Palestine

Palestinian football is among the oldest in the Arab world: the first federation was born in 1928 and joined FIFA as early as 1929, and the Mandate Palestine national team was the first Arab side to enter World Cup qualifying, in 1934. The story was broken in 1948 and slowly rebuilt: the current Palestine Football Association joined FIFA in 1998 and the national team qualified for the 2015, 2019 and 2023 Asian Cups. The championship is split into two leagues separated by the geography of occupation, one in the West Bank and one in Gaza, and every match played is, in itself, a victory over circumstance.