Who is Francisco Politino? The Argentine winger rumored to be the next player to commit to Palestine
Francisco Politino- known as Gianni Touma in some circles- is on the radar of Palestine coach Ehab Abu Jazar
Over the weekeend, Palestine Sports Network reported that the Palestine Football Association (PFA) was planning on naturalizing a little known winger plying his trade in Bulgaria’s topflight.
Football Palestine can confirm there have been discussions between the current coaching staff and the Lokomotiv Polvdiv attacker the paperwork has yet to be fully processed.
A cursory look at FIFA’s Change of Association Platform confirms that he has yet to switch over from Argentina. Palestine’s last naturalized player was Emilio Saba and the PFA has also secured a commitment from Inter Miami academy player Mohammed Jamhour (15) and Rimma Musabeh for the women’s national team.
Gianni Francisco Politino Touma is eligible to play for Palestine through his mother Sandra. Those familiar with Palestinian last names will recognize his maternal last name Touma. Followers of football inside the Green Line, will remember Salim Touma (no relation) who played and coached Hapoel Tel Aviv.
Palestine is desperate to add speedy wingers to its pool of talent as it has bizarrely failed to develop any over the past decade or so. Badr Moussa is the only product of the local leagues that comes close to fitting that profile and the team is likely to rely on Lebanon born Mohamed Hebous and Sweden born Adam Kaied to fill the gap in the short term.
Touma does not seem to be as talented as either player but could offer an option off the bench. His career in topflight football only started in 2023/24 when he signed for Beroe in Bulgaria. The winger was previously on the books of Deportivo Maipú, Godoy Cruz Reserves, and Independiente Rivadia in Argentina before decamping to the fifth tier of Spanish football in search of regular playing time.
Touma has five goals and three assists in 65 appearances in the Bulgarian topflight. He signed for Lokomotiv Plovdiv last summer.