From last June 11 to July 19, the entire world will be closely following World Cup 2026, with 48 nations, the largest in history. And that include Palestinian football fans in the Gaza strip, despite most of them having been left without homes and are living in tents in their lands, illegally bombed and occupied by Israel.
"Can you hear the drones? We might live or die, we might be bombed", said Fadi Al-Arawi, a footballer in the Gaza Strip Premier League, 38 years old, to Reuters, in an article about how Gazans are following the competition. With most infrastructure destroyed, most people have to rely on laptops with an unstable internet connection to follow matches.
Several Arab countries such as Qatar, Egypt, Morocco, or Saudi Arabia are in the competition, so is Iran, whose coach described it as the "most oppressed team in the history of the World Cup". Palestine also came reasonably close to qualifying, and now the national team, relocated in Chile, is working and dreaming to qualify for World Cup 2030, which has been rumoured that it could have even more teams, 64 teams instead of 48 this year and the usual 32.
"Despite everything we are suffering, we will watch the matches"
Reuters talked with an owner of a café in Gaza City, with Egypt and Morocco flags hanging on the wall, who has installed two alternative power lines and a backup battery to ensure that late-night matches can still be screened after midnight, when fuel-powered generators are shut down.
A fan said he will go to watch all of the matches, even if he knows he is risking his life. "The café could be targeted. Something next to me could be targeted and I could lose my life... But despite everything we are suffering, we are continuing, and we will watch the matches."
Since October 2023, 73,000 Palestinian have been killed by Israel, including many after the fake cease-fire signed in October 2025. Among them there were 1,000 athletes, while 285 sports facilities have been destroyed, according to Palestinian officials.