Dedicated supporters and perhaps a few talent scouts attended the final that was hosted in the Rafah refugee camp.
The Ramadan Popular League final will be played on a straightforward sand pitch at the Rafah refugee camp, which is located at the southernmost tip of the Gaza Strip.
The amateur football players of the beleaguered Gaza Strip have competed in the league all month, defying hunger and thirst, to get to Tuesday’s final between the Rail Stars and Tadamon.
They participated in a number of neighborhood amateur leagues all year long in Gaza before reaching the competition, working their way up to the Ramadan League.
On March 31, 2023, young Palestinian males engage in a game of football during Ramadan in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. [Reuters/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa]
Every Ramadan, more than 12,000 residents of the Rafah refugee camp eagerly anticipate the game, and anticipation heightens as the surface is leveled and the teams reveal their starting lineups.
According to Al Jazeera reporter Hesham Zaqout, the Ramadan League games are anticipated by the players since they have become a yearly chance for some of them to be noticed by talent scouts.
“This may not even be a regulation-size pitch,” one of the organizers said to Zaqout, “but it’s a good pitch that’s a space where players and the audience can let off some steam.”
The fact that some of the players prefer to play barefoot or in socks on the unstable sandy field makes it clear that these are not professional games, as do the devoted spectators who must stand in the rear rows or sit on the sand.
All ages of players are drawn to the games. [Reuters/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa]
The commentary of a match commentator, who is on the sidelines with his notes in hand, is amplified over the entire pitch and audience.
The historic Egypt-Palestine railway once stood where the pitch now stands, giving origin to some of the teams’ names, such the Rail Stars.
“This pitch is more well-liked than many other stadiums; it serves as a refugee playground. Ahmed el-Loulahy, a player for Khadamat Rafah Club, claimed, “We played here when we were kids.
The Ramadan League is as much a part of Ramadan as any other tradition people follow, according to Palestinian sports journalist Khaled Abou Zaher, who also noted that Rafah is particularly renowned as a breeding ground for Palestinian football talent and that dozens of Palestinian football stars have participated in the competition.
The former route of the Egypt-Palestine railway is where the Rafah field is located (Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters).
Abou Zaher stated, “This is a chance for players to showcase their talents to the globe in the hopes that they are selected by one of the teams, like the Rafah Youth.
Additionally, it gives players who won’t be able to make it to the clubs a chance to perform for their audience.
Excited spectators flocked to the field to honor their heroes and the secure environment that allowed them to enjoy the game as the final whistle blew, signaling the Rail Stars’ 2-1 victory over Tadamon.
