League football to return to Palestine on September 4th
1,000 Martyrs Cup will feature 226 clubs in the West Bank, Gaza, and Lebanon's refugee camp as football return after 35 month hiatus
In a press conference held at the Joseph Blatter Academy in Al-Bireh, Palestine Football Association (PFA) President Jibirl Rajoub made a long waited announcement. Football would be returning to Palestine.
The idea was teased six weeks ago, when the 1,000 Martyrs Cup- named in honor of the athletes killed by Israel over the past three years- was first announced. Now, there is an actual start date that will feature clubs not only in the West Bank but also in Gaza and Lebanon’s refugee camps.
There will be a simultaneous kickoff on September 4th at 6 PM in the West Bank, Gaza, and Lebanon. The matches that will open the tournament are Shabab Al-Khaleel vs. Jabal Al-Mukaber, Shabab Rafah vs. Khadamat Rafah, and Al-Ansar vs. Al-Nahda.
The Faisal Al-Husseini Stadium in Jerusalem will host the match between Shabab Al-Khaleel and Jabal Al-Mukaber. The newly refurbished national stadium is the only specific location that was mentioned during the press conference. It remains to be seen if there are standard sized pitches capable of hosting the matches in Gaza and Lebanon.
Of the 226 clubs participating in the tournament, 140 are based in the West Bank. 44 clubs are based in Gaza while Lebanon’s refugee camps are entering 36 clubs. Each club that is participating in the tournament will be provided with a small stipend from the PFA to play coaches, players, and support staff. The idea would be to have the three champions of each division to meet at some point in the future.
Rajoub was quick to clarify that actual league football with promotion and relegation would not return until “next season” but did not specify when that would start.
There were also complaints about a lack of funds. Rajoub clarified that the $1.75M worth of prize money for the team’s quarterfinal finish at the FIFA Arab Cup was due to arrive in the coming days.
In a bizarre claim, Rajoub stated that the PFA was unable to receive a bank loan that would have allowed the resumption of normal sporting activity but also said that “governments the world over have made resources available to us.”
The PFA has used the funds allotted to the FIFA Forward Program to build a new technical hub in Jerusalem. The funds for that project have been audited by FIFA and work is already underway. The rest of the PFA’s books have not been audited leaving many questions unanswered.
Towards the end of the press conference, Rajoub teased a friendly between the U23 team and Turkish Superlig side Konyaspor. The two sides are set to meet on September 30th. There was also mention of the friendly tournament in China that the senior team will participate in but which has yet to be confirmed by the hosts.