Bohemian FC unveil away kit that will provide support for children in Palestine
Bohemian FC has teamed up with Palestine Sport for Life to raise awareness of human rights violations in Palestine and raise much-needed funds to support access to sports for children in the camp of Tulkarem in the West Bank.
The jersey is now available from our online store: store.bohemians.ie.
Ten per cent of the profits from the jersey will provide sports equipment to the Palestine Sport for Life project in Tulkarem. The project empowers young girls and boys to realise their right to play, through football, and helps them to develop their life skills. It also provides educational opportunities and promotes education in keeping with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
As well as providing finances to Palestine Sport for Life, Bohemian FC will use its social media platforms to highlight the brilliant work of the charity in Tulkarem with monthly updates and reports from the camp. The lives of Palestinian children are difficult and they face daily human rights violations, we want to communicate this to our fanbase and beyond and assist in improving their lives through sport.
Cameraman: Regash. Director: Jamie Goldrick.
In Tulkarem, Palestine Sport for Life supports children from Tulkarem Camp as well as Tulkarem refugee camp and Nur Shams refugee camp. The Tulkarem camp was established in 1950 and is one of the most densely populated refugee camps in the West Bank. Built on an area of just 0.18 square kilometres, the camp has an estimated population of 21,500, and there are over 1,600 children attending school.
The lack of open areas and playgrounds leave no space for children to play safely. The Nur Shams camp, located about three kilometers east of Tulkarem Camp also has no open spaces, and children have no place to play except for the school playgrounds. Crowded living conditions strain relations within the home and directly impact the residents’ well-being and health.
The jersey, which carries the Palestinian colours and a dove icon below the collar, builds on similar jersey initiatives undertaken by Bohemians in recent years. In 2020 the club’s away jersey focused on the integration of refugees in collaboration Amnesty International and in 2021 was dedicated to fighting homelessness in Dublin, in collaboration Focus Ireland and Fontaines D.C.. Most recently, Bohemians partnered with the Marley Family to release a jersey commemorating Bob Marley’s last-ever outdoor gig, in Dalymount Park, raising funds to bring music and sports equipment to refugees and asylum seekers in Ireland.
Daniel Lambert, COO of Bohemian FC:
“Football has enormous power to be a force for good across the world. At Bohemians we have undertaken many initiatives to harness this power in Ireland, in particular to support and champion the situations of people who are homeless or refugees in Direct Provision. This 2023 shirt is aiming to take that power from Ireland and assist children in Palestine who face unimaginable challenges and human rights violations each and every day.
“Their right to play and to have an actual childhood should never be taken away and we hope that this partnership with Palestine Sport for Life will assist many young Palestinians, as well as highlighting their plight to our fanbase and others in the world of football.”
Tamara Awartani, co-founder and director of Palestine: Sport for Life (PS4L):
“We are very excited to team up with Bohemian Football Club in Dublin on this exciting partnership. The funds raised from this initiative will further Palestine Sport for Life’s work in Tulkarem which focuses on empowering girls, especially in marginalised areas, in their right to play football and to develop their life skills through educational opportunities in line with the goals of sustainable development.”
Brian Kerr, former manager of the Irish football team:
“I have seen first-hand the power of football across the world, its ability to bring people together and help young people. I have also had the pleasure of coaching young Palestinian children in Ireland who were technically brilliant players despite often playing only in streets and very poor concrete pitches.
“I really noticed how many of them, despite being the same age as the Irish children, were much smaller in stature. That’s an indication of the difficulty of their circumstances in Palestine and the malnutrition that affects their childhood and their physical development for life.
“It just shows you the effects of the system they are living in and the society that they’re forced to live in. I want to congratulate Bohemians on raising the plight of Palestinian children on this jersey and assisting them through football.”
David Donoghue, Co-Facilitator for UN Sustainable Development Goals:
“Sport is a vital enabler for sustainable development and the realisation of human rights. It reminds us that all human beings are born equal. It promotes mutual tolerance and respect and the values of global citizenship. I congratulate Bohs on their initiative with Palestine Sport for Life which empowers young Palestinians and helps them to achieve their full potential.”
Dr. Philip Jaffe, UN Committee on the Rights of the Child vice-chair:
“I commend the Bohemian Football Club for using their jersey to highlight the human rights violations faced by children in Palestine, including the right to life, to education, to adequate housing, and especially the right to play. By building a relationship with Palestine Sport for Life and providing resources to support children’s right to play in the Tulkarem, Bohs are playing the role of a good global citizen.”
Kevin Naughton, campaign officer at Amnesty International Ireland, said:
“It is fantastic to see Bohemians highlight the plight of the Palestinian people in such a meaningful way. Amnesty International, alongside our partners in the Irish Anti-Apartheid Coalition and many other human rights experts, has recognised that Israel is committing apartheid against Palestinians, which has deeply impacted the lives of children and young people.
“Last year over 30 Palestinian children were killed by Israeli forces. In 2020, over 500 children were displaced by Israeli forces, including by way of illegal evictions, and today thousands of Palestinian children still live in refugee camps. Nearly 60 schools in Palestine currently face demolition orders, which will potentially leave around 5,500 children without a school. If this initiative helps even a few children realise their potential, then it will be of immense value.”
More About Bohemian Football Club
Bohemian FC is Ireland’s oldest football club, one of the world’s oldest 100% fan-owned football clubs, and have been playing in Ireland’s top football division every year since 1890. We are a not-for-profit football club run ‘by the people, for the people’, fully democratic and inclusive based on the value of ‘one person, one vote’. Our core values are inclusivity and progressiveness with a commitment to use sport as a force for good in society to bring about positive change.
More About Palestine Sport for Life
Founded in 2011, Palestine: Sports for Life (PS4L) is a leading Palestinian non-profit Sport for Development organisation. PS4L responds to developmental needs in the marginalised Palestinian communities through sports and life skills. It empowers youth and women by operating in a global context and aligning its developmental activities and programs with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
