GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Sitting outside a makeshift tent at Yarmouk Stadium in Gaza City, 43-year-old Samy Totah stares at his cell phone screen, watching the previous night’s World Cup match.
Millions of soccer fans around the world are watching the tournament in real time, but Sammy is often forced to rely on delayed broadcasts and match highlights due to frequent internet and power outages.
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“The situation is bad, especially as internet networks continue to be shut down,” he said. “Sometimes you have the opportunity to watch a full game, but a power outage ruins the experience. It’s not like it was before the war, when there was electricity and there were places where people could gather and watch the game.”
The father of six remembers the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, when he was still living with his family in his home in Gaza City’s Zeitoun district.
At the time, watching soccer games was a social occasion for friends and relatives to gather together, offering a momentary escape despite the difficult situation Gaza was already facing.
“At least back then, people felt relatively comfortable,” he says. “We were able to get together with friends and loved ones and watch the game. Despite everything, we still had room to live.”
Sammy no longer lives in Zeitoun. He has been displaced by Israel’s genocidal war (currently over 73,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023), and his home is within an Israeli-designated forced evacuation zone.
Now, from inside a tent near Yarmouk Stadium in Gaza City, he compares those memories with the current reality.
For Sammy, the war didn’t just make it harder to watch soccer. It has also taken away much of the excitement that once accompanied tournaments.
“It’s very difficult to follow the games like before,” he said. “Sometimes I watch the highlights after I know the result. Once I know the score, the joy and excitement disappears.”
Still, soccer provides him with a brief respite from the pressures of evacuation and war.
“Sometimes I pick up my phone and watch a game to relieve stress and forget for a moment the suffering we are living through,” he said.
“Living in a tent is very difficult. There is no privacy and there are no comforts like home.”
life changed
But the post-World Cup challenges in Gaza go far beyond a lack of electricity and internet.
The war fundamentally changed people’s lives and their relationship with the things they once enjoyed.
While some residents try to keep the tradition of watching soccer alive, others say the war has taken away much of the passion that once surrounded the tournament.
Football still holds a special place in the life of Youssef Al-Nuaidi, a 21-year-old from Gaza City.
A long-time supporter of the Portuguese national team, he has been following soccer for many years.
But watching this year’s World Cup has become an arduous task that requires more effort than fun.
Recently, he and some friends went looking for a place to show one of the games.
“I walked a long distance to the cafe to watch the game,” he said. “We arrived around dawn, but when we arrived it was closed because there was no electricity.”
Even if I did find a place to watch the game, I would only last 40 minutes before exhausting myself.
Youssef says this is just one example of how the simplest aspects of daily life have become difficult since the war began.
“Our lives have completely changed,” he said. “We don’t have any necessities. We have to wait an hour in line to go to the bathroom.
“At home, I was free to do whatever I wanted. Now I live in a tent with no privacy.”
He also remembers the atmosphere during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Back then, soccer gatherings were more of a celebration than a logistical challenge.
“There was a big screen, flags, coffee, tea, snacks and sweets,” he recalls. “We gathered together to watch the game and enjoy the atmosphere.”
Ironically, Yarmouk Stadium, where the displaced people now live after being forced to flee their homes in Shujaya district, was once part of those cherished memories.
“I used to come here to watch local soccer games,” he said. “This stadium was filled with beautiful memories for everyone. It is now a place of refuge rather than a place of joy.”
The war has repurposed many sports facilities and stadiums across the Gaza Strip into shelters for displaced families, while many others have been destroyed and rendered unusable.
Although he still watches games whenever he can, the war clearly changed his relationship with the sport.
“To be honest, I’m not really excited about the game anymore,” he said.
“I watch them mainly to kill time. The real passion is gone. After everything we’ve seen, the passion in Gaza is almost gone.”
fear of attack
Despite the difficulties, several people are still trying to recreate a small part of the World Cup atmosphere for displaced families.
In the narrow alleys of a makeshift refugee camp, a few people have created a small gathering space where people can share rare moments of joy.
Inside the makeshift cafe, constructed from tarpaulins and wooden planks, flags of the participating countries fly above cloth walls adorned with soccer-themed artwork, creating an atmosphere reminiscent of tournaments of the past.
Owner Tariq Al Jadoba, 26, has been working long hours running the venue to provide displaced people with a place to watch matches.
Watching World Cup matches in groups is much more difficult than in previous years, he says.
Fear is always present, even when dozens of fans gather in a cafe during a major game.
“People come to watch football, but we watch in fear,” he said. “Especially during matches that take place late at night or before dawn. There is always the fear of nearby shelling or attacks.”
The challenges extend beyond security concerns. As a result of Israeli regulations, chronic power and fuel shortages make it a daily challenge to keep screens running.
“We all rely on our neighborhood generators,” he explained. “We sometimes try to coordinate with generator owners to provide power during matches, but many power stations do not have enough fuel. Solar power alone is not enough to keep venues running late into the night.”
Despite these obstacles, Al-Jadoba remains determined to keep the cafe open. For him, soccer remains deeply ingrained in Gaza’s culture.
“I’ve been following football since I was five years old,” he said. “Palestinians in Gaza love soccer. We are a young and athletic society.
“These circumstances are making it difficult for people to watch the matches,” he added. “But when Arab teams play, the atmosphere becomes lively again and the excitement returns.
“People here are looking for a space where they can escape the realities of war and regain a sense of normalcy, even if only temporarily,” he added.
