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Palestinian Government Boosts Sports As Means of Resistance

The Palestinian government has been cultivating national sports and athletics in a bid to revive patriotism and forge unity.
A Palestinian national team goalkeeper catches the ball during a warm-up before a local friendly soccer match at a stadium in al-Ram, on the edge of Jerusalem October 22, 2008. The Palestinian national team will play its first match on home soil on Sunday when they host Jordan in an international friendly at a new stadium near Jerusalem, the Palestinian FA chairman Jibril Rajoub said. Picture taken October 22, 2008. REUTERS/Fadi Arouri (JERUSALEM) - RTX9UN9

Throughout the ages, political leaders have used sports as a tool to unify a nation and to provide the people with a sense of nationalistic pride. The case of Palestine is no different.

Despite years of indifference by the Palestinian leadership, few Palestinians will disagree that sports received a huge boost when Jibril Rajoub took over as the head of the Palestinian football [soccer] federation and the Olympic committee. He has introduced and supported women's sports and exposed Palestine to the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) and Arab sports, as well as supervised the building of new stadiums. His efforts have succeeded in raising the profile of Palestinian athletics.

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