Oday Al-Dabbagh: “Being Palestinian trying to perform for a top level professional club when you are thousands of miles away from home and it’s a warzone, It’s intensified stress” Part 1
Al-Dabbagh stands out as the most promising football talent to come out of Palestine. Born in Jerusalem in 1998, Al Dabbagh currently plays in the Belgium pro league for Royal Charleroi Sporting Club. The 24-year-old is the first Palestinian-born footballer to play professionally in Europe. Until a few weeks ago, his focus was solely on the game, but now the landscape has changed. “It’s very saddening to see people in your country dying and being subjected to constant bombings, regardless of the reasons, Honestly, it’s a mental strain, always thinking about your family and their safety,” Al-Dabbagh told the Sports Gazette. He further describes the mixed emotions of being away from his country during an ongoing war.
Al-Dabbagh’s trajectory as a prolific goal scorer continues to rise and the prospect of a high-profile move to a team in one of the top five leagues has become increasingly likely. While his contributions to the future of Palestinian football are becoming more apparent, it raises the question of whether Al-Dabbagh’s career can transcend those boundaries. Should football fans be wondering if Al-Dabbagh can establish himself as one of the future trailblazers of Arab football, following in the footsteps of notable names like Riyad Mahrez, Achraf Hakimi and most notably Mohamed Salah?
Representing the Palestinian national team
Due to his birth and upbringing in occupied Jerusalem, Al-Dabbagh could have also played for the Israeli national team. However, he chose to represent his true homeland, Palestine, for patriotic reasons, mentioning his deep love for his suffering homeland as his explanation for this choice. “It was an easy choice to make but the occupation makes it a lot more difficult for us players.” Al-Dabbagh told the Sports Gazette.
Dabbagh’s fellow national team member, Sameh Marabaa, has spent eight months in an Israeli prison under the label of “administrative detention,” which is a legal status permitting indefinite imprisonment without any formal charges. This unfortunate experience marked another instance in a series of Palestinian football players enduring similar circumstances, including two players who lost their homes during the bombing of Gaza.
“A feeling of discomfort, where you feel restricted by many travel-related matters. Dealing with obstacles, inspections, and all of this due to crises that result in exhausting training sessions. You want to go home, but there are inspections and harassments on the way back too.” All of these things make it much more uncomfortable, difficult, and challenging for the Palestinian athletes to achieve and pursue their goals. He then goes, “Every Palestinian wants to hold their flag up high and represent the country in the best way possible whether it was through football in my case or journalism in your case and etc… Palestine Exists and its talents exist give us the opportunity and we will show you what we can do.” An entire nation is standing by his side throughout the entire journey.
From the old city to the old continent
Let’s take a step back to several seasons ago to grasp the remarkable journey that propelled Dabbagh into the realm of elite European football.
He began his football career with Abnaa Al-Quds club. On that experience, Oday informs, “Due to some family issues we had to relocate and I had to change teams”. He then moved to Shabab Al-Ram club for two seasons, before playing for Hilal Al-Quds, which is one of the most prominent clubs in Palestine. Hilal Al-Quds is located in the Old City of East Jerusalem. It is administratively under the control of the Israeli occupation authority. However, it competes in the Palestinian League, where most participating teams are from the West Bank. This made it difficult for those teams to come and play against Hilal at their stadium in occupied Jerusalem due to obstacles posed by Israeli security agencies at border crossings and checkpoints, often leading to the postponement or cancellation of many matches.
Faisal al-Husseini Stadium, which served as the home ground for both Hilal al-Quds and the national team, had to be evacuated multiple times when subjected to tear gas by the Israeli military. Additionally, players frequently encountered challenges in obtaining permits for international travel, while teams from other Arab nations declined to engage in away matches in Palestine to avoid any associations that might be perceived as normalization with Israel.
Al-Dabbagh then progressed through the youth ranks and eventually made it to the first team. During the 2015-16 season, Hilal Al-Quds were in the relegation zone. “I actually started playing center back for Hilal Al-Quds during that season” Al-Dabbagh revealed. With the end of the season approaching and Hilal Al-Quds surviving the relegation battle, they appointed a new manager that changed the entire landscape for Oday. “Captain Ammar saw more potential in me playing upfront as he thought I had a natural goal scoring sense,” Al-Dabbagh said on moving from the back to the wings.
The Asian Cup under-23s 2018 in China is where Al-Dabbagh got his first start as a No. 9 for the Palestinian National under 23s team. There, he managed to score 3 goals in 4 games, helping Palestine reach the quarter finals in their first appearance in the tournament. “That’s where it all began for me,” states Al-Dabbagh. In the following seasons, he scored 9, 12, and then 16 goals during the 2016-2017, 2017-2018, and 2018-2019 seasons, respectively. He played a significant role in the club’s three consecutive Palestinian Professional League title runs in the West Bank. From there on it was only a matter of time before he stood out from the typical footballer originating from East Jerusalem or the West Bank, showcasing exceptional leadership both on and off the field, and displaying a deadly finishing touch in critical moments. Following that, ascending to a more prominent league was inevitable.
