A Father's Quest to Bring Joy Through Football to Displaced Families in Gaza

Mohammad al-Waheidi had been working for weeks to set up screens.In the spaces between destroyed buildings and overcrowded tents around Gaza City, al-Waheidi and his colleagues from the Egyptian Relief Committee set up screens to allow displaced families to enjoy the games of the 2026 World Cup. Families with no access to running water and electricity, families who knew nothing for sure about the next day gathered every evening to watch football.

On July 8, a day before the game between Egypt and Argentina, al-Waheidi and the cab driver Ahmed Daghmush, 33, together with his two friends who happened to be passing at the moment Hamza al-Deri, aged 10, and his brother Fari, aged 8 were killed when an Israeli airstrike hit their cab.

The Israeli military told CBS News that it had targeted a Hamas militant and was aware of the civilian casualties. It did not mention whose death it had been. According to two Egyptian security sources speaking to Reuters, a senior Egyptian official complained about the murder to Israel, stating that the killing should not continue in the face of what they called an assassination and an obstruction of work of the relief committee.

The son of Mohammad al-Waheidi spoke to Reuters by phone from Gaza: "My father was doing everything he could to provide entertainment for the people, for the displaced, for us, and everybody who suffers in Gaza. He was trying to bring matches to our tents and damaged shelters."

Football in Gaza

The bombardment of Gaza started in October 2023. Almost the whole population of two million people got displaced at least once since then. Most people now live in tents or damaged houses in a narrow coastal strip. Israel controls more than 60 percent of the territory. A ceasefire, agreed in October 2025, reduced the ground fighting but did not stop the Israeli attacks which have claimed more than 1,000 lives since then.

Under such conditions, a football match shown on a large screen becomes more than just one more event. Humanitarian specialists who operate in the zones of war always say that access to sport and entertainment is not luxury there. That is what helps people to remain sane.

Palestinians, like most Arab countries, supported Egypt. Egypt's coach Hossam Hassan openly supported the Palestinians during the tournament. Before the match with Argentina he interrupted a pre-game press-conference to address the people of Gaza. They eventually got knocked out of the tournament by Argentina. But while they played in the tournament, they remained a connection point for people watching from tents.

The Goalkeeper Who Never Played For National Team

Nine days before al-Waheidi was killed, on June 29, a Palestinian goalkeeper, Saleem al-Ashqar, was killed by the Israeli forces in the town of Al-Qarara, northeast of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza.

He was only 32 years old. He used to play professionally for three clubs of the Gaza Strip Al-Aqsa Sports Club, Al-Masdar Sports Club and Khadamat Khan Younis. Only half a year before, he got married and now he was waiting for his firstborn child.

Al-Ashqar was riding his motorcycle and was looking for cooking gas for his family when he got injured by fire from the Israeli soldiers nearby. The bullets got him in his abdomen and he died in hospital.

According to the uncle of al-Ashqar, Farid al-Ashqar, a member of the referees committee of the Palestinian Football Association, Al Jazeera: "He went out just like any other young man, trying to get a gas cylinder for his wife and family, but the treacherous bullets of the occupation hit him."

Al-Ashqar's father told NBC News: "He had a lot of dreams. His dream was to make it into the Palestinian national team and proudly represent his people and Palestine in the world arena."

But Saleem al-Ashqar never played for the national team. Palestine did not qualify for the 2026 World Cup. The Palestinian Football Association states that 1,009 athletes have been killed since October 2023. Out of those 567 were the members of the football community players, coaches, referees.

Almost 300 sports facilities have been destroyed.

What FIFA Did and Did Not Do

In March 2024, the Palestinian Football Association sent a complaint to FIFA requesting the suspension of the Israeli Football Association. The complaints concerned several issues including the participation of five clubs located in West Bank settlements in the Israeli national league system, restrictions of movement of the Palestinian players and officials, as well as discrimination of Arab players in the Israeli football infrastructure.

The FIFA reaction to these demands was slow and, in its result, incomplete.

The FIFA put off a decision concerning the possible suspension until July 2024. Then, it postponed the decision again until October 2024. Finally, three months before the start of the World Cup, on March 19, 2026, FIFA made its decision and refused to suspend Israel.

It stated that the legal status of the West Bank settlements under international public law is "an unresolved and highly complex matter" and therefore it goes beyond the jurisdiction of the Disciplinary Committee. However, it fined the Israel Football Association 150,000 Swiss francs approximately $190,000 for multiple violations of its rules regarding discrimination and fair play. It also ordered the IFA to implement a prevention program and issued a formal warning.

In its written decision, FIFA judges said that "they cannot remain indifferent to the broader human context in which football is operating."

But they remained indifferent to the broader problem of the suspension.

This decision had been constantly compared to FIFA's reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Within days of the beginning of Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 FIFA suspended Russia from participating in all international tournaments. The decision was immediate and did not take any months of investigations or references to any unresolved questions of international law.

Robert Kelley, professor of American University's School of International Service, told Moment Magazine that, judging by the relation between FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Donald Trump, it was unlikely that FIFA would suspend Israel. As he explained, Infantino "wants to maintain that relationship."

FIFA itself has described the situation as "geopolitical" , something that goes beyond the scope of a sporting body to resolve.

The Debate Football Cannot Ignore

It is at this point that the debate gets truly complicated, and it is worth spending time with the complications rather than ignoring them.

The principle adopted by FIFA states that politics and sports cannot be mixed. It is a perfectly sensible position since, otherwise, the bodies representing sports would find themselves responding to any political conflict involving their member nations, which means paralysis or the arbitrary application of standards depending on which countries control the organizations.

Yet this principle has not been consistently applied thus far. Russia was suspended from international football in 2022 very quickly, as if it was possible to do when there is the political will to act. Yugoslavia was suspended in 1992 due to the UN Security Council resolution. South Africa was banned from participating in international tournaments for years due to apartheid, and this was seen as the right move to make later on.

The question that arises is not whether the organizations responsible for regulating international football may decide to act in extreme cases. They definitely can and have acted in such situations before. The question is whether there is a consistent set of criteria, and whether they are applied in the same manner.

On March 19, 2026, FIFA refused to impose sanctions suspending Israel's participation in international football competitions, citing the unresolved legal status of the West Bank under international public law, and instead decided to impose a fine for the violations associated with discrimination.

United Nations human rights experts had said that it was "necessary" to suspend Israel, stating that "sports must reject the perception that it is business as usual" and that "sporting bodies must not turn a blind eye to grave human rights violations."

The ones who advocate for the suspension of Israel and those who oppose it are both trying to make their points within the context of how the sports relate to power politics. Neither party makes something up.

The figure of 1,009 is not a matter of discussion either. It is the confirmed number from the Palestinian Football Association of athletes killed since October 2023. It involves a goalkeeper looking for cooking gas. It involves coaches, referees, and youth players. It involves people whose sole involvement with football is that they play it.

The Screens Are Still On

During the 2026 World Cup, Palestinian flags became a common sight at the stadiums all across the USA, Canada, and Mexico. The fans of Morocco displayed them in New York's Times Square ahead of the games. The fans of Algeria flew the flags in Kansas City during the match between Argentina and Morocco. The Bosnians cheered from the stands. The flags were present during dozens of games, both on and off the grounds.

FIFA didn't comment on this fact.

In Gaza, the screenings continued after Mohammad al-Waheidi's death. People came together every evening, just as they did before. They watched Egypt getting eliminated. They watched Argentina advancing. They watched the tournament happening in the cities which they will likely never visit.

Al-Waheidi's son recalled that his father used to say he wanted to help people. It was the reason why he did that. It was the reason why he organized screenings.

The question of how much global sport owes to people like al-Waheidi, or to Saleem al-Ashqar, or to 565 other members of the Palestinian football community who died in the current conflict does not have a neat solution. FIFA gave its answer.

Others gave their answers too. The people in the tents, watching the games, are still giving a different kind of answer every day when the screening takes place.

What the world outside of the sport has done is even more difficult to look at.