Palestinian families in Gaza gathered on June 22, 2026, to watch Spain beat Saudi Arabia in the World Cup. They chose to cheer for Spain not because the team played the best football, but because Spain's government had recognized Palestine as a state and spoken out about the conflict. According to Al Jazeera, this happened across Gaza. For people living through a brutal war, even a sports tournament became a way to say which countries stood by them.

When your country is at war and you can't escape it, everything carries a hidden meaning — even what team you root for.

The cost to Palestinian sports has been severe. Since October 2023, at least 894 Palestinian athletes in Gaza have been killed, according to Al Jazeera. Football stadiums have been destroyed. Players have lost teammates. UN News reported that for many people in Gaza, football was becoming the "only outlet" — one of the few things that still felt normal. A video report by Al Jazeera's Maram Humaid showed athletes, coaches, and fans describing what they had lost.

But there are also stories of people who refused to stop playing. Al Jazeera's June 11 feature documented a football club where every player had lost a limb. They kept playing anyway. FIFA announced plans to build a massive football complex in Gaza with 50 small fields, five full-size stadiums, and a training academy. But that can only happen if the fighting stops and rebuilding begins.

Why Palestine's Team Wasn't There

Palestine's national football team does not play matches at home. Instead, they play in Qatar because it is too dangerous to host games in Gaza or the West Bank. The team's leader, Jibril Rajoub, tried to attend the 2026 World Cup but could not get a US visa. Even the person running Palestinian football was not allowed into the tournament.

Palestine almost qualified for the World Cup. Their team was in the running until a qualifying match against Oman. The referee gave Oman a penalty — a controversial call that many questioned — and that ended Palestine's chance. It was a close call that mattered because the Palestinian team was already fighting harder than any other team: they had to pull players from all over the world while their home country was falling apart.

When the Gaza war started in 2023, Palestine had to drop out of a football tournament in Malaysia. That was supposed to be temporary. It was not.

There is something important happening when Gazans root for Spain instead of their own country's rivals. They are not making a sports choice. They are voting with a small gesture for which countries have treated them as human beings. The World Cup is one of the only moments when the whole world is watching. For Palestinians locked out of the tournament, rooting for a friendly nation was the only way to send a message.

FIFA can build football fields. It cannot end a war. Until the fighting stops and real reconstruction can start, the 894 dead players are not just a sad fact — they are the reality of Palestinian football right now.