Palestine footballers eye glory at Asian Cup while keeping hearts with Gaza

The Palestinian squad at the Asian Cup in Qatar hope to bring honour to their compatriots in besieged Gaza with their first victory at the tournament since the team's debut in 2015.

"For us, the message we are here to deliver through football is to qualify for the second round because Palestine and its people want to live. This is what we can offer," midfielder Oday Kharoub told the Reuters news agency on Thursday.

The 26-member squad play Asian powerhouse Iran on Sunday followed by the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong, hoping to advance to the knockout stage.

Kharoub said it has been difficult for players, especially those with families in besieged Gaza, to focus on training when their eyes are glued to the news between sessions, keenly following what is happening back home.

"Our hearts are with them, and we can only pray for them," Kharoub said.

"Inshallah, we can make them happy, even if it's just a little bit, by qualifying for the next round. This is our ambition."

Defender Mousa Farawi said they have steeled themselves to play in high spirits despite the situation in the blockaded enclave.

"The group we have is really special, so we hope for God to give us good fortune and give each player the bravery to deliver on a high level. I see Palestine in the second round, God willing."

Defender Yaser Hamed said, "The whole team is motivated by what's happening in Palestine; it's a difficult time for all families. But we're professional players, we should keep it up the same way as we've been working in the last few weeks."

Long football history

The Palestinian Football Association [PFA] was established in 1928, 20 years before Israel was established.

PFA was accepted by FIFA in 1998.

Palestine expanded its football in the early 20th century, with many clubs emerging, many of which were location-based clubs and religiously affiliated clubs, including the Orthodox clubs in Jerusalem, the Islamic Club of Jaffa and the Islamic Club of Haifa.

As Zionist Jews occupied Palestine and established Israel with the help of Western powers, many Jewish clubs from Europe also migrated illegally to Palestine over the years.

The growing sports sector in historic Palestine declined, especially after the killing of many Palestinian players amid the illegal expansion of Israeli colonisers.

Palestine's current FIFA ranking is 99, with its highest ever being 73, and its lowest 191.

Israel's current FIFA ranking is 75, with its highest being 15, and its lowest 99.