Bohemian FC unveil kit that will give support to Palestine's children

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Bohemian Football Club and Palestine Sport for Life have collaborated together to raise funds to support access to sports for children in the camp of Tulkarem in the West Bank, in a step that raises awareness about human rights violations in Palestine.

Ten percent of the profits from the jersey, which carries the Palestinian colors and a dove icon below the collar, will be dedicated to buy sports equipment to the Palestine Sport for Life project in Tulkarem. Through football, the project's proclaimed aim is to be empowering young children, boys and girls, by letting them know that they have the right to play, and will support them in developing their life skills. 

Bohemian FC said it will also use its social media platforms to show the brilliant work of the charity in Tulkarem, saying it is trying to improve the difficult lives of Palestinian children and assist them in sports.

In Tulkarem, Palestine Sport for Life supports kids from Tulkarem Camp in addition to the refugee camps of Tulkarem and Nur Shams. The Tulkarem refugee camp was founded in 1950 and is among the ones that are most densely populated in the West Bank. It has an estimated population of 21,500 and has over 1,600 children going to school.

Open areas and playgrounds are absent on both camps, which does not leave the possibility for children to play safel and directly affects the Palestinian children’s well-being and health.

In 2020, and in collaboration with Amnesty International, the club’s away jersey focused on the integration of refugees. Most recently, Bohemians collaborated with the Marley Family to launch a jersey that commemorates Bob Marley’s last-ever outdoor gig, in Dalymount Park, raising funds to Ireland's refugees and asylum seekers.

“Football has enormous power to be a force for good across the world," said Daniel Lambert, COO of Bohemian FC, adding that "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."

The COO focuses on “their right to play" and hopes "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.”

"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," said Brian Kerr, the former manager of the Irish football team.

“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," David Donoghue, Co-Facilitator for UN Sustainable Development Goals noted.

"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," said Kevin Naughton, campaign officer at Amnesty International Ireland, adding that “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.”

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 non profit football club run ‘by the people, for the people’, fully democratic and based on the value of ‘one person, one vote’. Its values include using sport as a force for good in society.