Hani Al-Masdar broke into the first team of the Gaza club Al-Maghazi in the late 90s when he was 16 and went on to have a fine career as a talented midfielder. After retiring in 2018, the genial father of four joined the Palestine Under-23s team, officially, at first, as kit manager.
A natural in dealing with players with an instinct for reading the game, he soon acquired the highest coaching licences in Asia and became assistant coach. The 42-year-old had a bright future but on 6 January, the Palestine Football Association (PFA) announced he had been killed by Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City.
“He was one of the great sporting talents of Palestine football,” Makram Daboub, the head coach of Palestine’s national team, says. “He is a great loss.”
As Palestine start their Asian Cup campaign against Iran on Sunday, the news from home, where death and destruction have been raining down on Gaza for more than three months, is devastating. “Of course it is difficult for everyone,” says Daboub.
The forward Mahmoud Wadi and the defender Mohammed Saleh play overseas but are natives of the narrow strip of land that is suffering such fierce and relentless bombardment. Daboub says: “Those who are from Gaza are worried about the safety of their relatives and friends but all the players are on their phones whenever possible. It does make it difficult for them but there is still a determination to give everything at the Asian Cup.”
This is the third successive appearance at the tournament, the continent’s biggest football event, for Palestine who, after a decades-long struggle, became a full Fifa member in 1998. Their opening game will attract a lot of international attention as none of the other 23 teams at the Asian Cup – which was won by Israel in 1964 before it was expelled in 1974 and found its way into Uefa – have the same issues.
“Success in the tournament would mean a lot to us and our people. It is very important, especially with the exceptional circumstances that Palestine is going through,” says Daboub. “We want to deliver a message to the world that in Palestine there are people who deserve a better life, love peace and deserve freedom.”
There has been no peace or freedom since Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October leading to a retaliation that has, according to the Gaza ministry of health, killed more than 23,000 people in Gaza, 1% of the territory’s population, and, according to the Associated Press last week, destroyed a third of all buildings. The PFA has accused Israel of targeting athletes as well as football facilities. Football is the most popular sport in Palestine, with Gaza and the West Bank having their own leagues, but there have been no games since October. Even if it was safe to play, there is nowhere to do so.
Before the Hamas attack, Daboub knew all about the frustrations that come with being head coach of Palestine. The Tunisian, appointed in 2021, says he was never given a permit to enter Gaza to watch games or meet players, though he was allowed into the West Bank.
The difficulties extend the other way too. Players selected for international duty from both territories have complained for years of lengthy delays at Israeli checkpoints as they seek to report for duty.
For World Cup qualifiers against Lebanon and Australia in November – which were played at neutral venues – those called up from Gaza could not make it out at all. Since then, the national team has stayed outside Palestine, initially in Jordan before going on the move.
“Preparation has gone well despite the difficult circumstances,” says Daboub. “On 12 December we started with a first camp in Algeria, and then there was a second camp in Saudi Arabia.”
The camps were funded by the host nations. “The main goal of those was to focus on the physical aspect of the players. On 2 January, we travelled to Qatar, where nine other players joined us and this was the beginning of the actual preparation for the cup.
“We have played two training matches. We lost to Uzbekistan 1-0 and tied with Saudi Arabia 0-0. We involved all the players to determine their technical and physical readiness. We are ready now and looking forward to the challenges ahead.”
The striker Oday Dabbagh, who has scored five goals for Sporting Charleroi in Belgium this season, is one of those who joined later. The Jerusalem-born forward will be well supported by locals as well as Palestinians based in the region. There could be some emotional scenes, especially if the team manages a first win at the Asian Cup.
That is the primary objective even if the group containing Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong is a tough one. “We know what we have to do,” says Daboub. “The Iran game is a big one against one of the top teams in Asia. It will be a very difficult match, but we will try to come out with a positive result.”
It is expected that the final match with Hong Kong, the lowest-ranked team in the group at 150 – 51 places below Palestine – offers the best chance.
“The Hong Kong game is hugely important,” says Daboub of their opponents, who warmed up last week by beating China for the first time since their country was a British territory. “Many say they are the weakest team and it is the game we have to win but all the games are important. I can say that whatever happens, we will do whatever it takes to get to the round of 16.”
Getting to the knockout stages really would be cause for celebration. Given that the top two of each of the six groups of four and the four best performing third-placed teams go through, it is a realistic one and it could be that the tragic circumstances at home spur Palestine on to make history.
“The atmosphere among the players is excellent and we in the national team work as a group and everyone supports them,” says Daboub. “Our goal is to show a face that honours Palestinian football and put a smile on the faces of our people. Despite the pain, we want to give them hope.”
