Ahmed Jahjooh
Ahmed Jahjooh is a 25-year-old football player from Gaza City. He was introduced to me by someone in our congregation, Kolot Chayeinu.
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Like so many people in Gaza, Ahmed has lost so much since October 7th. His mom, Anam, and his brother, Mahmoud, along with Mahmoud's wife and children, were killed in airstrikes last year. He needs help rebuilding his family’s home, which was destroyed. Now he wants to fix their home as a place of hope for his remaining family members. I'm organizing this tournament to help him raise funds for reconstruction.
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​​I've been lucky to get to know Ahmed and his story over the last few months. Below is a transcript from a conversation I had with Ahmed.
Q&A With Ahmed
What is your dream as a soccer player?
My dream is to represent Palestine on the national team and also play for a European club.
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Who is your favorite club soccer team?
FC Barcelona.
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What is playing soccer like now compared to before October 7th in Gaza?
Before October 7, I was part of a club that trained four days a week. We played in tournaments all the time. It was intense and full of life. But our field was destroyed, and all the clubs are gone now. For eight months, I couldn’t play at all. Now, we just try to gather with whoever is still alive, find any space that isn’t destroyed, and play informal games. It’s not the same, but we’re trying to hold on to some hope.
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What do the fields and stadiums look like now compared to before?
They’re gone. Everything is rubble. We don’t have proper fields or nets anymore. Sometimes we play on concrete or in schoolyards—wherever there’s a patch of space that hasn’t been bombed or turned into shelter for displaced people. It changes day by day.
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Do you have the resources you need to play a game?
No, not really. All we have are a few footballs. We don’t have uniforms or nets, and most of us just wear whatever clothes we have. We used to have gear and training bibs, but all of that is gone. Even the padding I used to use when diving as a goalkeeper—I don’t have any of it left.
What do you want the soccer world to know about soccer in Gaza?
Soccer was our source of income and our source of joy. Now it’s gone. There’s no way to play professionally in Gaza anymore.
Is your goal to raise funds to rebuild your house or to leave Gaza to pursue a soccer career in Europe?
Right now, my priority is to rebuild my home and get married to my fiancée. I would love to play in Europe, but for that to happen, my club in Gaza would need to invite me or help arrange it—and the club doesn’t exist anymore. There are no plans to rebuild it yet. People are just trying to survive.
From here, how can we help kids in Gaza right now?
The best way to help is through donations. People here need the most basic things—food, water, shelter. That’s what matters most right now.
