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Pan Arab competitions have something of chequered reputation. Rarely and infrequently held in the modern era their importance has slowly dwindled. The love affair Palestine has with them has remained strong. The 2023 edition of the Pan Arab Games came as a surprise to many but Palestine will be present at the Olympics of the Arab World and their football team will aim to parlay this experience into successfully qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympics next year.
Palestine has had limited success as a footballing nation but some of its greatest moments have come during the Pan Arab Games. Before becoming a FIFA member, Palestine participated in the innaugural event in 1953 and came back stronger in 1965 reaching the semifinals following a pair 1-0 wins over Yemen and Lebanon and a 1-1 draw with Iraq.
Palestine’s lone victory over bitter rivals Jordan? It also came at the Pan Arab Games in 1976.
In 1999 only after three games as a fully fledged FIFA member. Palestine embarked on a Cinderella run at the games held in Amman. Overcoming Qatar and UAE with a a pair of 1-0 victories and sealing their place in the semifinals with a 1-1 draw against Syria and a 2-2 draw against Libya.
In 2011, the team overcame a 4-1 opening day loss against Jordan with Jamal Mahmoud guiding the team to a 1-1 draw against Libya and a 2-0 win over Sudan- a pair of teams that would go on to compete in the 2012 Africa Cup of Natiions the next month.
This generation of players is a little different than the one that came before it. It’s a sign of Palestine’s progress as a football nation that they are confident enough to send their Olympic team to contest this event.
The expectation of being able to match or even better previous accomplishments is further sign of progress. Manager Ehab Abujazar will make three changes to the side that defeated Syria 1-0 and drew Iran 1-1 at the WAFF Championships earlier this month. Halid Alghoul and Josef El-Subaihi have been replaced by Ahmed Daghim and Yazan Sharha while Reebal Dahamshe, who was with the senior team in Indonesia and China has also joined the side.
Palestine has been placed in Group B of the eight team tournament and will open up group play against Mauritania on July 2nd before facing Syria on July 5th, and wrapping up group play on July 8th. All games are slated for 17:30 local time.
