dream, and escape the genocide and war that have destroyed all sporting activity in their own country.
Their coach, Ehab Abu Jazar, revealed this to EFE after travelling to the South American country to scout potential players for the senior national team (Chile has the largest Palestinian community outside the Arab states) and to establish a training school to discover young talent and introduce new values in the national team.
All of this is being achieved with the support of a community of over half a million people who have significant political and economic influence, as well as the Palestino football club.
“Nothing is impossible for a Palestinian. I am sure that we have very good and special players all over the world,” he said after a match involving Palestino’s under-18 team, which is a big opportunity for young soccer players, particularly those in positions such as center-backs, defenders, full-backs, and goalkeepers.
“We have a large number of youth players outside Palestine. We want to create a database of Palestinian players in Chile, Lebanon, and Europe. Wherever there are players, we want to reach them,” he added.
The 44-year-old coach recalled that Chileans had participated in Palestinian national teams since 2004. He was accompanied by Roberto Bishara and Roberto Kettlun, who had played for their country and, in his opinion, had made a significant contribution to Palestinian soccer.
A high-performance center in Chile
However, the project that Abu Jazar wants to promote goes beyond recruiting players from foreign leagues who were born in other countries, something that has been happening since Palestine was accepted by FIFA in 1998. His idea also includes establishing a training center for his national team on Chilean soil with the support of a Chilean club.
“We have received significant support from Palestine, and everyone is eager to contribute to this project. We are grateful to the club for its assistance. We hope that in the future we will have something positive to show for it,” he said.
Abu Jazar was born in Gaza; his mother and brother currently live in a tent in the city, after losing their home in the bombings. He claims that at least 700 athletes have died as a result of the conflict.
Since the beginning of the Israeli offensive, over 60,000 people have been killed, according to data from various organizations, while millions have been displaced and cities besieged.
The elimination of sports in Palestine
“At the moment, there are practically no sports taking place in Palestine. It’s not just that there are no tournaments, it’s that there are no sports activities at all. The Palestinian tournament has been stopped since October 2023. All aspects of sport in Gaza have been affected, and it is very difficult to move around in the West Bank,” he said.
“They seek to eliminate Palestinian sports, but we try to raise our resilience through the national teams and participate in all competitions for two reasons: first, to ensure the presence of the name and flag of Palestine, and second, to continue improving,” he stressed.
In addition to facing sporting rivals, they live a struggle for survival that he affirms “is not easy, but as Palestinians we are used to being under difficult conditions.”
“We believe we can achieve great things, and as long as there are Palestinians, we will carry on,” he concluded.
The World Cup dream
Qualifying for the World Cup for the first time is a challenging goal, made more difficult by the fact that Palestine cannot play on their own territory due to the war.
Despite having the Faisal Al-Husseini Stadium in al-Ram, in the West Bank, recognized by FIFA, Palestine has been forced to play all international home matches outside Palestine since 2019.
“Some people may think it’s impossible for Palestine to reach the World Cup, but after the experience we had, confidence is high,” he said.
Abu Jazar first took over the under-23 national team at the end of 2020 and led them to the round of 16 at the 2023 Asian Games.
The Palestinian national team had a remarkable debut at the 2023 Asian Cup. They not only overcame the group stage for the first time in their history but also reached the round of 16, coming very close to securing a place in the World Cup playoffs.
Advancing to the third round of the Asian qualifiers and achieving victories against Iraq and Kuwait were historic milestones for Palestinian football, with the team finishing just one point away from securing their place in the next round.
“We have managed to build a national team capable of achieving something important; we have a squad of players that allows us to think that way,” he added. EFE
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