Around the world, football fans gather in bars, homes, and public squares to watch the Fifa World Cup. But in Gaza, supporters search for phone signals, ration their batteries, and crowd around a single television whenever electricity briefly returns.
For a few hours, football offers an escape from the harsh reality of everyday life in Gaza. “It takes us away from the stress and fear … for 90 minutes,” says 18-year-old goalkeeper Aisha Al Abadla, born with an underdeveloped arm.
But while Gazans struggle to follow the world's biggest tournament amid obliterated homes, electricity blackouts, and a weak internet connection, a different football story is also unfolding inside the besieged territory, one born from war and amputations.
On one of the rare remaining grass fields in Deir Al Balah, Palestine's first women's amputee football team gathers every week to train. Some of the players lost limbs during the war, while others have lived with disabilities since birth. All share the same dream: to represent Palestine on the world stage.
As millions celebrate the World Cup, these young women are fighting for the chance to participate in one of their own.
Football has long occupied a special place in Gaza, and that place remains even amid war. Families huddle around mobile phones and battery-powered televisions, friends gather wherever they find a generator, and some even climb on to rooftops in search of stronger internet signals to stream matches.
For many, football offers something increasingly rare in Gaza: moments of normality.
New way of playing
According to Gaza's Ministry of Health, 6,000 people in the territory have suffered amputations during the war. All require prosthetics and long-term rehabilitation.
For Fouad Abu Ghoulion, founder and director of the Palestine Amputee Football Association, those numbers transformed his work. Founded in 2018, the association trains amputees and organises teams for men, women, and children.
After the latest war began, the need became far greater. “The girls' team existed before the war,” Mr Abu Ghoulion told The National. “But the number of amputations increased. So did the number of girls joining.”
Despite destroyed facilities and scarce resources, the association resumed training. “It was the determination of the girls themselves that pushed us forward,” he says.
Most sports fields in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed. Still, a few remain. “We found a place for ourselves,” he says. “One of the few surviving pitches.”
His message during the World Cup is simple. “There are voices in Gaza that deserve to be heard,” he says. “Especially women: they deserve to be champions.” The association hopes to participate in the Women's Amputee Football World Cup scheduled for 2027.
Goalkeeper Aisha Al Abadla is passionate about football. “I have been playing for eight years. I love it deeply,” she told The National.
Born with a missing limb after her mother inhaled white phosphorus during the 2008 war while pregnant, Ms Al Abadla has never considered her disability a barrier. “It became a motivation,” she says.
On the field, surrounded by teammates, she finds moments that remind her of her life before war. “We spend beautiful moments together,” she says. “It brings us back to those days, before everything changed.”
The team, she says, carries special symbolism. “It shows that Palestinian women are capable of challenging adversity and adapting to difficult circumstances.” She dreams of international tournaments and raising the Palestinian flag. “We are determined to continue,” she says.
For 24-year-old Rozan Khaira, sport was once synonymous with running. Before November 2023, she competed in races and won medals. Then an Israeli strike on her family's home took one of legs. Her world changed, but her love of sport did not.
“My injury gave me even more determination,” she told The National. Joining the amputee football team allowed her to rediscover her new self. “It became an opportunity to develop my abilities again.”
Each week, the players travel to Deir Al Balah for training sessions that include running, drills, and physical conditioning. The conditions are harsh, and equipment, balls, and transport are in short supply.
Some players miss training because they cannot afford the trip from the displacement camps. Others struggle because food shortages and soaring prices prevent them from getting the nutrition necessary to sustain physical exercise.
“We train under almost impossible conditions,” Ms Khaira says, “but our determination keeps us going.”
As World Cup matches unfold before billions of viewers, the young women in Deir Al Balah follow the tournament whenever and however they can.
Football, they say, provides relief from the pressures of daily life. But they do not only dream of watching, they dream of playing in international tournaments, hoping that one day, the world will watch them.
