| Football in Palestine | |
|---|---|
| Country | Palestine |
| Governing body | Palestinian Football Association (PFA) (formed in 1948, joined FIFA in 1998) |
| National team(s) | Palestine |
| Nickname(s) | أسود كنعان (Lions of Canaan) [1] الفدائيون (The Fedayeen) الفرسان (The Knights) |
| First played | 1950s |
| Clubs | See list of clubs |
Club competitions | |
Gaza Strip Premier League West Bank Premier League Gaza Strip First League West Bank First League Gaza Strip Second League West Bank Second League West Bank Third League Palestine Women's League Palestine Cup Yasser Arafat Cup Gaza Strip Super Cup | |
International competitions | |
List
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The sport of football in the of State of Palestine is run by the Palestinian Football Association. [2] [3] The association administers national teams and club competitions. They are members of FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation. [4] Women's football is popular also in Palestine. The opening match of the Palestine Women's National Football League on February 10, 2011, in the Feisal al-Husseini Stadium was attended by an estimated 8,000 people. The Women's league has six teams. [5] [6] Football is the most popular sport in Palestine. [7] Honey Thaljieh is a pioneer in women's football. [8]
The game was originally introduced during the time of the British Mandate. Palestine has one of the oldest histories of organized football in the Middle East with evidence of the game being played at an organized level amongst Palestinian youths since at least the early 1920s. [9] Some notable clubs during the early years of Palestinian football were Shabab Al Arab of Haifa, the Orthodox Club of Jerusalem, and Islami Yaffa. During these years, Palestinian stars, such as Jabra Al-Zarqa, George Mardeni, and Majed Assad represented an excellence that was second to none. Jabra Al-Zarqa received an offer to play for Arsenal FC while playing in the British Army's Haifa League in 1945. [9]
The Eretz Israel Football Association was formed in 1928 [10] [11] and joined FIFA in 1929. It is associated with the Israeli Football Association. [12] [13] At the time the association was made up of Arab clubs, Jewish clubs and clubs representing British policemen and soldiers serving in the region during the British Mandate rule that spanned the period between World War One and the independence of the state of Israel in 1948. The qualification matches for the 1934 and 1938 World Cups were contested by a Mandatory Palestine national football team made up exclusively of Jewish players. [14]
Palestine applied to, and was admitted into FIFA in 1998. They played their first friendly matches against Lebanon, Jordan and Syria in July 1998. The following year, the team, led by Palestinian-Israeli coach Azmi Nasser took part in the 1999 Pan Arab Games, in which they won the bronze medal after beating Syria, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, while only losing to hosts Jordan.
| Stadium | Capacity | City | Tenants | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yatta International Stadium | 20,000 | Yatta, Hebron | Shabab Yatta |  |
| Dura International Stadium | 18,000 | Dura, Hebron | Shabab Dura |  |
| Hussein Bin Ali Stadium | 11,000 | Hebron | Ahli Al-Khaleel, Shabab Al-Khalil SC and Shabab Alsamu |  |
| Jericho International Stadium | 15,000 | Jericho | Hilal Areeha | |
| Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium | 12,500 | Al-Ram | Palestine national football team, Hilal Al-Quds Club | |
| Palestine Stadium | 10,000 | Gaza City |
Football, also known as Soccer, is the most popular sport in Israel. Football as an organised sport, first developed in the United Kingdom, who controlled Mandatory Palestine during the days of the British Mandate.
The IsraelFootball Association is the governing body of football in Israel. It organizes a variety of association football leagues where the highest level is the Israeli Premier League; as well as national cups such as the Israel State Cup, the Toto Cup, and the Israel Super Cup; also, the Israel national football team. The IFA was founded in 1928 as the Palestine Football Association and is based in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. The Association is controversial due to its inclusion of clubs playing in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The Palestine national football team, governed by the Palestinian Football Association, represents Palestine in association football. The squad is governed by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) continentally, and FIFA worldwide.
The Palestinian Football Association is the governing body for football in Palestine, and for the men's Palestine national football team and the Palestine women's national football team.
Ma'agan Michael is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located on the Mediterranean Sea coast between Haifa and Hadera, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof HaCarmel Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 2,074.
Kabara was a Palestinian Arab village in the Haifa Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on April 30, 1948. It was located 30 km southeast of Haifa.
The Palestine League, also known as The Eretz Israel League, was an association football league during the British Mandate of Palestine, which was contested from 1928 to 1948. It was organised by the Eretz Israel Football Association, and is therefore regarded as the original incarnation of the modern Israeli top flight league, which has existed since 1948.
Events in the year 1935 in the British Mandate of Palestine.
The Mandatory Palestine national football team, also known as the Eretz Israel national football team, represented the British Mandate of Palestine in international football competitions, and was managed by the Palestine Football Association.
The 1928 People's Cup was the first season of Israeli Football Association's nationwide football cup competition. Matches began on 7 April 1928 and the final was played on 26 May 1928.
Palestine first competed at the Summer Olympics in 1996. The Palestinian National Authority is represented on the International Olympic Committee by the Palestine Olympic Committee, which has sent teams to compete at each Summer Olympics since 1996 under the IOC country code PLE. Palestine has been recognized as a member of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) since 1986, and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) since 1995. The Palestinian Olympic committee did not work with the Israeli Olympic committee to train for the 2012 Olympic games, and participation in the 2013 Mediterranean Games.
The 1930–31 season was the fourth season of competitive football in the British Mandate for Palestine under the Eretz Israel Football Association. During the season, the Arab Palestine Sports Federation was established as a rival to the Jewish-controlled EIFA.
The 1935–36 season was the ninth season of competitive football in the British Mandate for Palestine under the Eretz Israel Football Association and the 4th under the Arab Palestine Sports Federation.
The 1936–37 season was the tenth season of competitive football in the British Mandate for Palestine under the Eretz Israel Football Association and the 5th under the Arab Palestine Sports Federation.
The Arab Palestine Sport Federation was a governing body of sport activities for Palestinian Arabs in Mandatory Palestine. The federation was active between 1931 and 1937 and between 1944 and 1948. It organized a variant of activities in various sports, mostly in football, boxing, and weightlifting.
The 1937–38 season was the 11th season of competitive football in the British Mandate for Palestine under the Eretz Israel Football Association.
The 1942–43 season was the 16th season of competitive football in the British Mandate for Palestine under the Eretz Israel Football Association.
The 1940 association football match between the national teams of Mandatory Palestine and Lebanon was the latter's first official international match, and the former's last before they became the Israel national team after 1948. The match took place on 27 April 1940 at the Maccabiah Stadium in Tel Aviv. Officiated by John Blackwell of the British Army, the game was watched by 10,000 spectators and ended in a 5–1 victory for the home side.
The most popular sport in Palestine is football
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