Nablus girls know it’s not just football
Reageer (0)This May Project Hope hosted the 2010 girl’s football tournament in Nablus, the West Bank. The event saw 7 young teams participating in the tournament, which was the first of its kind in Nablus. Reporting from Nicky Elliott. All photographs by Rebecca Fudala.
15-6-2010
As ex-Liverpool Manager Bill Shankly famously - and aptly - said “Football’s not a matter of life and death ... it’s more important than that”. After 4 months of breaking up fights, drying tears and nursing bruises it seems clear that the girls of Nablus take the sport pretty seriously too.
With the help of local NGO Project Hope, we have been delivering girls football classes both inside Balata camp and in the city of Nablus to girls of all ages. From shaky beginnings (including an initial rooftop training session) the girls have remained committed and have demonstrated their desire and willingness to learn and enjoy the beautiful game.
Though they may not be up to the standards of their heroes (Messi and Ronaldo) just yet, they have certainly shown that they’ve got talent, and what they lack in skill, they make up for in enthusiasm.
Not everyone has been enthusiastic about the program however. Nablus is a conservative town and as a result girl’s football is not as keenly supported here, or tolerated, as in other cities like Bethlehem where most of the Palestine Women’s team trains regularly. There is a widely held view that girls should stay indoors most of the time, and with little organised recreation or recreational space – particularly in the camps – girls end up at home, whilst the boys practice their Croyf turns in the narrow streets.
Providing organised classes, as we have been doing with Project Hope, makes girls participation in outdoor activities and sports like football more acceptable, but there is still resistance. In some cases where we attempted to set up football classes we were unable to because of strong parental opposition to the idea.
The tournament itself was also a challenge to organise, with protests from the municipality that girls aren’t allowed to play in the Nablus Municipality Stadium. Two days before the tournament was due to be held, we were told we would not be able to hold the tournament in the stadium and had to make do with a much smaller venue.
With enthusiasm from the girls however, and a team of willing volunteers the event was still a great success. All the girls put on an incredible performance and seemed glad to be involved in the event. The final saw the Nahr Al-OJa girls from Balata Camp compete against Nablus Girls School. Though the two teams were closely matched, Nablus Girls team were one up when the whistle was blown. For the girls of Balata it was hard to keep the tears back but they showed good sports-woman-ship, shaking hands with all the girls as medals were awarded and team photos were taken.
The passion the girls showed, alongside the issues that have arisen from the program, illustrate the value of organising such an event, which represented an opportunity for the players to demonstrate what they have learnt in the last few months and to assert their right to perform and play, regardless of their gender: it was their chance to get out on the field and do their best in a city where a number of fields are still off limits to girls.
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