With half of the world fixated on the qualifying draw for the 2018 World Cup in Russia a little should be said about the team that faces a battle not only on the pitch, but a battle off it as well. A battle of politics, of borders, and for existence itself.
Tonight on ABC’s Foreign Correspondent, a documentary will air about Jewish filmmaker Dan Goldberg and his efforts to bring to light the plight of the National Palestinian football team and their quest for World Cup glory.
The award winning film-maker uses his camera to bring us a “brain-bending experience: confronting, revealing and, alas, depressing” West Bank story to the screen and in the process highlight not only the political struggle, but also the struggle of the Palestinian national team to compete on the world stage.
A Jewish film-maker filming a documentary about a Palestinian football team on the West Bank is enough to send a cold shiver down the spine of any film Journalist, but he did it, albeit with a certain amount of trepidation and angst.
Rocks, Molotov cocktails, tear gas and gun fire are a continual flashpoint of cultures and religions that occupy the wall that separates Israel and the Palestinian territories. Interestingly, only 69% of United Nations members recognise the State of Palestine and Australia is not one of them, even though Football Federation Australia allowed them to fly the Palestinian Flag in the 2015 Asian cup.
“Ultimately, I never set out to make a documentary about football. I wanted to take viewers away from the black-and-white propaganda on both sides, and instead expose the humans caught up in the grey zone of this pitch battle, where freedom fighters and terrorists collide, and where football players sometimes become pawns in a much more serious game,” Goldberg said.
Against a backdrop of political struggle the players in this team must go into camp under the watchful eye of an occupational force and apply for occupational permits and permission from the United Nations before touching a soccer ball.
In the past, players have been arrested on their return home from tournaments and their national stadium has been partly destroyed by gunfire.
The West Bank Premier League (WBPL) is one of the two top divisions of the Palestinian Football Federation, and has existed through bullets and confrontation since 1977. The WBPL became fully professional in 2010 and allowed Arab and Israeli players in their squads in 2011.
The Palestinian national team carry the hearts and souls of a nation and their fans, known as ‘the Guerilla’, continue to seek a compromise both on and off the pitch. So tonight when you hear the 2018 World Cup qualifying draw, spare a thought for the national team that is not only trying to qualify to play, but also to exist.
Foreign Correspondent: Pitch Battle airs on ABC TV at 8:00pm.
Dan Goldberg is an award winning film-maker and journalist. Code of Silence, co-produced with Benny Danny Ben-Moshe, won the 2014 Walkley Award for Documentary and his series Beautiful Creatures has been nominated for a 2015 Logie Award.
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