As the vibrant opening matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup unfold in stadiums across North America, a starkly different reality exists in the ruins of Gaza City. At a corner of the battered Palestine Stadium, Ali Tafesh and his teammates are playing football while relying on crutches. These athletes are members of the Gaza Al-Irada football club, a team composed of Palestinian players who have lost limbs in Israeli attacks. In a region where approximately 73,000 people have lost their lives, these athletes view sport not merely as entertainment, but as a desperate means to survive, cope with trauma, and reclaim pieces of a shattered life.
Just four years ago, during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the then 24-year-old Ali Tafesh watched matches in a festive atmosphere at a cafe in Gaza surrounded by friends. Today, as the world witnesses the opening of another global tournament in 2026, Ali is one of the thousands living with the loss of a limb due to the ongoing conflict. In February 2024, an Israeli airstrike on his home in the Zaytoun area of Gaza City killed his mother and brother, and surgeons were forced to amputate one of his legs. Before the injury, Ali was a local sprinter and a law school graduate. After losing his leg and all hope, Ali discovered the Gaza Al-Irada club six months ago through friends. Ali told Al Jazeera that after the amputation, he lost all hope of living. He was a champion with medals, but when the club members reached out to him, he returned to the pitch. Now, they are attempting to rebuild football with the little they have left.
The reality for Ali and his peers is miles apart from the world-class stars on the global stage. There is no public transportation in Gaza, forcing Ali to walk on crutches for two hours to reach the practice field. The team lacks basic necessities such as proper crutches, boots, or any safety equipment. The story of the team’s 40-year-old veteran player, Saadi Al-Masri, is different but equally poignant. Having lost a leg in a car accident at age two, Saadi is a national swimmer, volleyball player, and a representative of the Palestinian national amputee football team. He has the experience of carrying his country’s flag at the Asian Championships.
Saadi explained that watching the World Cup is deeply painful for them. Their team was scheduled to play in international tournament qualifiers this year, but the war destroyed everything. The most distressing aspect is that they are absent and completely forgotten on the global stage today. Saadi expressed frustration toward FIFA, the governing body of world football, claiming that FIFA has failed to fulfill any of its promises to reconstruct Palestinian football. Although FIFA announced in February that it would build 50 mini-pitches, five full stadiums, and an academy in Gaza, Saadi and others argue that these remain mere paper promises. Comparing the current situation to 2022, he noted that back then, they watched games at home or in cafes, whereas today, Gaza lacks electricity, screens, and even internet access to watch matches on mobile phones.
The Gaza Al-Irada club, established in May 2018, has been working to bring individuals who have lost limbs due to war and accidents back into sports. According to the World Health Organization, approximately 5,000 to 6,000 people in Gaza have lost limbs since the conflict intensified in October 2023. The Palestine Football Association reported last March that 1,007 members of Gaza`s sports community, including players, coaches, referees, and officials, have been killed in ongoing Israeli attacks. Furthermore, 265 sports facilities, including football fields, gymnasiums, and swimming pools, have been completely or partially destroyed. Many of Gaza`s main stadiums have now been converted into shelters for displaced families.
Coach Hatem Al-Mugrabi, gazing at his mobile screen with regret, said that for them, the World Cup brings a message of isolation and deep loneliness alongside the football festival. Their players wanted to enjoy this tournament like other athletes around the world, but they are living through a daily parade of bombs and death. As the players take to the pitch for the World Cup opening matches, the warriors of Gaza have a single message: they hope the world considers the people of Palestine worthy of survival and that the global football community does not forget the plight of Palestine in the stadiums and galleries.
