Last week, young people from 20 countries came together in Mexico City for the Street Child World Cup 2026. Organised by the non-profit organisation Street Child, which works with children from some of the world’s lowest-income and most disaster-affected countries, the event showed that sport can be a powerful avenue for cultural exchange and political advocacy.  It was about giving children and teenagers with “a significant connection to the streets, whether through living, working, or both”, as the organisation puts it, the opportunity to make their voices heard on an international stage. Mexico’s girls’ team and Brazil’s boys’ team were the ultimate champions, triumphing against Kenya and India, respectively. 

Among the competitors were the Palestinian girls’ team, made up of ten girls from Tulkarem in the West Bank, a region which in recent years has faced escalating levels of property destruction, displacement, arson attacks and other forms of violence by Israeli soldiers and settlers alike. The team is run by Palestine: Sports for Life (PSL4), a non-profit organisation founded in 2011 by a group of Palestinian athletes, which uses sport to empower children, youth and women in particular. PSL4 supports football programmes for girls across five different communities in the West Bank, which are designed to respond to their specific needs and the realities of their lives under a brutal occupation. This approach involves employing women coaches from the community and holding sessions within safe walking distance of the girls' homes, and it has already helped to usher in a new generation of passionate football players.

Rasel, a player on the team, encountered several obstacles ahead of her trip to the Street Child World Cup, including having to navigate a complicated, discriminatory visa process and the fear of encountering Israeli occupation forces while she was gathering her documents, which she describes as “extremely scary.” “There were many moments that I didn’t think I would be here,” she says. When she found out she was able to make the trip, she was delighted to have the opportunity to represent Palestine on the international stage and encourage other young people. “Never give up. Always chase your dreams, it’s truly important,” she says.

See images from the event in the gallery above.