The 33rd team is how Arabs have been referring to Palestine’s representation at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Sports commentators have noted, with some surprise, the degree of support for the Palestinian cause on and off the pitch. Videos of Israeli reporters getting a chilly reception from Arab fans in Qatar have gone viral. In Morocco’s shock victory over Spain, players held up the Palestinian flag in their celebrations – in spite of their country’s signing of the Abraham Accords with the state of Israel.
While it is tempting to chalk this up to the intensity of Arab emotions toward a symbolic cause, the efforts of activists in Qatar also played a role. In fact, planning began months before the start of the World Cup by the local Qatari activist group Qatar Youth Against Normalization, or QAYON. The group coordinated with Palestinian and other Arab groups to highlight the issue. QAYON conducted different campaigns and tactics to reach as wide an audience as possible.
QAYON was established in 2011 and is today led predominantly by Qatari women. Beginning as a blog, the group widened its scope of activities to include organizing and mobilizing Qatari society against efforts within the country to normalize relations with Israel. In a country where over 80% of people oppose normalization with Israel, the organization was able to broaden its appeal to the broader public and avoid repercussions, despite the restrictions imposed by the government on any independent form of activism in Qatar. Perhaps most important, QAYON helped to inspire a new generation of activists.
QAYON’s members saw the World Cup as an opportune moment to capitalize on the intense affinities that Arabs have toward the Palestinian cause and widespread opposition toward the Abraham Accords and the normalization of relations with Israel. In an October 1 statement, QAYON emphasized its objective of using the tournament as a political space to shed light on the Palestinian struggle. In the lead-up to the World Cup, QAYON garnered significant interest, and many Arabs – both individuals and organizations – contacted the group to inquire how they could support its efforts. This prompted QAYON to reach out to prominent social media accounts across the Arab world, in efforts to amplify QAYON’s message.
QAYON began with a call to Arab football teams to wear armbands bearing the Palestinian flag as an expression of unity and solidarity with the Palestinian cause. The captain of Qatar’s national team wore the armband, and the hashtag “The captain’s armband is Palestinian” quickly began trending on Twitter. QAYON urged the Qatari national team to wear the Palestinian flag armband and for fans to do the same. This was followed by a hashtag launched by QAYON “Palestine in the mondial” aimed to document pro-Palestine campaigns and inspire independent actions during the World Cup. In the meantime, the campaign “A Palestinian Dream” was launched by Palestinian activists to highlight the travel restrictions imposed on Palestinians. The account has reached nearly 30,000 followers on Instagram and has been amplified by prominent Palestinian activists, such as Muna El-Kurd (who is of no relation to this publication’s author).
After Israeli channels began broadcasting reports from Qatar featuring a Qatari citizen talking about his desire to normalize relations with Israel and “make peace” with Israelis, QAYON relaunched the hashtag “Qataris against normalization.” The pressure from the campaign led the Qatari citizen featured in the report to issue an apology, in which he claimed that he was unaware that the station was Israeli and that he was a staunch supporter of Palestine. Other actions have included calls to raise the Palestinian flag during the matches.
Arab citizens from other countries have approached QAYON to take part in their initiatives, hiding in the anonymity of the World Cup crowds. Capitalizing on this effort, QAYON put out a call for pro-Palestinian chants during World Cup matches at the 48th minute mark of each game, in commemoration of the Palestinian Nakba – the displacement of the Palestinian people in 1948.
As previous research shows, pro-Palestine opinion in the Arab world has historically been a “tolerated avenue” for political expression and activism; some scholars see it as a key driver of mobilization across the Arab world that has helped develop several generations of activists. Branching off from this well-trodden path, QAYON has taken advantage of the World Cup to shine light anew on the Palestinian cause and ensure this issue will continue to have salience for populations in the region long after the World Cup.
