Bohemian FC has teamed up with Palestine Sport for Life to raise awareness of human rights violations in Palestine and raise much-needed funds to support access to sports for children in the camp of Tulkarem in the West Bank.
The new Bohs Away Jersey for this season is in the colours of the Palestinian flag and contains messaging about the plight of the Palestinians.
In addition to the awareness, and media coverage suggests that will be significant, ten percent of the profits from the jersey will provide sports equipment to the Palestine Sport for Life project in Tulkarem.
The Tulkarem camp was established in 1950 and is one of the most densely populated refugee camps in the West Bank. Built on an area of just 0.18 square kilometres, the camp has an estimated population of 21,500, and there are over 1,600 children attending school.
The lack of open areas and playgrounds leave no space for children to play safely.
The project empowers young girls and boys to realise their right to play, through football, and helps them to develop their life skills. It also provides educational opportunities and promotes education in keeping with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
As well as providing finances to Palestine Sport for Life, Bohemian FC will use its social media platforms to highlight the brilliant work of the charity in Tulkarem with monthly updates and reports from the camp.
The jersey, which carries the Palestinian colours and a dove icon below the collar, builds on similar jersey initiatives undertaken by Bohemians in recent years.
In 2020 the club’s away jersey focused on the integration of refugees in collaboration with Amnesty International and in 2021 it was dedicated to fighting homelessness in Dublin, in collaboration with Focus Ireland and Fontaines D.C.
Most recently, Bohemians partnered with the Marley Family to release a jersey commemorating Bob Marley’s last-ever outdoor gig, in Dalymount Park, raising funds to bring music and sports equipment to refugees and asylum seekers in Ireland.
“Football has enormous power to be a force for good across the world,” said Club Chief Opering Officer Daniel Lambert.
“At Bohemians we have undertaken many initiatives to harness this power in Ireland, in particular to support and champion the situations of people who are homeless or refugees in Direct Provision. 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.”
“Their right to play and to have an actual childhood should never be taken away and we hope 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.”
We are very excited to team up with Bohemian Football Club in Dublin on this exciting partnership,” added Tamara Awartani, co-founder and director of Palestine: Sport for Life.
“The funds raised from this initiative will further Palestine Sport for Life’s work in Tulkarem which focuses on empowering girls, especially in marginalised areas, in their right to play football and to develop their life skills through educational opportunities in line with the goals of sustainable development.”
“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,” said Dr. Philip Jaffe, UN Committee on the Rights of the Child vice-chair.
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.”
