Gaza hosts first football tournament in over two years
On a patch of artificial turf surrounded by rubble and shattered buildings, Gaza held its first organized football tournament in more than two years on Tuesday, as local teams took to a makeshift field in the ruins of the Tal al-Hawa district in Gaza City.
Jabalia Youth faced Al-Sadaqa, while Beit Hanoun played Al-Shujaiya in matches that both ended in draws. The scorelines mattered less than the occasion itself. Spectators packed around the fenced-in Palestine Pitch, cheering loudly and rattling the metal barriers. Some boys climbed broken concrete walls, while others peered through gaps in the debris to catch a glimpse of the action.
For players returning to competition after years of war, the experience carried mixed emotions. Youssef Jendiya, 21, a member of Jabalia Youth from an area heavily depopulated during Israeli military operations, struggled to describe his feelings. “Confused. Happy, sad, joyful, happy,” he said, reflecting the complexity of the moment.
He described daily life as a constant search for water, food and bread, with basic necessities scarce. Football, he said, offered a brief escape. “There is a short moment in the day when you can come and play, releasing some of the joy inside you,” he told Reuters. Yet the return to the pitch was also marked by absence. Several teammates were missing, some killed, others injured or having left for medical treatment. “The happiness feels incomplete,” he said.
Players said the tournament was intended as a statement of endurance. Amjad Abu Awda, 31, who plays for Beit Hanoun, said the teams wanted to send a clear message: despite the destruction and the war, life continues. “No matter what happened in terms of destruction and war, we keep playing and we keep living. Life must go on,” he said.
The matches took place four months after a ceasefire in October 2025 brought an end to major fighting. Reconstruction across Gaza has barely begun. Israeli forces ordered residents to evacuate nearly two thirds of the territory during the conflict, pushing more than two million people into a narrow coastal strip. Many remain in tents or damaged buildings.
To make the tournament possible, the Palestinian Football Association cleared debris from a collapsed wall on a field reduced to roughly half its original size. Workers installed fencing and swept fragments from the worn artificial surface to prepare for play. The modest repairs stand in stark contrast to the fate of Yarmouk Stadium, once a 9,000 seat venue in Gaza City. The stadium was destroyed during the war and used as a detention center. It now shelters displaced families living in white tents where the pitch once stood.
The conflict has severely affected Palestinian sport. According to the Palestinian Football Association, more than 800 athletes have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, including 421 footballers. Nearly half of those footballers were children. About 90 percent of Gaza’s sports infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed.
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