NATALI’S STORY
02/23/2023
My name is Natali Shaheen; I was born in Jerusalem and grew up in Jericho, Palestine.
I have been participating in sports since I was six years old. Granted, this was only through my physical education courses at the Terra Sancta school in Jericho. In fact, I was only allowed to participate in physical education courses because I was attending this Catholic school which permitted both boys and girls, to participate in physical education. It is coincidentally the only school in Jericho that is mixed, boys and girls.
It was here that I was introduced to the Good Shepherd sporting club, which is now dissolved, sadly. This club, which made use of the catholic schools’ facilities, allowed me to practice basketball daily on the asphalt court that existed there. My true interest was football, but there were no clubs for girls to play in Jericho, which is, unfortunately, pretty common throughout Palestine. It was a sport “meant to be played by boys.” However, each day after my basketball practice, I would stay and play soccer with the boys instead of returning home. Of course, I was the only girl there, which made things interesting.
I am grateful for the Terra Sancta school because it was the only place in Jericho that allowed boys and girls both to play. The asphalt courts for soccer and basketball were less than ideal, considering the heat of Jericho and the cultural expectations which didn't always approve of girls playing in public places. Regardless, I remember the school facilities fondly as a space that gave me the opportunity to develop my love of competition and sport.
As time goes on, you often tend to dream new dreams and think about something beyond what you currently have. I had dreams of becoming a professional soccer player and competing for the National team. I worked so hard to improve my skills and abilities, but eventually, I realized Jericho just didn't have the resources to help me achieve my ultimate dream. Eventually, a club from Ramallah, Al-Sareyyet, called and offered me a spot at their club. It was a huge moment for me. It was the first time I would be able to practice as a part of a team and with other girls. It was one of the most exciting and happy moments of my entire life.
However, I quickly realized the fact that I would now have to travel outside of Jericho each day to Ramallah for practice. The city is only about 35 km away and a 40-minute drive; however, if you are not aware, there is an active military occupation in Palestine. This means my daily travel would include passing through multiple armed military checkpoints. As a 12-year-old girl, this was an extremely frightening proposition. Despite these fears and hesitations, I knew that if I wanted to achieve my dreams, then this was part of the journey. I knew confidently where I wanted to go in life, and I knew no one, not even an occupying military, was going to stop me.
Many of my fears were quickly realized though, as I was often subjugated to invasive military searches, road closures, and violence. I remember one specific occasion in which the checkpoint was completely stalled, and knowing that I would once again not make it to practice on time, I decided to get out of the car and walk through the checkpoint, which is often much quicker, and hail a taxi once through. Unfortunately, I quickly found myself in the middle of a checkpoint protest, which was then suppressed by tear gas and rubber bullets, many passing inches away from my head. It was terrifying. It was incredibly disorienting, and if it weren't for the help of a kind man that ushered me safely, I'm not sure what the outcome would have been. Thankfully, even that day, I made it safely to Ramallah to join my team for practice. I remember returning home that evening knowing that I could not inform my parents what happened out of fear they would not let me continue to play for the club.
I wish I could say this was a single occurrence, and things were typically smooth, but that would not be true. It was normal that this trip of 40 minutes would take 2-4 hours each way. It wasn’t uncommon for the way to be closed completely, and I would be forced to stay the night with a teammate in Ramallah. This article would quickly turn into a novel if I tried to share every story I had on that simple daily journey to Ramallah. Thinking about it, I am certainly proud of my determination and the sacrifices I made as a young girl to be able to work toward my dream. However, I also know I would never have been able to continue on without such an incredible family and friend group. So, I am incredibly grateful for them.
For the next nine years, I competed with my club in Ramallah, Al-Sareyyet. We competed in the Palestinian Women's league and won the league many times. In 2006 I was selected to participate for the first-ever women's national team at just 12 years old. I even was able to compete at the West Asian Cup, where I was the youngest player in the entire tournament. It was an incredible experience capped by the Queen of Jordan herself encouraging me and giving me an award in recognition of my age and performance. I eventually became captain of the National team and led our team to many successes and through many difficult times. This also gave me the opportunity to compete in countries across Asia while representing my people and competing against other incredible women across the world. Without football, I assuredly would have never had these opportunities.
In 2018 I was invited to play in Sassari, Italy, for the professional club Torres Calcio, and by 2019 was playing for F.C. Sassari Torres Femminile. This was the final part of my dream, which was to become a professional athlete. By playing in Italy, I also became the first Palestinian soccer player to ever compete professionally in Europe. I had finally achieved what I set out to do as a young girl in the streets of Jericho. I knew, though, this was not the end of my story.
While sport was undoubtedly my first dream and love, I had also begun to develop new dreams and passions. Specifically, I wanted to promote women's football and physical activity in general in Palestine and the Arab world. In fact, I received my bachelor’s degree at Al-Quds University in physical education and focused heavily on the issue of girls’ and women’s participation in sport and exercise. While in Italy, I began pursuing my Ph.D. in humanities and social sciences to be better equipped to address these challenges in my professional life.
Fast forward to the present day, and I have completed my Ph.D., and I currently reside in Sassari, Italy, where I am working and coaching youth soccer in a small community called Latte Dolce. I have recently published a book called, “A Kick to Prejudices: from Palestine to Sardinia, dribbling through every obstacle.” in which I share the stories of women from Palestine and their experiences with participating in sport. The book, while currently only published in Italian and Arabic, will be published in English this coming year, God-willing.
While I am definitely proud of myself and my accomplishments, I am still focused on improving sport opportunities in my home community of Jericho. It has been great that over the past year, I have been able to lead a soccer and basketball camp for girls and women in collaboration with the Non-Profit organizations The Athletes’ Table and Seeds of Hope. It is my dream that I can continue to help improve the situation in Jericho and the rest of Palestine when it comes to girls and women's participation in sports. I am dreaming of a day when sport and exercise are readily accessible in Jericho, and there is even an indoor facility for the community to use freely.
I believe sport can change the world. I believe that it has the ability to change our mindset as people and improve our determination, resilience and creativity. I believe it can help us be open to new things and prove that things like girl’s playing sports is not some crazy idea and that with sport we can create a stronger and more inclusive society. I know for sure that without sport, my world would be much different and that when offered to everyone, it can make our world a better place.
