<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:googleplay="http://www.google.com/schemas/play-podcasts/1.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Football Palestine: Audio Originals]]></title><description><![CDATA[Hello and welcome to Scoreless at the Break- a six part original audio series that tells the story of the schism between Fatah and Hamas through the lens of the Palestine national football team. My name is Bassil Mikdadi an independent journalist that has covered the Palestine national football team for two decades. After listening to this podcast you should get a better sense of what Palestine was like between 2005 and 2011 while also gaining unique insight into how football continues to ﬂourish in a nation that has been occupied for eight decades. If you like what you hear, you can support my work by subscribing to FootballPalestine.com. Paid Subscribers get exclusive access to the full six-part series.]]></description><link>https://www.footballpalestine.com/s/audio-originals</link><image><url>https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!EhGA!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2de62b65-7612-4ab2-8a7b-f3da0b0c6648_1200x1200.png</url><title>Football Palestine: Audio Originals</title><link>https://www.footballpalestine.com/s/audio-originals</link></image><generator>Substack</generator><lastBuildDate>Tue, 07 Apr 2026 10:56:27 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.footballpalestine.com/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><copyright><![CDATA[Football Palestine]]></copyright><language><![CDATA[en]]></language><webMaster><![CDATA[footballpalestine@substack.com]]></webMaster><itunes:owner><itunes:email><![CDATA[footballpalestine@substack.com]]></itunes:email><itunes:name><![CDATA[Football Palestine]]></itunes:name></itunes:owner><itunes:author><![CDATA[Football Palestine]]></itunes:author><googleplay:owner><![CDATA[footballpalestine@substack.com]]></googleplay:owner><googleplay:email><![CDATA[footballpalestine@substack.com]]></googleplay:email><googleplay:author><![CDATA[Football Palestine]]></googleplay:author><itunes:block><![CDATA[Yes]]></itunes:block><item><title><![CDATA[Episode 6: Rock Bottom]]></title><description><![CDATA[Jibril Rajoub takes over PFA Presidency and millions of dollars are poured into football yet Palestine doesn't win a game for six years.]]></description><link>https://www.footballpalestine.com/p/episode-6-rock-bottom</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.footballpalestine.com/p/episode-6-rock-bottom</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Football Palestine]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 12 Mar 2026 15:00:37 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-video.s3.amazonaws.com/video_upload/post/190734926/c5a74b82-783c-4fb5-9d10-bea42b7f8c07/transcoded-1773327564.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.footballpalestine.com/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share Football Palestine&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.footballpalestine.com/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share Football Palestine</span></a></p><p></p>
      <p>
          <a href="https://www.footballpalestine.com/p/episode-6-rock-bottom">
              Read more
          </a>
      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Episode 5: The Strongman]]></title><description><![CDATA[Jibril Rajoub has been PFA President for the last 18 years but before that he was the head of the secret police, a failed politician, and a grad student. In this episode we chronicle his rise to power]]></description><link>https://www.footballpalestine.com/p/episode-5-the-strongman</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.footballpalestine.com/p/episode-5-the-strongman</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Football Palestine]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 04 Mar 2026 10:50:55 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-video.s3.amazonaws.com/video_upload/post/189863275/66af75c7-1b84-4a09-b05c-63f9de1a4203/transcoded-1772620857.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.footballpalestine.com/p/episode-5-the-strongman?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.footballpalestine.com/p/episode-5-the-strongman?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p></p>
      <p>
          <a href="https://www.footballpalestine.com/p/episode-5-the-strongman">
              Read more
          </a>
      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Episode 4: Palestine Disunited]]></title><description><![CDATA[Listen now | In 2007, Palestinian politics changed forever. In the aftermath of the Battle of Gaza Palestinian Football was dealt a near death blow.]]></description><link>https://www.footballpalestine.com/p/episode-4-the-schism</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.footballpalestine.com/p/episode-4-the-schism</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Football Palestine]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 27 Feb 2026 15:03:09 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-video.s3.amazonaws.com/video_upload/post/189366716/cff83486-07fd-4687-946f-5ac3b4e22717/transcoded-1774613069.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.footballpalestine.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p>
      <p>
          <a href="https://www.footballpalestine.com/p/episode-4-the-schism">
              Read more
          </a>
      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Episode 3: The Election]]></title><description><![CDATA[To understand what happened to the national team after Azmi Nassar's death, we need to understand what that 2006 election really unleashed upon Palestine.]]></description><link>https://www.footballpalestine.com/p/episode-3-the-election</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.footballpalestine.com/p/episode-3-the-election</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Football Palestine]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 16 Feb 2026 17:04:38 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-video.s3.amazonaws.com/video_upload/post/188157253/1e3862f4-93e6-4b55-8d9e-4f8ad577c5da/transcoded-1771260742.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.footballpalestine.com/p/episode-3-the-election?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.footballpalestine.com/p/episode-3-the-election?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p></p>
      <p>
          <a href="https://www.footballpalestine.com/p/episode-3-the-election">
              Read more
          </a>
      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Episode 2: The Coach Who Wouldn't Quit]]></title><description><![CDATA[Azmi Nassar continues in his role as Palestine manager despite a debilitating cancer diagnosis. Hamas wins elections- signalling a new- albeit false- dawn for Palestinian politics.]]></description><link>https://www.footballpalestine.com/p/episode-2-the-coach-who-wouldnt-quit</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.footballpalestine.com/p/episode-2-the-coach-who-wouldnt-quit</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Football Palestine]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 09 Feb 2026 14:47:37 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-video.s3.amazonaws.com/video_upload/post/187296704/b635381f-7a9e-4809-add5-b2bd13fb88f4/transcoded-1770647937.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>Last episode, we left Azmi Nassar at the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon, wearing his Palestine training gear and drawing stares from Israeli staff and patients. He had just been rushed out of Gaza after a terrifying episode of memory loss. Now, doctors were about to deliver devastating news.</em></p><p><em>When the CT scan results came in, doctors ascertained ther&#8230;</em></p>
      <p>
          <a href="https://www.footballpalestine.com/p/episode-2-the-coach-who-wouldnt-quit">
              Read more
          </a>
      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Episode 1: The Return of Azmi]]></title><description><![CDATA[In January 2006, Palestine's national team coach Azmi Nassar woke up and couldn't remember his own name. He had brain cancer. Doctors gave him months.]]></description><link>https://www.footballpalestine.com/p/episode-1-the-return-of-azmi</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.footballpalestine.com/p/episode-1-the-return-of-azmi</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Football Palestine]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 30 Jan 2026 16:10:25 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/186318875/76b2ba52b92911f7b2c4fbea5dae92cd.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>&#8220;Am I going to die today? Because if not&#8212;give me three days. I have an Asian Cup qualification campaign to prepare.&#8221;</p><p>That&#8217;s what Palestine&#8217;s national team coach told his doctor after being diagnosed with brain cancer.</p><p>His story is Episode 1 of &#8220;Scoreless at the Break.&#8221; </p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.footballpalestine.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">The first episode of Scoreless at the Break is free to all. To access the other five episodes, upgrade to a paid subscription.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item></channel></rss>