Palestinian Football and the Struggle for Identity

Written By Nadia Naser

This essay draws heavily on Shireen Abu Akleh's interview with ʿIssam Khalidi, his book One Hundred Years of Football in Palestine, and Filastin newspaper sports articles. This newspaper, which was established in 1911, was an original source for Khalidi and others. In the 1940s, after the Arab Palestine Sports Federation was reestablished, it included a daily sports news column, which reflected the belief that sports was important as science in the national struggle to prepare a well-educated and healthy generation that would be able to fight colonialism. Aside from its other benefits, this emphasis on sports directly challenged the Zionist claim that “Palestinians lacked a cultural, social and athletic background.” Khalidi notes that ʿIsa al-‘Isa and Yusuf al-‘Isa, editors of Filastin from 1921 to 1948, deliberately focused on sports with the aim of encouraging institution-building and challenging the dominance of the Greek clergy in Palestine's Orthodox community.

Nadia Naser

I am a Senior lecturer in Palestine Studies, European Centre for Palestine Studies- Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter. Prior to this, I was an Assistant Professor, Birzeit University, Department of Philosophy and Cultural Studies and the MA program in Arab Contemporary Studies. I hold a PhD in Middle East Studies form the University of Exeter. I has published books, chapters in books and academic article.

Previous

The Future of Palestine Debate
Next

War on Gaza: Zionist Land-Grabbing Strategy Will Never Achieve Peace