{"id":22659,"date":"2017-11-09T09:30:39","date_gmt":"2017-11-09T09:30:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/?p=22659"},"modified":"2025-07-11T16:34:51","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T15:34:51","slug":"the-beautiful-game-under-siege-womens-football-in-the-west-bank","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/culture-media\/sport\/the-beautiful-game-under-siege-womens-football-in-the-west-bank\/","title":{"rendered":"The beautiful game under siege: women&#8217;s football in the West Bank"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This October, 11 women from the UK and Germany travelled to the occupied West Bank of Palestine on a tour of friendship, solidarity and football. The motto of the &#8216;Freedom Through Football&#8217; tour, was <em>\u2018we will share your story\u2019 &#8211;<\/em>&nbsp; our promise to share with the wider world the truth of life in Palestine and in particular to highlight the story of women who play (and excel) at football in a country where football for women is far from a cultural norm.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This recent tour is part of our growing story of friendship and solidarity between <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.republica-i.co.uk\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Republica Internationale<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Leeds) and the <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/eastoncowboys.org.uk\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Easton Cowgirls and Cowboys<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Bristol) with Palestine. Our players have been travelling to the West Bank since 2007, with the women&#8217;s teams most recently visiting in 2014 and producing the <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/ballsbarriersandbulldozers.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8216;Balls, Barriers and Bulldozers&#8217;<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> film. Earlier in the summer, Diyar Academy had even travelled to the UK and met us on home turf. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Heading back to the West Bank this year joined by friends from Frau Dortebecker (Hamburg, Germany), we wanted to use a shared love of the beautiful game to stand in solidarity with those living under occupation in the West Bank. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If we&#8217;re honest, we had mixed success on the pitch. We won games against Hebron University, Beit Sahour and the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH). However, when it came to matching up against Sareyyet Ramallah and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/diyarwomenssoccer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Diyar Academy<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (two teams that spend most of their time fighting each other to be crowned champions of the women\u2019s league in the West Bank) we didn&#8217;t fare so well, with the games ending 8-2 and 13-6 respectively. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter wp-image-22671 size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Football-Pitch-in-Um-Al-Khair-with-Settlement-Houses-in-Background-1200x900.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-22671\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Football-Pitch-in-Um-Al-Khair-with-Settlement-Houses-in-Background-1200x900.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Football-Pitch-in-Um-Al-Khair-with-Settlement-Houses-in-Background-600x450.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Football-Pitch-in-Um-Al-Khair-with-Settlement-Houses-in-Background-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Football-Pitch-in-Um-Al-Khair-with-Settlement-Houses-in-Background-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Football pitch in Um Al Khair with settlement houses in the background<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But, luckily for us, it&#8217;s not all about winning. Whether we were catching up with old friends from the Diyar tour, or being schooled by the quick, clever feet of Ramallah, each game gave us the incredible opportunity to meet some of the best footballers in Palestine and to better understand the challenges they face. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many spoke of the difficulties playing football in a country where it&#8217;s still a &#8216;men&#8217;s game.&#8217; &#8220;It&#8217;s hard to be a woman and play football in Palestine,&#8221; one Diyar player told us, &#8220;some people think that women shouldn&#8217;t play football, but we are challenging that and things are changing.&#8221; <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was clear that things were changing, too. Hebron University had played their first ever game of women\u2019s football in 2014 as part of our first trip to the West Bank. Over the past 3 years, they\u2019ve been playing matches against other teams in the West Bank and making connections with other women footballers across Palestine. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Others spoke of their frustration that women&#8217;s football is just not seen as on the same level as men&#8217;s football. This was something that was all too familiar to many of us, much to the surprise to many of the players we met.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large wp-image-22679\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Rubble-of-Community-Centre-in-Um-Al-Khair-demolished-in-2014-1200x900.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-22679\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Rubble-of-Community-Centre-in-Um-Al-Khair-demolished-in-2014-1200x900.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Rubble-of-Community-Centre-in-Um-Al-Khair-demolished-in-2014-600x450.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Rubble-of-Community-Centre-in-Um-Al-Khair-demolished-in-2014-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Rubble-of-Community-Centre-in-Um-Al-Khair-demolished-in-2014-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rubble of community centre in Um Al Khair demolished in 2014<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, the fight for equality on the pitch was often cast in the shadow of a wider fight for freedom in Palestine. For the women we met, the occupation created significant barriers to their ability to play where, and when, they want. Every checkpoint we passed was a reminder of the oppressive restrictions faced by Palestinians every day. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before our first game against Diyar Academy, we travelled to <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.middleeasteye.net\/in-depth\/features\/women-jubbet-al-dhib-707502287\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jubbet Al-Dhib<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a village near Bethlehem. This incredible community, headed up by a women\u2019s committee, had invited us to celebrate the delivery of shipment of materials to rebuild a healthcare facility in the village. However, as the delivery arrived, so did 8 soldiers from the Israeli Defence Force and two settlers from the nearby settlement. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We were questioned and asked for our passports, as the IDF soldiers absent-mindedly fiddled with the safety on their guns and the settlers took photographs of everyone. Our hosts, however, were determined to continue with their promise of breakfast. So we sat, between the village and the IDF, eating fresh olives, zaatar covered bread and grapes. After a lengthy stand-off, we were offered our passports back on the condition that we left the village immediately. We left, frustrated and confused.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large wp-image-22680\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"675\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Shots-on-Goal-in-Um-Al-Khair-675x900.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-22680\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Shots-on-Goal-in-Um-Al-Khair-675x900.jpg 675w, https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Shots-on-Goal-in-Um-Al-Khair-600x800.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Shots-on-Goal-in-Um-Al-Khair-169x225.jpg 169w, https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Shots-on-Goal-in-Um-Al-Khair-337x450.jpg 337w, https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Shots-on-Goal-in-Um-Al-Khair-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Shots-on-Goal-in-Um-Al-Khair-scaled.jpg 1919w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 675px) 100vw, 675px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Shots on goal in Um Al Khair<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We later discovered that the IDF had confiscated the building materials and the lorry that they had been transported on. The village would have to start fundraising for the health clinic\u2019s renovations from scratch. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After our match with Diyar, we talked to some of the players about what had happened to us in Jubbet Al-Dhib. What had seemed pretty unique event to us was evidently an everyday occurrence for our Palestinian friends. This type of harassment was such a prevalent part of everyday life for Palestinians across the West Bank that it barely registered as an event. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Off the pitch, we also spent time in villages in the South Hebron hills, many of which had been threatened with demolition by the Israeli government. For two of us, one visit &#8211; to the Bedouin community of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Khirbat.Umm.Al.Khair\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Um Al Khair<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; was particularly special. Last time they visited, the village had just been devastated by a demolition, the result of just one of many Israeli demolition orders placed on the community in the last few years. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Football-in-Um-Al-Khair-3-1200x900.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-22669\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Football-in-Um-Al-Khair-3-1200x900.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Football-in-Um-Al-Khair-3-600x450.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Football-in-Um-Al-Khair-3-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Football-in-Um-Al-Khair-3-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This time, we were able to return for tea in the rebuilt community centre, before heading to the dusty football field for a kickabout. We found out that the difficulties faced by the community were ongoing. An ever growing and imposing Israeli settlement \u2013 Carmel \u2013 is unfortunately all too literally, just a stone&#8217;s throw away. Residents in the village explained how the settlers throw stones at them whilst they are sleeping, just one example of the constant harassment they are subjected to.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The starkness of the divide between Um Al Khair and the settlement was all too clear. Watching the sun go down over the built, half-built, and demolished homes of Um Al Khair, the imposing wealth and privilege of the cream and red houses of the settlement was impossible to ignore. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Eventually, the football was booted over the 10-foot metal fence into the no-mans-land between the village and the settlement. As it bounced towards the well-manicured lawns of Carmel we knew this was one ball we weren&#8217;t going to get back.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone wp-image-22677 size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1350\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Repaulicow-by-Separation-Wall-with-Stencil-2-1350x900.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-22677\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Repaulicow-by-Separation-Wall-with-Stencil-2-1350x900.jpg 1350w, https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Repaulicow-by-Separation-Wall-with-Stencil-2-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Repaulicow-by-Separation-Wall-with-Stencil-2-338x225.jpg 338w, https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Repaulicow-by-Separation-Wall-with-Stencil-2-675x450.jpg 675w, https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Repaulicow-by-Separation-Wall-with-Stencil-2-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1350px) 100vw, 1350px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Republicauw team members by the separation wall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As teams, we believe that football is about more than, well, football. Football has the power &#8211; and in some cases &#8211; a duty to challenge oppression, unite communities and create space for meaningful social change. At the very minimum, it starts a conversation. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Football gave us a unique insight into what life is like for Palestinians in the West Bank. What we saw, as much in the beautiful sports halls of Sareyyet Ramallah as the dusty playing field in Um Al Khair, was an incredible resilience to the daily aggressions of life under occupation. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whilst football won&#8217;t remedy the injustices of the occupation, our experiences of playing football in the West Bank will hopefully start a conversation. We will share their story, and stand in solidarity with our friends in the West Bank, fighting for their rights to play, and stay, in their homeland. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8216;We wanted to use a shared love of the beautiful game to stand in solidarity with those living under occupation.&#8217; Kate Hadley reports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":22677,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[848,2754],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-palestine-middle-east","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The beautiful game under siege: women&#039;s football in the West Bank - Red Pepper<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"&#039;We wanted to use a shared love of the beautiful game to stand in solidarity with those living under occupation.&#039; Kate Hadley reports\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/culture-media\/sport\/the-beautiful-game-under-siege-womens-football-in-the-west-bank\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The beautiful game under siege: women&#039;s football in the West Bank - Red Pepper\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&#039;We wanted to use a shared love of the beautiful game to stand in solidarity with those living under occupation.&#039; Kate Hadley reports\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/culture-media\/sport\/the-beautiful-game-under-siege-womens-football-in-the-west-bank\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Red Pepper\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-11-09T09:30:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-11T15:34:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Repaulicow-by-Separation-Wall-with-Stencil-2-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"redpepper\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"redpepper\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/culture-media\/sport\/the-beautiful-game-under-siege-womens-football-in-the-west-bank\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/culture-media\/sport\/the-beautiful-game-under-siege-womens-football-in-the-west-bank\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"redpepper\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/cec9a4a373d6d433a0d8e59f0d2c9f17\"},\"headline\":\"The beautiful game under siege: women&#8217;s football in the West Bank\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-11-09T09:30:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-11T15:34:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/culture-media\/sport\/the-beautiful-game-under-siege-womens-football-in-the-west-bank\/\"},\"wordCount\":1236,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/culture-media\/sport\/the-beautiful-game-under-siege-womens-football-in-the-west-bank\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Repaulicow-by-Separation-Wall-with-Stencil-2-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Palestine and the Middle East\",\"Sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/culture-media\/sport\/the-beautiful-game-under-siege-womens-football-in-the-west-bank\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/culture-media\/sport\/the-beautiful-game-under-siege-womens-football-in-the-west-bank\/\",\"name\":\"The beautiful game under siege: women's football in the West Bank - Red Pepper\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/culture-media\/sport\/the-beautiful-game-under-siege-womens-football-in-the-west-bank\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/culture-media\/sport\/the-beautiful-game-under-siege-womens-football-in-the-west-bank\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Repaulicow-by-Separation-Wall-with-Stencil-2-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-11-09T09:30:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-11T15:34:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/cec9a4a373d6d433a0d8e59f0d2c9f17\"},\"description\":\"'We wanted to use a shared love of the beautiful game to stand in solidarity with those living under occupation.' Kate Hadley reports\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/culture-media\/sport\/the-beautiful-game-under-siege-womens-football-in-the-west-bank\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/culture-media\/sport\/the-beautiful-game-under-siege-womens-football-in-the-west-bank\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/culture-media\/sport\/the-beautiful-game-under-siege-womens-football-in-the-west-bank\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Repaulicow-by-Separation-Wall-with-Stencil-2-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Repaulicow-by-Separation-Wall-with-Stencil-2-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"Republicauw team members stand by the separation wall\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/culture-media\/sport\/the-beautiful-game-under-siege-womens-football-in-the-west-bank\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Culture\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/culture-media\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Sport\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/culture-media\/sport\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"The beautiful game under siege: women&#8217;s football in the West Bank\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/\",\"name\":\"Red Pepper\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/cec9a4a373d6d433a0d8e59f0d2c9f17\",\"name\":\"redpepper\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The beautiful game under siege: women's football in the West Bank - Red Pepper","description":"'We wanted to use a shared love of the beautiful game to stand in solidarity with those living under occupation.' Kate Hadley reports","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/culture-media\/sport\/the-beautiful-game-under-siege-womens-football-in-the-west-bank\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"The beautiful game under siege: women's football in the West Bank - Red Pepper","og_description":"'We wanted to use a shared love of the beautiful game to stand in solidarity with those living under occupation.' Kate Hadley reports","og_url":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/culture-media\/sport\/the-beautiful-game-under-siege-womens-football-in-the-west-bank\/","og_site_name":"Red Pepper","article_published_time":"2017-11-09T09:30:39+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-07-11T15:34:51+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1707,"url":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Repaulicow-by-Separation-Wall-with-Stencil-2-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"redpepper","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"redpepper","Estimated reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/culture-media\/sport\/the-beautiful-game-under-siege-womens-football-in-the-west-bank\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/culture-media\/sport\/the-beautiful-game-under-siege-womens-football-in-the-west-bank\/"},"author":{"name":"redpepper","@id":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/cec9a4a373d6d433a0d8e59f0d2c9f17"},"headline":"The beautiful game under siege: women&#8217;s football in the West Bank","datePublished":"2017-11-09T09:30:39+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-11T15:34:51+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/culture-media\/sport\/the-beautiful-game-under-siege-womens-football-in-the-west-bank\/"},"wordCount":1236,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/culture-media\/sport\/the-beautiful-game-under-siege-womens-football-in-the-west-bank\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Repaulicow-by-Separation-Wall-with-Stencil-2-scaled.jpg","articleSection":["Palestine and the Middle East","Sport"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/culture-media\/sport\/the-beautiful-game-under-siege-womens-football-in-the-west-bank\/","url":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/culture-media\/sport\/the-beautiful-game-under-siege-womens-football-in-the-west-bank\/","name":"The beautiful game under siege: women's football in the West Bank - Red Pepper","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/culture-media\/sport\/the-beautiful-game-under-siege-womens-football-in-the-west-bank\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/culture-media\/sport\/the-beautiful-game-under-siege-womens-football-in-the-west-bank\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Repaulicow-by-Separation-Wall-with-Stencil-2-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2017-11-09T09:30:39+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-11T15:34:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/cec9a4a373d6d433a0d8e59f0d2c9f17"},"description":"'We wanted to use a shared love of the beautiful game to stand in solidarity with those living under occupation.' Kate Hadley reports","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/culture-media\/sport\/the-beautiful-game-under-siege-womens-football-in-the-west-bank\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/culture-media\/sport\/the-beautiful-game-under-siege-womens-football-in-the-west-bank\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/culture-media\/sport\/the-beautiful-game-under-siege-womens-football-in-the-west-bank\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Repaulicow-by-Separation-Wall-with-Stencil-2-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Repaulicow-by-Separation-Wall-with-Stencil-2-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707,"caption":"Republicauw team members stand by the separation wall"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/culture-media\/sport\/the-beautiful-game-under-siege-womens-football-in-the-west-bank\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Culture","item":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/culture-media\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Sport","item":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/culture-media\/sport\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"The beautiful game under siege: women&#8217;s football in the West Bank"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/","name":"Red Pepper","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/cec9a4a373d6d433a0d8e59f0d2c9f17","name":"redpepper"}]}},"type_of_article":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22659"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22659\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45865,"href":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22659\/revisions\/45865"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}