Bethlehem refugee children fight to save Aida camp football pitch | OneFootball

Children in Bethlehem’s Aida refugee camp are fighting to stop their football pitch being demolished. According to El Periódico Mediterráneo, a global 10-touch challenge has reached FIFA and UEFA, which have pressed Israel to halt the move. For the youngsters, it is a first major breakthrough.

The Aida Youth Centre, founded in 1968, was shuttered up to 14 times and razed in 2001 during the Second Intifada. After the separation wall went up a year later, land hosting two small pitches, owned by the Armenian church, was seized. The centre rebuilt and in 2020 the new pitch opened against the nine-metre barrier.

Aida camp was set up in 1948 on 0.07 square kilometres for 1,200 refugees. Now more than 5,500 people live there with overcrowding, poverty and almost no public space. Young residents built the pitch to create hope.

Israeli troops served a demolition order in early November, then a second less than two months later. The notices required residents to clear the pitch within a week or face the costs of Israeli excavators. Losing it would strip children of a rare safe place to play and gather.

The pitch has already produced players for Palestine’s top flight and the national team, and offers structure in lives constrained by raids and restrictions. Ending it would crush their chance to dream.

A petition to Gianni Infantino and Aleksander Čeferin has drawn nearly 360,000 signatures. Players worldwide have joined the 10-touch challenge, with figures such as Eric Cantona and US educator Ms Rachel backing the cause. FIFA and UEFA moved via Switzerland’s ambassador to Israel in mid-January to pause the demolition. No official notice has yet followed, so the campaign continues.

Source: El Periódico Mediterráneo