Palestine's Pitch: A Battlefield for Identity The World Cup may be about national pride and global unity, but in Palestine, football has become a battleground over land, identity, and representation.
Football has been used by Palestinians as a way to express their national aspirations and resistance against Israeli occupation for decades.
FIFA's recognition of a Zionist run "Palestine" team in 1998 was seen as a betrayal by many Palestinians. It allowed Israel to exert control over Palestinian football while sidestepping the issue of its own occupation.