Donate Now to the Rachel Corrie Gaza Sport Initiative!
The Rachel Corrie Gaza Sport Initiative is an annual project, consisting of the Rachel Corrie Ramadan Football Tournaments (Young Men and Juniors) and the Rachel Corrie Tournament for Athletes with Disabilities. These events provide a safe space for sport enthusiasts to gather through athletic events and for neighbors to come together. The projects are a success when athletes, their families, and friends come together to create a level of enjoyment, play and community as a counterforce to the persistent pressures of military occupation and closure of the Gaza Strip.
Rachel Corrie Tournament for Athletes with Disabilities (Winter): December 20-30, 2017
The Tournament for Athletes with Disabilities helps connect those with disabilities to the broader Palestinian society, affirms the place of the disabled in Gaza, and provides an avenue of accomplishment and fun in the sphere of athletics. It also provides an opportunity for female athletes to participate in a public forum.
December 3rd is International Day of Persons with Disabilities.The tournament highlights the international focus on persons with disabilities and connects Gaza’s disabled population to those in other parts of the world. In partnership with Gaza’s Al Basma Club for the Disabled, the Rachel Corrie Foundation has organized the Tournament for Athletes with Disabilities since 2014. In 2016, 172 disabled athletes, including 55 women, participated in exciting competitions of football, wheelchair basketball, table tennis and goal ball (the most popular sport for the blind in Palestine). The Tournament provides a sport venue to showcase the skills of athletes who are deaf, amputees, paraplegics, or have suffered from polio.
Donate Now to the Rachel Corrie Tournament for Athletes with Disabilities!
10th Annual Rachel Corrie Ramadan Football Tournament for Young Men: May 27 – June 14, 2017
Features of the 2017 Ramadan Football Tournament: “Water and Salt”
- 320 young athletes and 32 coaches, for a total of 352 participants in 32 teams, drawn from throughout the Gaza Strip;
- Special preparations for the opening and final day of the tournament;
- Matches will be held in the Outdoor Arena (called “Palestine Pitch”) in Tel al-Sultan neighborhood in Rafah;
- Sharing tournament progression and winners on social media platforms.
Videos from the Tournament:
- Opening Ceremony + Dabke Dance
- Day 1 Recap
- Day 2 Recap
- Day 4 Recap
- Day 5 Recap
- Day 6+7 Recap
- Day 8 Recap
- Day 11 Recap
- Day 13 Recap
- Day 14 Recap
- Day 15 Recap
- Day 17 Recap
- Closing Ceremony
Inaugural Rachel Corrie Ramadan Football Tournament for Juniors: June 6 – June 17, 2017
We are excited to announce the launch of a pilot project, the Juniors Tournament: “Towards A Promising Future”
- 160 young athletes (age 17) and 16 coaches, all from Rafah, for a total of 176 participants;
- Matches will be held in the Outdoor Arena (called “Palestine Pitch”) in Tel al-Sultan neighborhood in Rafah;
- Spectators from the local community will take part in the fun and trust-building. All are welcome;
- A closing ceremony will be held in conjunction with the Young Men’s Tournament.
Videos from the Tournament:
Donate Now to the Rachel Corrie Ramadan Football Tournament!
For more information about past tournaments, partners in Gaza, photos, and more please visit – http://www.gazalife.org
Follow the 2017 Tournaments on Social Media for updates!
Twitter: @rcfoundation
Facebook: Rachel Corrie Football (page is in Arabic)
Highlights from last year’s tournament:
Corries’ message to partners in Gaza:
“The Rachel Corrie Ramadan Football Tournament in Gaza is an inspiration to us in Rachel’s hometown of Olympia, Washington. Through this project, we have an opportunity to join you in celebrating the remarkable spirit of the athletes who play the game, of the organizers who have the vision, and of the supporters who come to cheer on their favorite teams. Together, we make this event happen. Each year, around Ramadan, we become a community connected across the miles by our respect and love for each other and by the knowledge that we can work as a team to make the world a better place.”
Read the rest of their letter here to find out why the tournament is important to Rachel’s family and community.
From Yousef Aljamal, Palestine Chronicle Correspondent in the Gaza Strip:
“For the ninth year in a row, Palestinians in the city of Rafah will organize a football tournament in the memory of Rachel Corrie, a 23-year old American peace activist who was killed in the city while she was trying to protect Palestinian houses from Israeli demolition. The tournament, which will take place on June 15, 2016, will consist of 32 teams from across the Gaza Strip.”
Read the rest of his article at the The Palestine Chronicle.
