FOOTBALL A “WAY OF RESISTANCE” FOR PALESTINE U17 TEAM

AS the Palestinian U17 men’s football team walked off the field at the EKA Arena in Ahmedabad after holding hosts India to a 1-1 draw in the U17 AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers, one could sense the relief and joy on their faces.

- CHANDRA PRABHU @Chennai

Palestine U17 team & support staff who are part of AFC U17 Asian Cup 2026 Qualifiers

For they knew what the result meant and they also knew what the sport is for them — a way of finding joy and showing resistance.

Even more so considering the fact that their road to this tournament has not been pleasant. With the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine, their grounds, in which they grew up to play the game, is now nonexistent and other sporting infrastructure has come to rubble (Israel have denied any accusations of mass destruction). With several players in the team getting displaced and their lives turned upside down, they had lost their documents and identity proofs.