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Palestinian Football Association

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Palestinian Football Association
AFC
Short namePFA
Founded1962; 64 years ago (1962)[1]
HeadquartersJerusalem
FIFA affiliationProvisional: 31 May 1995[2]
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.[3][4]

History

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The first "Palestine Football Association", was founded during the period of Mandatory Palestine in a meeting held on 14 August 1928,[5][6] 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.[7]

A new "Palestine Football Association" representing the Palestinian Arabs was formed in 1962[1], 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.[8]

Palestinian Authority and FIFA recognition

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It was accepted as a member by FIFA in 1998, after the creation of the Palestinian Authority.[9] The PFA has also been a member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) since 1998, in the West Asian Football Federation.[1]

On 11 February 2011, the PFA formed the first women's league.[10]

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.[11]

Divisions

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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[12] as well as a West Bank Women's League.[13]

Management

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  • President: General Jibril Rajoub
  • First Vice-president: Ibrahim Abu Saleem
  • Vice-president: Susan Shalabi, Ziab El Khatib
  • General Secretary: Omar Abu Hashia
Name Position Source
Palestine Jibril Rajoub President [14][15]
Palestine Ibrahim Abu Salim Vice President [14][15]
Palestine Susan Shalabi Molano 2nd Vice President [15]
Palestine Ziad Bekai 3rd Vice President [15]
Palestine Firas Abu Hilal General Secretary [14][15]
Palestine Ibrahim Eleyan Treasurer [14]
Palestine Abdalnasser Barakat Technical Director [14][15]
Tunisia Makram Daboub Team Coach (Men's) [14][15]
Palestine Ahmad Sharaf Team Coach (Women's) [14][15]
Palestine Ghassan Jaradat Media/Communications Manager [14]
Palestine Anan Waleed Futsal Coordinator [14]
Palestine Hussam Al Hussein Referee Coordinator [14]

See also

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References

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  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.
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