Football will provide children and their communities in the FIFA Member Association Palestine region with a much-needed space to play, compete and spend time together thanks to two new FIFA Arena mini-pitches in Marah Rabah, south of Bethlehem, and Qusin, in the northern part of the West Bank.

Developed by FIFA in collaboration with the Palestine Football Association and co-financed by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, the facilities are now open to the communities. Their roll-out comes at a particularly difficult time for communities across the West Bank, where restrictions have disrupted everyday life and limited access to schools, services, sports and other activities.

Against this backdrop, the two new FIFA Arenas are intended first and foremost as practical community facilities: places where children can play football safely, enjoy regular exercise and have an opportunity to interact with one another despite the circumstances around them.

Up until 25 September, the new pitches will host the Unite for Peace: Kids’ Cup, bringing together 14 local Palestinian teams and up to 160 children. The tournament will feature group matches followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final, alongside additional football activities for children and other members of the community in the surrounding villages and towns. The initiative will harness the beautiful game’s power to promote peace, friendship, inclusion, teamwork, mutual respect and fair play, under FIFA’s Unite for Peace campaign.

“The value of these FIFA Arena facilities will be measured by what happens on the pitches day in, day out,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino. “For children living in communities where life is often disrupted by restrictions and uncertainty, having a place where they can play football, meet their friends and take part in organised sport matters more than ever. Particularly as we mark the International Day of Peace, we hope these FIFA Arenas will serve their communities for many years to come.”

The Unite for Peace: Kids’ Cup will mark the beginning of the regular use of both facilities. Rather than remaining ceremonial projects, the pitches will immediately become active community hubs. The tournament will conclude on 25 September with the final, the awards ceremony and the formal inauguration of the two FIFA Arenas.

One of the facilities is in the Thaher Al Thour area opposite Marah Rabah’s girls’ high school, while the second is in the north-western part of Qusin village, adjacent to the main road linking Qusin and Deir Sharaf. The two mini-pitches exemplify FIFA’s wider effort to expand access to football infrastructure.

The Unite for Peace: Kids’ Cup is being held under FIFA’s Unite for Peace campaign and forms part of the FIFA Arena Programme, FIFA’s initiative to create safe, durable and accessible football spaces in communities across the globe, accompanied by the provision of football equipment with a view to supporting continued community football activities.

The opening of the pitches for the Unite for Peace: Kids’ Cup coincides with the International Day of Peace, which is celebrated every year on 21 September. For the communities of Marah Rabah and Qusin, however, the significance of the FIFA Arena project extends beyond this symbolic occasion. The objective is to leave behind a permanent, functioning space where children can play, train and meet regularly, providing a practical benefit to communities facing significant constraints on everyday life.