Two new FIFA Arena mini-pitches in the West Bank were formally inaugurated on 25 September 2026, capping a week of football, friendship and hope for communities in Marah Rabah and Qusin.

The pitches sit opposite Marah Rabah's girls' high school, south of Bethlehem, and in Qusin village, in the northern West Bank. They form part of the FIFA Arena Programme, which aims to construct at least 1,000 similar pitches worldwide by 2031.

Honey Thaljieh, FIFA's on-site representative and former captain of Palestine's women's national team, told the young players she was “honoured to be representing FIFA, on the occasion of the opening of the FIFA Arena mini-pitches”. She said watching the tournament had filled her with joy “because children meet their friends, they forget their pain, they forget their sadness, and they dream of a better future. They walk on the grass and enjoy our beautiful game”.

Recalling her own path into the game, Ms Thaljieh, who grew up nearby in Bethlehem, said: “I was also a founder of the Palestinian Women's National Team. I played under difficult circumstances too. I played on the asphalt – we played in the streets. We didn't have a grass pitch like this.” She told the children: “I never imagined that football would take me from the streets of Bethlehem to wearing the captain's armband for the Palestine women's national team, or eventually to representing FIFA… If I made it, you can make it too.”

Suzan Shalabi, Vice President of the Palestine Football Association, said the pitches would bring real reassurance to families. “They will provide a safe space for the children of this village, and their parents will be reassured while their children play sports and football,” she said. “We also hope that this isn't just an ordinary football pitch where regular activities take place. We look at it as a first step towards forming the core of a team that, God willing, will develop in the future, and be capable with better technical abilities.”

Jean-Pierre Reymond, Head of the Representative Office of Switzerland in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said the project was rooted in a simple aim: “Switzerland decided to support this project to give hope, to give hope to the youths of Marah Rabah, to give [hope to the youths] of Palestinian territory, to give hope to all of us, because peace is possible.” He added: “And [through] sport, by playing together, respecting each other, we can finally have what we all strive for, which is to have peace.”

He described the right to play as a matter of principle: “Physical exercise is not only an important and necessary activity for well-being; it is also a recognised right of the child.”

With the final whistle now blown on the inaugural tournament, the two pitches move into permanent use, giving children in Marah Rabah and Qusin a lasting space to play.