Palestinian clubs prepare to make history
The Palestinian national team had a brush with history recently, participating in the AFC Asian Cup for the very first time. While their results at Australia 2015 proved to be disappointing, the Palestinians can nevertheless look back with pride at having established themselves as one of the top 16 teams on the continent.
With the Knights’ Australian adventure now over, it is the turn of Palestine’s clubs to make a historic breakthrough: restricted to the AFC President’s Cup – regarded as Asia’s third club event – up until now, they will henceforth compete in the AFC Cup.
Next week, Hilal Al-Quds Club will enter the play-off round of the AFC Cup, the first time a Palestinian side has taken part in Asia’s second most prestigious club tournament.
The other Palestinian representatives, Taraji Wadi Al-Nes, have already automatically qualified for the group stage, where they will lock horns with Syrian outfit Al-Shorta, Jordanian side Al-Jazeera and a play-off winner that is still to be decided.
Given the popularity of football in Palestine, it is more than likely that Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium, located in the town of Al-Ram in the West Bank, will be packed to the rafters for the matches – the first time that the arena will have hosted continental club fixtures.
While Hilal Al-Quds will have their work cut out for them versus Syrian team Al-Jaish in the play-off round, Taraji Wadi Al-Nes will get their inaugural campaign up and running on 24 February at home to Al-Jazeera, in the opening match of Group B.
Wadi Al-Nes defender Ahmad Jamal confirmed to FIFA.com that the reigning West Bank Premier League champions were looking forward to this historic encounter.
“Palestinian football has come a long way over the last few years, in both Arab and Asian tournaments. We’re not just taking part in the AFC Cup to make up the numbers; our intention is to qualify for the second round,” he said.
“Wadi Al-Nes are making their debut in the competition, and we’re going to give 100 per cent as we try to overcome hurdles and achieve positive results. We’ve got a few surprises up our sleeves for all our supporters, despite the difficult circumstances we find ourselves in at home,” continued the 27-year-old.
A new era
Palestinian clubs have not fared too poorly in Asian competition since their AFC President’s Cup bow in 2011, with Markaz Shabab Al-Am'ari reaching the final in 2012, a match they lost 2-1 to Tadjik side Istiqlol.
Hilal Al-Quds graced the final group stage themselves the following year in Malaysia, prior to Palestinian clubs being finally permitted to enter the AFC Cup. According to Jamal, this breakthrough only came about due to the efforts put in by the Palestinian Football Association and its president, Jibril Al Rajoub.
“Palestinian football recieved a huge boost when Jibril Al Rajoub took over, because he has since overseen some amazing improvements,” explained Jamal, who has two national league titles and two national cups to his name.
“Our FA has worked so hard on behalf of our national team and clubs. That is clear when you look at how far we’ve risen in the world rankings and the results of our clubs in the President’s Cup. Markaz Shabab Al-Am'ari reached the final and Hilal Al-Quds also made waves.
“Hopefully Hilal Al-Quds can make it to the group stage, as that would have a great impact on Palestinian football as a whole. As for Wadi Al-Nes, let’s hope we can match some of our national team’s recent performances.”
Whether the debutants succeed in registering postive results or not, one thing is clear: participating in this significantly more demanding continental competition will provide a timely boost to the sport in Palestine.