World

Against the odds: Palestine’s Balah escapes horrors to eye AFC Asian Cup glory in Saudi Arabia

BARCELONA: For the thousands of footballers plying their trade in Gaza the league table remains frozen after Ittihad Shujaiya’s 3-1 win over Hilal Gaza on Oct. 2, 2023. That victory gave Shujaiya a lead in the league that would come to a grinding halt in the aftermath of Oct. 7. Mohammed Balah was one of many footballers caught in a perilous situation three years ago. It was not the first war he had lived through but the bombs were like nothing else he had experienced. The ensuing genocide in