Palestinian Football Association

Palestinian Football Association
AFC
Short namePFA
Founded1962; 64 years ago (1962)
HeadquartersJerusalem
FIFA affiliationProvisional: 31 May 1995
Full member: 1998
AFC affiliation1995 (provisional member)
1998
WAFF affiliation2000
PresidentJibril Rajoub
Websitepfa.ps

The Palestinian Football Association (Arabic: الاتحاد الفلسطيني لكرة القدم) is the governing body for football in Palestine, and for the men's national team and the women's national team.

History

The first "Palestine Football Association", was founded during the period of Mandatory Palestine in a meeting held on 14 August 1928, and applied for membership of FIFA. It was admitted provisionally on 17 December 1928, affiliated on 17 May 1929 and recognised by FIFA's government on 6 July 1929. The FAP changed its name to the Israel Football Association (IFA) following the founding of the state of Israel in 1948.

A new "Palestine Football Association" representing the Palestinian Arabs was formed in 1962, originally only for the territory of the Egyptian occupation of the Gaza Strip, and has been a member of the Union of Arab Football Associations since it was formed in 1974.

Palestinian Authority and FIFA recognition

It was accepted as a member by FIFA in 1998, after the creation of the Palestinian Authority. The PFA has also been a member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) since 1998, in the West Asian Football Federation.

On 11 February 2011, the PFA formed the first women's league.

On 30 July 2025, EFE reported that Palestine head coach Ehab Abu Jazar was seeking to establish a training center for the national team in Chile.

Divisions

The football division system is parted into two: the West Bank and Gaza Strip. There is a men's West Bank Premier League and a men's Gaza Strip Premier League as well as a West Bank Women's League.

Management

Name Position Source
Palestine Jibril Rajoub President
Palestine Ibrahim Abu Salim Vice President
Palestine Susan Shalabi Molano 2nd Vice President
Palestine Ziad Bekai 3rd Vice President
Palestine Firas Abu Hilal General Secretary
Palestine Ibrahim Eleyan Treasurer
Palestine Abdalnasser Barakat Technical Director
Tunisia Makram Daboub Team Coach (Men's)
Palestine Ahmad Sharaf Team Coach (Women's)
Palestine Ghassan Jaradat Media/Communications Manager
Palestine Anan Waleed Futsal Coordinator
Palestine Hussam Al Hussein Referee Coordinator

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Palestinian footballers: National team without a state – DW – 11/16/2023". dw.com. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  2. ↑ "Presidential Election Item 13 on FIFA Congress Agenda". fifa.com. FIFA. 16 April 1998. Archived from the original on 7 December 2014.
  3. ↑ "Soccer is Under Fire in Palestine". vice.com. Vice. 24 June 2014.
  4. ↑ "Football in Palestine: Power, conflict, and hope". 18 January 2021.
  5. ↑ An Establishment Meeting for a E.I. Sportive Association Do'ar HaYom, 5 August 1928, Historical Jewish Press (in Hebrew)
  6. ↑ In the World of Sport Davar, 31 August 1928, Historical Jewish Press (in Hebrew)
  7. ↑ "Member Association - Israel". FIFA. Archived from the original on 20 November 2007. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  8. ↑ admin (8 October 2021). "Palestine Goes International: On Palestinian Achievements in Sports throughout the Decades". Palestine Chronicle. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  9. ↑ "Member Association - Palestine". www.fifa.com. FIFA. Archived from the original on 15 January 2008. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  10. ↑ "Women's league kicks-off in Palestine". www.the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 11 February 2011.
  11. ↑ Rey, María José (30 July 2025). "Palestine's 2030 World Cup quest finds haven in Chile". EFE Noticias. Retrieved 21 March 2026.
  12. ↑ Khaled, Ali (27 July 2015). "Football in times of crisis: Palestine's game endures in the face of tragedy". The National. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  13. ↑ von der Lippe, Gerd (2 July 2020). "'We can!' – women's football in the Occupied West Bank". European Journal for Sport and Society. 17 (3): 214–230. doi:10.1080/16138171.2020.1792073. ISSN 1613-8171.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 FIFA.com. "Member Association - Palestine". www.fifa.com. Archived from the original on 6 August 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "The AFC.com - The Asian Football Confederation". The AFC. Retrieved 3 November 2020.