Above: Activists display a banner outside the stadium.
Activists in Portugal staged a protest in front of the stadium where Pa�os Ferreira played Tel Aviv football club Bnei Yehuda at the beginning of August.
Gathering in front of the stadium, activists carried banners condemning Israeli apartheid and calling for a sports boycott of Israel.
Information on the reasons and goals of the boycott were distributed to passers by as well as match ticket holders. Police initially tried to stop the demonstration and confiscated the banners, but eventually allowed demonstrators to remain. They were, however, barred from brining the banners into the stadium.
The event succeeded in garnering news coverage, both in local TV and print media.
Peter Reid's Thailand were one of the star attractions of the upcoming Nehru Cup and All India Football Federation (AIFF) has decided to replace them with Palestine after ‘The Elephants' decided not to send their senior team...
It was revealed to Goal.com that the Indian FA had asked all the participating nations to send their senior sides and only then, their involvement was confirmed. Thereafter, the five nations, apart from India, were named by the AIFF for the Nehru Cup.
Sources close to Goal.com in Thailand has stated on Tuesday that they have no intention of sending their senior side and were keen on giving exposure to one of their junior sides, which didn't go well with the AIFF.
In the past few days, the AIFF has been busy speaking to a few national federations in order to get them to participate in the tournament with the confirmation coming from Palestine, who are ranked 177th in the latest FIFA rankings.
Only two teams are ranked above India in the tournament, namely last edition's finalists Syria (95) and Lebanon (145), who defeated India in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.
Israeli troops detained a Palestinian football player on his way out of the Gaza Strip through Erez crossing Thursday afternoon.
The former forward with the Rafah team Mahmoud Kamel As-Sarsak was on his way to Nablus where he was expected to join the Balata team, and continue his football career. Two other footballers travelling with As-Sarsak were turned away at the crossing, while the young player was taken into Israeli custody.
Mahmoud’s brother Imad Al-Sarsak said soldiers took him to Ashkelon prison, and noted that none of the family was made aware of any charges against him.
Head of the Iranian parliament's Sports Committee rejects reports of a ban on four Iranian football players for wearing green wrist bands in the Iran-South Korea match.
"No player has been banned and basically Parliament is not authorized to impose such a ban," Jalal Yahya-zade said on Thursday.
The announcement came after a number of international media outlets including the CNN claimed that four members of the Iranian national football team were banned for life after what they called 'a display of political support' for the defeated presidential candidate Mir Hussein Mousavi.
A number of Iranian footballers wore green arm- and wrist-bands during the first half of the Iran-South Korea game on June 17.
On Tuesday, the Iranian striker Ali Karimi and winger Mehdi Mahdavikia announced their retirement from the Iranian national soccer squad which failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
According to Iran's Football Federation (IFF) Vice President Mehdi Taj, the two top players bade farewell to the national team of their own volition.
Brasilia wants to hold friendly game between Sao Paulo's Corinthians, Rio de Janeiro's Flamengo in Ramallah, with no plans to hold similar game in Israel. Decision said to cause diplomatic tensions between countries
Itamar Eichner
Ronaldo
Diplomatic tensions have sparked recently between Israel and Brazil over none other than a soccer match, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Wednesday.
The Brazilian government decided to extend a gesture to the Palestinian people and hold a friendly game between two of its leading soccer teams – Sao Paulo's Corinthians and Rio de Janeiro's Flamengo – in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
With famed player Ronaldo as the Corinthians' striker and Flamengo being one of the world's top soccer teams, many Israelis would undoubtedly love to attend the game, but the Brazilians have made it clear that they are not interested in playing in Israel – only in the Palestinian Authority.
Giora Bachar, the Israeli ambassador to Brasilia inquired about the reports in the local media with the Brazilian Foreign Ministry, which confirmed them.
Bachar filed an official protest with the Brazilian Foreign Ministry, but his report to Jerusalem did indicate that the initiative has yet to find a sponsor.
"I intend to make the Brazilians understand that if a similar game is not held in Israel, we will see it as an act of ostracism," he said. "It would be better off if they held two games, or better still – a joint game for the Israelis and Palestinians."
Se sospecha de grupos paramilitares protestantes unionistas organizados. Los representantes nacionalistas han pedido a la comunidad unionista que identifique a los culpables y los entregue a la Policía. Testigos dicen que los atacantes se identificaron como miembros de la UDA (Asociación de Defensa del Ulster), banda paramilitar lealista teóricamente en situación de cese el fuego. Todos los partidos políticos, incluidos los unionistas de línea dura del DUP, han condenado el asesinato y han solicitado la colaboración ciudadana.
Kevin McDaid
Otra noticia terrible. La violencia sectaria se cobra una nueva víctima en el Norte de Irlanda. El domingo 24 de mayo en Coleraine (municipio de mayoría protestante en el Condado de Derry) una turba protestante atacó a un ciudadano católico, Kevin McDaid, al que propinaron una paliza que le causó la muerte. La causa, llevar una bufanda verdiblanca del Celtic de Glasgow, el equipo de fútbol fundado por la emigración irlandesa (católica) en Escocia (que cuenta con muchos seguidores en la comunidad católica nacionalista del Norte de Irlanda). El asesinato se produjo tras la celebración de los partidos del Celtic y del Glasgow Rangers (el equipo protestante, que se acababa de proclamar campeón de la Liga escocesa, tras tres años de dominio del Celtic).
McDaid, un trabajador católico, padre de cuatro hijos, fue brutalmente golpeado por una treintena de individuos hasta morir delante de uno de sus hijos, en el barrio de Somerset (de mayoría católica). Su viuda, la protestante Evelyn, también fue agredida cuando intentó salvar a su marido. Ella ha pedido que no haya venganza. Otro hombre, Damien Flemming, sigue luchando por su vida tras el brutal ataque y está ingresado en el hospital en estado crítico.
Like any soccer match among 6-year-olds, the gang behind the village school brought as much structure to the game as a swarm of bees.
But Omar Abu Hamad, coach of the champion Wadi al-Nees Blue Eagles of the Palestinian Football Association, was already scouting his next generation of players -- including the speedy sons of two of his current stars.
If all goes well, he said, this village of 800 in the occupied West Bank will continue to produce a punch-above-its-weight squad for Palestinian league play, and contribute to a Palestinian national team worthy of the world stage.
"Their talent puts them on the right track," he said of the children, indistinguishable to a novice eye but for the fact that some ran after the ball and some didn't. "The reputation is very important to us. We want to build our team."
More than 15 years after the Oslo peace accords put Palestinian society on what was envisioned as a path to self-government, prospects for the creation of a Palestinian state are in limbo. The current Israeli government has said that progress on security must precede steps to establish final borders or resolve other key issues. Palestinian society, meanwhile, is largely split between the Fatah movement, which favors a negotiated settlement with Israel, and Hamas, which rejects Israel's existence.
While the Oslo accords in 1993 gave the Palestinians more leeway to build civil institutions, the intervening decade and a half in many ways has been time lost -- a fact the two sides blame on each other.
But last fall, the soccer league completed a full 21-game season. That may not seem like a profound step forward, but it is one that gave fans of teams in 22 towns and villages a taste of normalcy, and a chance to wave a flag in a context that didn't involve rock throwing or tear gas.
Play had been suspended for years because of the violent Palestinian uprising, or intifada, that broke out in 2000. But the sport appears to be on the upswing under the guidance of Jibril Rajoub, better known as the general who ran one of the two main security services maintained by the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Though still active in politics, Rajoub is head of the Palestinian Football Association and has used the job to promote the type of nation-building projects often missing following Oslo.
Roughly $3 million in overseas donations and some local funding paid for renovations that brought Ramallah's al-Husseini stadium up to international standards. Last fall, the Palestinian national team played its first ever FIFA-sanctioned home match: a 1-1 draw against Jordan.
Perhaps as significant, Wadi al-Nees -- for its winning effort in last season's league play -- earned a $25,000 prize that will let the Blue Eagles invest in new shoes and equipment and perhaps start developing a home pitch, or playing field. The team currently practices on the same blacktop playground where the coach scouts the 6-year-olds.
The association this year won the first-ever development award from FIFA, soccer's governing body.
"For the first time in years we had a league from A to Zed. For the first time in the history of Palestine we had a league for women. We had a home pitch. This has never happened," Rajoub said. "One of the problems we have is to convince the international community that we deserve independence. Presenting the Palestinian people through sport is an important development -- to convince the world that we are normal."
It has certainly become central to Wadi al-Nees, the playfully named "Valley of the Porcupines."
The village sits on a hillside south of Bethlehem, near the Israeli settlement of Efrat. Salim Abu Hamad, the soccer team's director, said their area had not witnessed serious clashes during the intifada. Many men in the town work as stonecutters in a nearby Palestinian-owned quarry. It's a quiet life in a village where most everyone is related, by blood or marriage, to the Abu Hamad clan.
Which makes the soccer, like everything else here, a family affair. The team is largely a gaggle of brothers and cousins, though they have imported a player or two from outside Wadi al-Nees.
Although that might seem a recipe for trouble -- particularly when it comes to benching your brother or telling your nephew he didn't make the cut -- Salim Abu Hamad said people trust his judgment.
A clubhouse full of trophies and banners shows why.
The team was formed in the 1980s, and at first was a doormat for one of the lower divisions in the nascent league. As the league expanded, Wadi al-Nees eventually started bringing home prizes even as it advanced to the top division -- a triumph, team members say, against the odds.
Goalkeeper Mohammed Abu Hamad is hardly a giant in the net. But he scoffs at mention of his short stature and notes that in 21 games last year the Blue Eagles allowed only 10 goals.
According to the coach, the blood ties make the team better. He imposes discipline -- $20 fines for anyone late to practice -- and believes the Blue Eagles cooperate better because they are all relatives.
"The secret is loving one another," he said. "Other teams fight among themselves."
Then again, there are the skinned knees and elbows that make blacktop practices such a challenge.
The Abu Hamads, coach and director, say they have the talent to stay atop the Palestinian league and, over time, help boost the national squad out of its ranking of 174, between Bangladesh and St. Lucia.
Ultimately, they said, a match against the Israeli national squad is not out of the question, but only after they have a few years to build.
"Now," said Salim Abu Hamad, "we just need a field."
More than 100 amateur football players and peace activists from all over Italy came to the occupied territories to play friendly matches against Palestinian men’s and women’s teams in a gesture of international solidarity.
It is the fifth consecutive year that Italian NGO "Sport Under Siege” is organising the visit to the West Bank and Gaza, in which they play against Palestinians from diverse villages and refugee camps.
On Sunday, the Italians played their first match against the Palestinian men’s and women’s “under 21” teams in Faisal El Hussein football stadium in Jerusalem, just five minutes away from the Wall and the Qalandia checkpoint.
“We’re here to play with our Palestinian brothers, to show them they are on our minds, and to show the world that we are against the occupation, even through football”, said Federico Zappini, one of the Italian players.
One of the Italian organisers said the yearly event will be kept for as long as the Palestinians will remain under Israeli occupation.
“We’re keeping our annual appointment here to reiterate our message of freedom and friendship with the Palestinians under the occupation”, said Mary Galbelli, one of the organisers. “We will continue coming here until Palestine is free.”
For 19-year-old Palestinian player Muhammad Abu Roz, the match against the Italians was a way of seeking normality.
“I love football, and playing against the Italians makes me feel the same like them for 90 minutes”, he said.
The Palestinian men’s team won 11-0 and the Palestinian women won 9-0, a normally devastating result for the Italians, however, that did not seem to matter today as was evidenced by the number of Palestinian flags that waved.
“We were tired from the journey”, one of the Italian players said smiling after the match.
Trailer for the upcoming film 'The Damned United'.
From the best-selling and critically acclaimed novel by David Peace, The Damned United is directed by Tom Hooper and stars Michael Sheen as the legendary, opinionated football manager Brian Clough, with Timothy Spall as his right hand man, only friend, and crutch Peter Taylor.
En un programa radiofónico de la BBC han compuesto una versión del Bohemian Rhapsody de Queen con nombres de futbolistas.
En esta peculiar versión, en la que predominan nombres de los jugadores de la Premier, han cambiado cada palabra del Bohemian Rhapsody (hasta 606) por nombres de futbolistas.
Siempre que juega el Liverpool FC, su afición entona el himno del club: “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, Nunca caminarás solo. Es tal vez el canto del fútbol más famoso del mundo, un emotivo tema dedicado a la amistad, una oda al “aguante”, un llamado a resistir pese a la adversidad.
“You’ll Never Walk Alone” es una canción compuesta originalmente por Richard Rodgers (música) y Oscar Hammerstein (letra) para un musical de Broadway en 1945, en plena Segunda Guerra Mundial, llamado “Carrusel”. En el espectáculo original fue interpretada por Christine Johnson y también por Jan Clayton y un coro.
En el musical, la canción es interpretada tras la muerte de Billy Bigelow, para dar ánimos a su compañera Julie Jordan, en ese momento embarazada y con un niño. Es repetida en la escena final para animar la ceremonia de graduación de Louise, la hija de ambos personajes. La popularidad de la obra fue gigantesca ya que para la época muchos de los asistentes a la representación tenían parientes, esposos o novios combatiendo en la guerra. Su éxito le valió una versión cinematográfica.
La destacada armonía entre letra y melodía y su gran popularidad le valieron ser interpretada por varios artistas, empezando por Frank Sinatra, en ese mismo 1945. Patti La Belle and the Blue Belles la interpretaron en una versión del año 1964. La versión de Elvis Presley fue célebre en 1968. El famoso artista holandés Lee Towers la grabó también en su álbum de 1976 “It’s raining in my heart” así como en otros álbumes recopilatorios.
En Inglaterra, la versión más famosa la realizó en 1960 un grupo del barrio de Merseybeat de Liverpool, llamado Gerry & the Pacemakers, quienes alcanzaron con ella el número uno en las listas británicas en 1963. Pronto se convirtió en el himno del equipo de fútbol local, el Liverpool F C y desde entonces es entonada por su afición en la antesala de cada partido. Su nombre, “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, fue estampada en el escudo del club. A su vez, el tema fue adoptado por variadas hinchadas en todo el mundo futbolero.
Un hecho histórico para el Liverpool y su hinchada incrementó la mística de su himno. En el año 2005, los “reds” enfrentaban al Milán por la final de la Liga de Campeones. El juego se realizaba en Estambul, capital turca, a donde llegaron miles de aficionados de ambas escuadras. Al finalizar el primer tiempo, los de Liverpool perdían tres goles a cero. En el entretiempo la hinchada roja entonó con gran sentimiento “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, que se escuchó hasta los camerinos de los equipos, de modo que daban muestra de no darse por vencidos. La victoria, que parecía algo imposible, llegó cuando el Liverpool logró empatar el marcador 3-3, y hacerse al campeonato superando a Milán en los penales. Una auténtica proeza con el sello de “Nunca caminarás solo”.
When you walk through a storm, hold your head up high, and don't be afraid of the dark; at the end of a storm there is a golden sky and the sweet silver song of a lark.
Walk on through the wind, walk on through the rain, tho' your dreams be tossed and blown.
Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart, and you'll never walk alone, you'll never walk alone.
Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart, and you'll never walk alone, you'll never walk alone.
Cuando camines a través de la tormenta, Mantén alta la cabeza, Y no temas a la oscuridad; Al final de la tormenta, encontrarás un cielo dorado Y la dulce y plateada canción de una alondra.
Sigue caminando a través del viento, Sigue caminando a través de la lluvia, Aunque tus sueños se vean sacudidos y golpeados.
Camina, camina, con esperanza en tu corazón, Y nunca caminarás solo, Nunca caminarás solo.
Camina, camina, con esperanza en tu corazón, Y nunca caminarás solo, Nunca caminarás solo.
