Palestine baseball poised to compete at West Asia Cup in Iran
While the Palestinian kids have just begun their baseball journey to the Asia Baseball Championships next August, the men’s team is putting its final touches on preparations for a tournament a few weeks away.
In one month, Palestine’s national baseball team is scheduled to participate in its second West Asia Cup (WAC) in team history, but the atrocities in Gaza and the political climate in the United States have caused uncertainty.
“The tournament comes at a difficult time for the Palestinian people in light of the war on Gaza and the genocide we are going through,” Palestine’s President of the Baseball and Softball Federation Ahmad Tafesh said in a statement. “In addition, we will do everything in our power to participate and achieve the best results for Palestine and our people.”
Despite Tafesh’s confidence, there is some doubt surrounding this tournament and which players will participate for this Palestinian team with a ton of potential.
Although an official roster has not been released to the public, a source familiar with the team’s makeup says despite the circumstances they are confident there are enough players willing to travel and compete. According to another source, most of the delegation has not received its visas yet, but they expect to receive them any day.
Palestine was officially invited to the WAC by the Baseball Federation of Asia (BFA). The tournament will take place May 15-22 in Karaj, Iran. Most of the players I spoke with, are excited to visit the historic country, but the political climate in the United States is the main cause of worry for the delegation and their family members.
On Jan. 28th, President Donald Trump Jr. issued an executive order blocking refugees and travellers with passports from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Iran.
Most of the Palestinian players on the roster would theoretically begin their journey to the WAC from the U.S. where they are based. Some fear the ramifications of traveling abroad to a country that is currently an adversary of the U.S.
A source familiar with the conditions citizens and non U.S. citizens have faced while traveling back into the country, said traveling anywhere outside the U.S. is not a good idea right now, let alone Iran.
Whether President Trump’s antics subside or not, if Palestine plays in Iran, the national team will be represented by mostly familiar faces. A few new additions could make their international debut for the team next month.
India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and the host country are all scheduled to participate. Pakistan, the highest ranked team in the field, is the only team amongst the group to defeat Palestine. The two teams, who established a friendly rivalry in the last WAC’s championship game—Pakistan won—are expected to meet in the championship game again..
They’ve met twice since their first meeting. Palestine defeated Pakistan in an exhibition game just outside of Chicago, but avenged that loss at the Asian Baseball Championship tournament in Taiwan.
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