The PFA faced obstacles to on-field success few other national teams have come up against, even before Israel launched its military offensive on Gaza in 2023 in response to an attack by militant group Hamas on its southern border.
Coach Makram Daboub and his squad, however, have confounded the odds and retain a chance of representing Palestine at the 2026 Finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
"The restrictions on our movement, the suffocating policies by the Israelis have paralysed everything," Jibril Rajoub, the PFA president, said in an interview with Reuters last week.
"We suspended everything, including the national league but, in spite of this, we have insisted on continuing our participation in competitions, and that includes the World Cup qualification.
This story is from the November 05, 2024 edition of The Straits Times.
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This story is from the November 05, 2024 edition of The Straits Times.
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