The AFC Asian Cup has started last week in Australia. It is one the world’s oldest football tournaments, taking part from 1956.
Like most nation tournaments, the Asian Cup has its history and tradition of records. Japan, Saudi Arabia, Iran and South Korea are the notable national teams in its history, sharing 12 cups and 39 appearances between them.
As for every big tournament, there are always small nations and teams who have their first experience on the main stage. In 1956 it was Israel, in 1968 it was Iran and in 2000 Lebanon debuted and hosted.
This year’s Asian Cup is welcoming Palestine, to play its first-ever big official tournament. International football is known for its heavy political cargo, and the Asian football scene isn't different.
I want to focus on the Palestinian National Team, who for the first time, are participating in the competition.
Football and nationality are experiencing significant progress since the very beginning of both. Modern states have recognized very early the benefits of the popular game, as an ultimate tool for marketing and inserting the values of patriotism into society’s mind. From fun and a simple game which initially expressed innocent friendship meetings, football became an overwhelming struggle between representative teams of nation-states, encouraged by enthusiastic citizens, supporting the players fighting for the honor of the nation. George Orwell, in his book in ‘1984’, described football as “war minus the shooting". In many ways, he was absolutely right.
For small countries who make their first steps or autonomous political entities that strive for independence and self-determination, it is necessary to fight in order to get what they want - legitimacy and national recognition. An essential part of building a strong national ethos is football.
In this tournament, the eyes of those places which seek the recognition and independence will be focused on one national team. It is Palestine, who will celebrate its debut in an official football tournament.
The professional progress graph of the Palestinian team, in recent years, is fascinating. After joining FIFA as a full member in 1998, they had a great international start in 1999 with a third place in the National Pan-Arab tournament. Afterwards, there were years of regression. As of 2011, an improvement started once again.
The arrival of coach Jamal Mahmoud, a Jordanian of Palestinian origin, brought a new spirit to the national team. After a distinguished participation in the Asian Challenge Cup in 2012, and then winning the same tournament in 2014, Palestine has been well established as a new force in West Asian football.
Mahmoud left after the Challenge Cup victory, and was replaced briefly by interim Sa'eb Gendiya, who was later replaced for Ahmed al-Hassan. A respectable performance of the U-23 team in the last Asian Games in Incheon, where the team reached the quarterfinals, indicated a continuation of improvement, despite the changes in the coach position.
The team stars consist of Ashraf Nu'man, who plays in Ashraf al-Faysali in Saudi Arabia, Mahmoud Eid in Sweden’s third division, and goalkeeper and captain, Ramzi Saleh, of the Egyptian league. In addition, the football association holds a scouting team who works to locate footballers of Palestinian origin in other countries, in order to attract them to the team. Alexis Normaboana, a Chilean-Palestinian, who plays in Poland is a defender in the first eleven, and Javier Cohene, the Paraguayan-Palestinian who has starred in Portugal and will not travel to the tournament due to injury, are the most notable names. Their presence has certainly raised the level of the team.
Their tournament’s preparation didn’t provide a clear picture of the team's quality. Losses to Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan along with victories over Vietnam and Pakistan show certain instability, but betting agencies spot Palestine as a possible ‘dark horse’ in the tournament. Playing in one group with Japan, Iraq and Jordan, in what would be a fascinating derby, where almost all the players on the field will be of Palestinian origin, for the first time in an official game.
The excitement for the tournament in the West Bank and Gaza is at its highest point for over a month. A large campaign on Palestinian television ran under the slogan "We all support our national team". This clip shows a number of daily characters in regular situations; a policeman, a dentist, a carpenter, a student and children in a kindergarten, who all express their support for the team.
One of the interpretations of the team’s nickname, ‘Fedai’, is a ‘sacrificing warrior’. The message is clear: The Asian Cup tournament is a national mission in every manner. It is a war that they must win.
The progress of Palestine into the centre stage of Asian football has a social and political significance of great importance and influence. This event is attracting global attention not only to the players or the coach but also to the last campaign of the Palestinian Federation to suspend Israel from FIFA, in charges of harming the development and progress of football in Palestine. This move is part of a larger effort by the Palestinian Authority to pressure Israel through international organizations to fully recognize them as a state, as these attempts are only growing larger in all aspects.
After years of mediation efforts between the associations failed, last month FIFA has threatened that Israel might be punished if it will not allow the free movement of Palestinians players between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In addition, after an incident in which IDF forces entered the offices of the Association for a routine checkup in November, FIFA sent an invitation to the two associations for an emergency meeting in Morocco, to discuss things in order to normalize the relations between the sides. As expected, the meeting didn’t produce any great conclusion.
The Palestinian momentum in the international football landscape is evidence of success for the efforts of the Palestinian Authority to achieve international recognition, and much more. The participation in the Asian Cup is seen by the Palestinians as a massive achievement on the regional level in front of Israeli efforts to silence the calls for Palestinian independence. Not just in professional sports, but also in matters of image, publicly and nationally.