Real Madrid hold West Bank coaching session
Hundreds of Palestinian children on Monday attended a football training session given by Spanish giants Real Madrid in the West Bank, as part of a charitable project organised through the UN. The Real Madrid Foundation sent professional coaches to the Palestinian territories for three days of training with children at schools run by the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA.
Suma Abdelrahman, a young teenager, was enthralled after taking part in a session organised in Ramallah. Having been granted permission by Israel to come from the blockaded Gaza Strip for training, she proudly sported her black Real Madrid replica shirt, with the name of Spanish defender Sergio Ramos on the back.
"In Gaza we live in a restricted society, and girls don't really play football. But the Real Madrid Foundation and their programme have allowed girls to get more involved," she said. "I will take what I've learned in the West Bank back to Gaza."
"This second edition of the Social Sports Schools programme will welcome 1,100 students, 600 in the West Bank and 500 in Gaza, expanding its impact to more children who do not have access to out-of-school activities," the UNRWA said in a statement.
The Real Madrid Foundation provided them "an alternative leisure activity, and a space where they can escape the reality of poverty and violence in their lives," UNRWA said.