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Traditional sports in Palestine, under the Turkish influence, were horse racing, running, wrestling and swimming. These games generally became a stepping stone in the path of modern day Palestinian sports. It was only under the British rule that the sports played were modernized and football gained popularity over time.
street football in Palestine
Football is described as the national sport of Palestine, and is the most popular sport. The Palestine National Football Team was not recognized by FIFA until 1998. Their biggest win was 11-0 over Guam in 2006. In 2024 the reached the knockout rounds of the Asian Cup for the first time, eventually losing narrowly to Qatar. In 2018 Palestine achieved their best-ever FIFA ranking of 73rd. They have never participated in the FIFA World Cup finals.
The Palestine Marathon began in 2013 and is held on takes place on the streets of Bethlehem, Palestine. The marathon was created to highlight restrictions in Palestinian freedom of movement, especially for Palestinian women.
Below are details of sports, sporting events and sports people related to Palestine. Is there something missing? If you know of something that should be listed here, please let us know.
Popular sports of Palestine
- Football (Soccer), running, rugby, boxing, horse racing, basketball, volleyball, handball, kabaddi and martial arts.
Palestine Sporting Success
- 2014 AFC Challenge Cup champions
- 2007 Arab Basketball Championship, finishing 8th
Great athletes from Palestine
- Mayada Al-Sayad - a German-born Palestinian marathon runner
- Oday Dabbagh - the first homegrownPalestinian footballerto play in Europe'stopleagues
- Omar Krayem - a USA born American-Palestinian, the first Palestinian to play in the NBA.
- Musab Al-Battat - football
- Mohammed Rashid - football
Palestine Sports trivia
- Palestine has sent a team to all Summer Olympics since their debut in 1996.
- Maher Abu Rmeileh, a judo participant at the 2012 London Games, was thefirst Palestinian to ever officially qualify for the Olympics on merit (all previous participants were by invitation)
Palestine at major events
Past sporting events hosted in Palestine
- 2011 Al-Nakba International Football Tournament
- 2012 Palestine International Cup (Football)
- 2014 Palestine International Championship (Football)
Upcoming sporting events in Palestine
Annual sporting events held in Palestine
- The Palestine Marathon
- Palestine Cup - the main national association football competition
- West Bank Premier League (Association Football)
- Gaza Strip League (Association Football)
Sporting Facilities in Palestine
Unfortunately, many of the sporting facilities in Palestine and been damaged or destroyed in the conflict with Israel.
- Palestine Stadium — the national stadium and home of the Palestine national football team. Located in Gaza City, Gaza Strip.
- Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium in Al-Ram
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